3 best games coming in the first half of 2026 – make sure you wishlist these right now
We can't wait for these three games to arrive, can you?
We’re over a month into 2026, and after the craziness of the last few years, this one has got off to a relatively quiet start where video game releases are concerned.
But that changes very soon. We’re just weeks away from the arrival of a brand new Resident Evil game, and after that the big hitters just keep coming.
Saros
Sony’s first-party release calendar for 2026 isn’t heavily populated yet, but there is one big hitter arriving at the end of April. Returnal remains a crown jewel in the PS5’s library, and Saros is the next game from developer Housemarque.
The quick pitch is pretty similar to Returnal's. Saros is a big-budget, procedurally generated, sci-fi third-person action game with roguelike elements, this one set on the fictional planet of Carcosa. You play as a Soltari Enforcer named Arjun Debraj, who’s sent to investigate a mysterious off-world colony. Inevitably, lots of angry monsters are waiting to greet you.
Saros features permanent upgrades to your gear and weapons between runs, which should make it a bit more forgiving than the hard-as-nails Returnal. If it’s anything like as fun to play, we’re in for a treat.
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
Are we ever going to get another Batman Arkham game? It feels a long way off at this point, but Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight looks surprisingly capable of filling that cowl-shaped hole in our hearts.
Unlike the previous Lego Batman games – of which there are quite a few – this one is an all-out celebration of the beloved vigilante’s entire history, taking in comics, TV, films and, of course, games.
Unlike the Arkham trilogy, each of which portioned off an area of Gotham or its surrounding islands, Legacy of the Dark Knight lets you explore every brickbuilt inch of Bruce Wayne’s unreasonably dangerous home town. And developer Traveller’s Tales has built a kinetic combat system that seemingly honours what Rocksteady achieved all those years ago.
If it successfully delivers that trademark Lego slapstick humour, along with more fan service than arguably any piece of Batman media ever made, and manages to be anything like as satisfying to play as the Arkham games, this could be the best Lego game ever made.
007: First Light
It’s amazing how few James Bond games we get these days. And even when they came out more often, not many of them were any good. Hitman developer IO Interactive is out to fix both of those sad realities with 007: First Light, the iconic character’s first video game outing for over 10 years.
It lets us play as a young Bond who hasn’t even earned his 00 status yet, which is a pretty exciting approach for IO to be taking. There aren’t many James Bond origin stories out there, and with no ties to any of the films, the Danish developer is free to craft an original story.
If you’ve played any of the superb Hitman: World of Assassination games then you’ll have full faith in IO nailing the sneaking parts of their Bond game. But 007 tends to take a more in-your-face approach to taking down his enemies than Agent 47, so expect plenty of gun fights too, not to mention fast cars.
Will the 26-year-old Bond find any downtime for a Vodka Martini? We’ll find out in May.
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