It’s been a strong year for video games so far, with plenty of excellent, creative releases from global developers, including those in Australia. We’ve seen monumental expansions, like Cult of the Lamb‘s Woolhaven DLC, and the lovely, sweet Lil Gator Game: In the Dark.
We’ve seen Winnie the Pooh grow monstrous limbs, eyes and teeth. We’ve also seen fairytales gone awry, zombies on the loose, Pokémon put to work, and so much more.
Here are all of ScreenHub‘s best games of 2026 as reviewed so far, noting the most impactful, bright-eyed experiences we’ve played to date.
This list will be updated regularly, as ScreenHub continues to review the latest video games.
Our best video games of 2026 so far – quick links
Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven
‘On the strength of Ewefall and the Rot Caverns, as new explorable biomes, and the sheer array of new tasks and quests to complete, Woolhaven arrives as a solid, well-featured companion to Cult of the Lamb.
‘It’s a sweeping DLC filled with fresh challenges to conquer, new cultists to recruit and so many fun activities that expand base gameplay. Even advancing at a wicked clip, the DLC’s plot is well-balanced, and it consistently provides new reasons to return as new features unlock and the dark, gothic story unfolds.’
ScreenHub: Cult of the Lamb Woolhaven games review – rot and ruin come for all
Winnie’s Hole
‘As it stands, Winnie’s Hole has arrived in early access with ample content that encourages you to keep moving forward, and experimenting with new ways to survive. While you’ll experience combat encounters over and over again – Owl keeps kicking my butt – you will make progress, and the game rewards any time invested.
‘This is the sort of game that worms its way into your mind, tickling your brain to keep you moving, and thinking about what’s next. With teased story tidbits dogging your way through the woods, there are enough loose threads here to drag you along to the next reveal.’
ScreenHub: Winnie’s Hole early access review – brain-tickling games
Escape from Ever After
‘Escape from Ever After has a nice balance in all of its puzzles, with each featuring a clear and sound logic to follow. There are games classics in here, with block placement puzzles through to complex transformational challenges. There are also plenty of new head-scratchers to keep your mental muscles moving, like a downriver challenge where you must guide apples into the correct positions using logic and speed.
‘It’s a novel mix, and helps to keep Escape from Ever After consistently fresh, even as it treads familiar ground in some of its later worlds.’
ScreenHub: Escape from Ever After games review – a bouncy Paper Mario homage
Lil Gator Game: In the Dark
‘While cosy and cute on the surface, this all-ages, alligator-starring adventure is actually about growing up, growing old and moving on to maturity. In the course of playing childish make-believe games with their friends, the titular hero must come to grips with their older sister’s loss of time for play, and discover how to connect in new fashion.
‘As someone with an older sister who went through that same process, Lil Gator Game‘s story was a point of reflection, as much as it was quietly devastating. Of course, relationships change and mature as they go on. We all need to find new ways to connect and interact with those around us, to account for their growth, as much as ours.’
ScreenHub: Lil Gator Game: In the Dark review: another kind-hearted journey
Resident Evil Requiem
‘Resident Evil Requiem is a game of two halves: one starring FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft as she realises her world is far darker than it first appears, and one starring veteran soldier Leon S Kennedy as he seeks to put an end to the horrors that have plagued him for decades.
‘As a requiem for the franchise, this adventure is a layered, thoughtful sequel. It manages to neatly weave two vastly different gameplay tones together, with each of its elements well-designed to create a cohesive, balanced adventure.’
ScreenHub: Resident Evil Requiem review – a tale of two horrors
Reigns: The Witcher
‘The Reigns franchise is so clever in its depiction of sweeping adventures. Each game is minimalist by nature, allowing players to make binary choices between one path or another, with each step accounted for in a branching narrative that takes you across magical realms.
‘The latest game in the series, Reigns: The Witcher, features this novel gameplay system, with layers of The Witcher lore over the top, for an experience that is simple on the surface, but entirely compelling as its winding paths are revealed.’
ScreenHub: Reigns The Witcher review – sing me a song of warriors and witches
Pokémon Pokopia
‘Pokémon Pokopia is entirely brilliant. You’ll have expectations. You’ll want a cosy, wholesome adventure, with Pokémon given a chance to shine. Pokopia brushes all of those expectations aside with a confident wave, arriving as an expansive, ambitious life-adventure simulator that’s absolutely packed with bright ideas, and the execution to match.
‘This is a big and gorgeous spin-off game that makes the most of its core concept, offering a transportive experience that lets you live in a Pokémon post-apocalypse that grows ever-more-bright, the longer you invest in its world.’
ScreenHub: Pokémon Pokopia review – a big, wholesome sim with bouncy, bright ideas
WWE 2K26
‘WWE 2K26 continues in the footsteps of WWE 2K25, which is a very good wrestling game. While the new release doesn’t do anything staggeringly different, it does add weirdness through narrative game modes that shake up the usual experience.
