Our 11 Favorite Games From the 2026 PC Gaming Show

Fights In Tight Spaces was a slick card battle with a unique premise, enough so that it got a spin-off called Knights in Tights Spaces. But the original game is now getting a true sequel in the form of 2 Fights 2 Tight Spaces. The new game features online cooperative multiplayer for 1-3 players, alongside an attractive new visual style. The first trailer for the game looks great, featuring some exciting melees that see lots of environmental hazard attacks. But today didn’t just bring news of the new game — it has also shadow dropped into early access, so you can give the game a try right now if you like. – Matt Miller

I love how many questions I have after seeing the trailer for About Fishing, a game that really seems like it’s about more than fishing. Between its Resident Evil-style inventory management, a screenshot of an old, barnacle-crusted handgun, and the generally eerie tone, it almost seems more like a horror game or a moody drama. Luckily for me, there’s a demo available now, so I can play it for myself to see if I can reel in any substantial conclusions. – Charles Harte

Turn-based gameplay in video games is most associated with combat, but there’s no reason that has to be the only reason to use it. In Ascenders: Beyond: The Peak, turn-based gameplay is used to climb a mountain with a group of three, and gives you time to hone your strategy and keep the crew alive. There are nine classes you can assemble a team from, and each brings unique abilities to help you ascend a grid-based cliffside in a roguelike structure. If you think it looks cool, check out our recent coverage of its reveal and play the demo now on Steam. – Charles Harte

Mouthwashing is one of my favorite horror games ever, so I was more than delighted to see that its developer, Wrong Organ, was working on something new. But instead of an atmospheric horror game, Carcass Clad is a three-player co-op game where you and two friends pilot a tank through the city of Vhorgorod. It’s a substantial pivot, so I was glad the team answered some of my questions about the game and what to expect from it. It’s not the project I asked for, but I like Mouthwashing enough that I’m more than willing to give Wrong Organ’s next project a chance. – Charles Harte

The original El Paso, Elsewhere combines Max Payne-style shooting (complete with slo-mo) with monster hunting madness, an original hip hop soundtrack, and a low-poly aesthetic. The sequel is cut from the same cloth, but this time the protagonist has become a vampire, and has to use new weapons to fight new monsters in 20 brand new levels. It doesn’t have a release window yet, so add it to your wishlist to be notified when it launches on Steam (though it’s also coming to Xbox). – Charles Harte

I generally think people throw around comparisons to Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki a little too liberally, but Into the Wind is a game that’s actually deserving of the association. Its Italian-inspired city and dogfighting gameplay is straight out of Porco Rosso, but its package delivery mechanics (which are also reminiscent of Death Stranding) are similar to Kiki’s Delivery Service. It also has a generally whimsical tone that I’m excited to experience for myself: your vehicle is neither motorcycle nor plane, but a sentient motorcycle-plane; townsfolk ask for packages, but also live swordfish; and hitting an obstacle causes you to ragdoll off your vehicle and onto the ground. It’s coming soon to early access, but for today, it’s coming to my Steam wishlist. – Charles Harte

Shroom & Gloom has a lot of elements that stand out to me as appealing, but nothing could ever grab my attention as quickly as its unique, papercraft art style. It’s moody, but bright, and as common as paper-y aesthetics are in modern games, it’s rare to find them in a first-person perspective. Of course, the gameplay also looks awesome; it’s a double deckbuilder, so you’ll be crafting different decks for exploration and for combat. I’m so curious about how it plays, so I’m over the moon (or over the shroom?) that there’s a demo available right now. – Charles Harte

Here’s an excerpt from a larger news post senior associate editor Wesley LeBlanc wrote about Signet City, the next game from the creators of Citizen Sleeper:

“In Signet City, you control a parasite in the titular coastal city, which is in sharp decline because in this world, the biological computer has outgrown the silicon chip. Born in the brackish waters of Signet City’s bay, you must inhabit human minds and guide your hosts into their final season. ‘From the stained wallpaper of the squats to the towering monuments that dot its skyline, grow through and into this strange city, changing it forever,’ a press release reads. It looks awesome, and considering how great both Citizen Sleeper and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector are, we’re keeping our eyes on Signet City.”

I look forward to playing this game one day, but I also really like its unreleased state, because the experience I get from watching new trailers is always such an insane roller coaster. There Are No Ghosts At The Grand is a renovation game, a la Powerwash Simulator, except there’s also a narrative, a mysterious supernatural element, some kind of puzzle-solving, and right when you think you’re comfortable, BAM: someone starts singing, because it’s also a musical game. This new trailer has a particularly disarming singing police officer, but also every other element above, presented when you least expect it. I haven’t played it yet, but if I ever decide I want to see what it actually feels like, I can play the demo on Steam. – Charles Harte

Nightdive Studios is leading a remaster of the original Thief, the incredibly influential early stealth title that set the stage for many of the infiltration and simulation experiences that would follow in the years and decades to come. The new remaster is touted as a very faithful rebuild rather than reinventing the game. Expect it to run great on modern hardware, with re-recorded dialogue from original voice actors, but otherwise this will be a chance for new and returning players alike to experience what was great about the original, targeting a launch this winter. For now, you can wishlist it on Steam. – Matt Miller

Vampire: The Masquerade fans have no shortage of video game adaptations to check out, but for a series born from a tabletop RPG, it’s surprising how few true RPGs the series has in video game form. Eternal Whispers, a new CRPG from Flyos, seems to be exactly what fans of the tabletop mechanics have been waiting for. It’s a single player, choice-driven RPG based around the game’s stat systems, complete with on-screen dice rolls. Developed by “a hybrid team experienced in both board games and video games,” it looks great, and while I’m certain the final game will be more nuanced than this, it will likely satisfy fans who have hoped for “Baldur’s Gate, but built with Vampire: The Masquerade.” Time will tell if it lives up to that promise; for now, you can keep it on your Steam wishlist until it emerges from its torpor. – Charles Harte