Kotaku published its roundup of the 13 best new video games from the first quarter of 2026 on March 20. The list kicks off the site's annual Game of the Year watch and features diverse titles across genres, with reviews from staff writers. Standouts include Pokémon Pokopia, Marathon, and Nioh 3.
Kotaku's article, dated March 20, 2026, marks a quarter through the year and initiates tracking for potential games of the year. The publication intends to update the list periodically until December, highlighting games that have resonated with its writers in the opening months of 2026. The 13 titles span cozy simulations, shooters, action RPGs, adventures, and platformers, each praised for unique strengths despite some shared genre challenges like repetitive missions or fiddly controls. Kenneth Shepard describes Pokémon Pokopia as a cozy builder with a melancholy mystery, suitable for non-life sim enthusiasts, emphasizing town infrastructure and collecting 300 monsters to make players happy. Zack Zwiezen recounts late-night sessions with Marathon, Bungie's sci-fi extraction shooter, calling it 'difficult, annoying, incredible, gorgeous, painful, evil, splendid' and concluding, 'Marathon fucking rules.' Ethan Gach notes Nioh 3 from Team Ninja replaces prior loot grinds with open maps and coherent RPG systems, bolstering its excellent combat despite a weak story. Carolyn Petit hails Perfect Tides: Station to Station as an all-time great point-and-click adventure depicting college student Mara Whitefish's life in post-9/11 New York City through breakups, romances, and profound emotions. Other entries include Inkle's TR-49, a magical realism tale on narrative and genAI by John Walker; Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom's ninth installment with thrilling scares via heroes Grace and Leon per Shepard; climbing sim Cairn; 3D platformers Demon Tides and Big Hops; retro Scott Pilgrim EX; Early Access Slay the Spire 2; roguelite Mewgenics by Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel; and solo dev Christoffer Bodegård's funny Disco Elysium-inspired Esoteric Ebb.