‘If you love your professional wrestling with a side of supernatural shenanigans, and some wild and uncanny storytelling, then this is the game for you.’
ScreenHub: WWE 2K26 review – a punk-rock showcase and wild story modes elevate this wrestling sim
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
‘Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection improves on its direct predecessor in every way. It’s a grander story, elevated by sharper, more impressive visuals. The game’s main cast is filled with friendly faces, all with their own layered, punchy backstories. Terrains gleam and dazzle. There are new and bigger monsters, more pressing threats, and a much greater, more impressive sense of adventure.
‘This game is the best of the Monster Hunter Stories trilogy so far, and an all-around excellent experience to boot, packed with memorable moments and beautiful sights.’
ScreenHub: Monster Hunter Stories 3 – Twisted Reflection review – soaring high
Esoteric Ebb
‘Imagine this. You’ve died. You’re very sad about dying. But suddenly, you see a light – and oh, what’s this? You’ve been brought back into the world, to live once more… as an idiot. Perhaps that’s being too harsh to Esoteric Ebb‘s odd, bumbling protagonist. But that’s really the vibe here.
‘So what if you were brought back to life as a fool of a knight, wielding your curiosity, your empty-headedness and your stubbornness, to chart a strange and magical fantasy world?’
ScreenHub: Esoteric Ebb review – a delightfully off-kilter fantasy RPG
Marathon
‘Marathon makes a run for it in the ever-growing Extraction Shooter genre and, for the most part, it’s a damn good time. Combining Bungie’s excellence in the FPS game with the entertainment of the new genre creates something that titles like ARC Raiders and Escape from Tarkov do so well: engagement and success.
‘With a bright and desolate world, it keeps you on your toes and makes every defeat and success that much sweeter. If you’ve played any of Bungie’s past titles, like Halo or Destiny, you know just how fun combat can be.’
ScreenHub: Marathon review – a damn good time
Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup in Bellabel Park
‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder released to critical acclaim in 2023. It was nominated for multiple game of the year awards, and swiftly became one of the best-selling titles on Nintendo Switch. Now, it’s got an all-new update for Nintendo Switch 2, including graphical upgrades for the console and new levels in Meetup in Bellalbel Park.
‘In all, the new edition is a victory lap for an already-excellent game, with a handful of new multiplayer and co-op game modes, plus some fresh training grounds and boss levels that add to a shiny, creative package.’
ScreenHub: Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup in Bellabel Park review – a bow on top
Fishbowl
‘Fishbowl is a tough game to play. Not by difficulty or design, but by subject matter. It touches on raw nerves and recent feelings, with its semi-magical exploration of grieving and isolation rooted in the real-world devastation caused by the Covid pandemic.
‘You play as Alo, a young woman who travels to a new city for an exciting new job, only to face immediate lockdowns that separate her from her friends and family. At the same time, she’s dealing with intense grief from the loss of her grandmother.’
ScreenHub: Fishbowl review – a raw exploration of life through the looking glass
Hidden around the World
‘The older I get, the more cosy games appeal to my brain. While I love a complex, layered game too, breaking up these adventures with something quieter in-between is brain-tickling. It’s a chance to take a break, slow down and really appreciate the full scope of what games can be.
‘Sometimes, you’re fighting monsters in fast-paced battles – and sometimes, you’re wandering through a cartoon version of Paris, placing tiny cats among the trees to take the perfect photo. Hidden around the World is a lovely salve and chance to escape the real world, offering the chance to create your own slices of paradise as you wander various regions searching for hidden objects.’
ScreenHub: Hidden around the World review – a cosy little braintickler
KuloNiku: Bowl Up!
‘KuloNiku: Bowl Up! is a cosy cooking simulator with a difference. While most of the genre chooses to operate in loosely sketched worlds, where gameplay takes priority over artful storytelling, this game meaningfully layers in lore, style and fun characters to encourage your desire to cook.
‘You have a personal stake in each dish, and in your journey of growth. It’s in the little, sharp details that KuloNiku elevates its tale, delivering a moreish cooking adventure that allows you to become stronger with each narrative obstacle.’
ScreenHub: KuloNiku Bowl Up! review – a stylish, energetic cooking adventure simulator
Pragmata
‘Pragmata imagines a future that would logically flow from our own. What would happen if 3D printing and AI technology advanced to the point where whole civilisations, and whole sentient beings, could be printed into existence? What would ‘living’ really mean? What could be considered conscious?
‘These questions are interrogated throughout Pragmata, an adventure that – on the surface – feels like a familiar, tightly-designed sci-fi adventure, buoyed by Capcom’s signature puzzle gameplay.’
ScreenHub: Pragmata review – a tightly-designed sci-fi adventure with plenty to say
