Cairn, mix tape, saros.

Re9 doesn't make the cut. Leons missions were great, but overall was a mixed bag, and can't get myself to replay the game.

Did I mention Resident Evil Requiem as my favorite ?

Plus Pragmata and Saros. I hope we will have a great surprise with Blood of Dawnwaker.

Updated to this point! Thanks for the recent submissions.

Let's keep this going!

Another one from me!

Mina the Hollower (NS2)
A tightly constructed, endlessly rewarding, uniquely challenging action-adventure game that pulls together many of the best pieces of The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, and Dark Souls.
Score: 8.5/10

Another vote for... Mina. Loved my time spent on this one! I'm tempted to call it my favorite indie game of all time even.

With most of the year's releases now mapped out, it's looking likely RE Requiem will remain my GOTY; don't get me wrong, I very much look forward to games like Onimusha, Switch Sports Resort, and Splatoon Raiders, but Requiem was next level great in a way that none of the announced games for 2026 quite look like they'll be able to top.

Requiem is still holding strong, and its nearest challenger in my book is another Capcom winner, Pragmata.

The most likely games to topple Requiem are Ocarina of Time Remake and Fire Emblem.

Quick question! @Veknoid_Outcast, are we voting for all the games we may consider as top nominees? Or games that we think are THE GotY? If the latter, then I would need to wait until the year wraps up before saying anything— I suspect the OoT remake will easily “take the cake” for me.

Thanks for this question! I’m looking for many different nominees per person, not just the single best game of the year. There’s some more detail in the opening post. Personally, I list any game I give an 8/10 or higher.

The vision of this thread is to crowdsource a list of the most impactful games of 2026, to hopefully inspire members to try games outside their periphery or comfort zone. Ideally, when it’s time to vote for GOTY later this year, members will have a large pool of experiences to draw upon.

Thanks for being a part of it!

So far Resident Evil Requiem is the strongest actual awards candidate, Mina the Hollower is my current GOTY, I really hope it gets a nomination. Haven't played Nioh 3 but it surely will be one of my favorite games this year.

I don't think Pragmata or Saros will make it to the 6 nominees at TGA. Forza Horizon 6 has the score to be nominated but I can't see a racing game taking one of the spots there.

Speculating on unreleased games, Marvel Tokon will also deserve it based on everything I saw and the beta I played, but a 2D fighting game will hardly ever get one of those spots. Ace Combat 8 also looks absolutely amazing and I'm sure I'll love it, but again, no way a game like that gets one of the 6 spots.

For unrealeased games that can make into the TGA 6 spots, I think Wolverine and Ocarina of Time remake will be there. GTA VI has it locked and very likely will be the winner too.

But for me personally, from the games released so far, from which many I haven't still played but I'm likely to love when I do, the list would be:

- Mina the Hollower
- Saros
- Nioh 3 (haven't played)
- Resident Evil Requiem (haven't played)
- Pragmata (haven't played)
- Forza Horizon 6 (haven't played)