Gamescom 2026 was filled with surprises, from reveals of never-seen-before video games throughout Opening Night Live to the announcement of a remaster for one of the best games of all time. Past the opening showcase, although, Gamescom can also be a commerce present and shopper gaming occasion — mainly, the substitute for E3 — held in a sprawling conference corridor with tons of of video games to play. Polygon was on the ground this 12 months, and whereas there, we went hands-on with a ton of these video games, from AAA behemoths like Fable to under-the-radar indies like Wilderings: The Misplaced Spring.
However what had been the very best video games we performed whereas we had been out in Cologne, Germany? Here is our checklist of the highest 11 video games we performed at Gamescom 2026, in no specific order.
1
Fable
We would be remiss to not begin with some of the anticipated AAA releases of the entire occasion, proper? You may learn extra about Fable in our dedicated preview, however the gist of it’s as follows: tight, satisfying fight with fluid mechanics that assist you to swap between melee, ranged, and magic with ease. Our fighting-focused demo concerned following the very British Humphry (voiced by comic Matt King, of Tremendous Hans fame from Peep Present) by an previous mine, the place undead foes arose round each nook. It then culminated in a incredible boss battle towards a ferocious spirit in a misty bathroom, and despite the fact that Fable goes to be a shorter game than we had been anticipating, I can not wait to play extra. —Ford James
2
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
I’ve been hungry to get my palms on The Expanse: Osiris Reborn just about because the second it was revealed. Now that I’ve, the one factor I’m upset about is that I’m not actually enjoying the total recreation proper this very second. Few sci-fi universes are better-realized than The Expanse, with its strict physics and grounded method to human interplanetary enlargement. And it seems Osiris Reborn is a lot greater than the third-person shooter it’s been promoted as. Primarily based on the 90 minutes I performed, the sport additionally captures the subterfuge, private machinations, and political turmoil that made so many followers fall in love with the supply materials. We genuinely may very well be getting probably the greatest book-to-game variations of all time. —Ari Notis
3
Valor Mortis
“First-person Darkish Souls” is a reasonably compelling elevator pitch. “First-person Darkish Souls set through the Napoleonic Wars” is much more compelling. “First-person Darkish Souls set through the Napoleonic Wars and developed by the makers of Ghostrunner, one of many tightest first-person video games ever?” Yeah, little shock right here that Valor Mortis completely guidelines. Valor Mortis particularly gives two olive branches to onboard new gamers. The parry is sort of imperceptibly extra forgiving than something spawned out of the halls of FromSoftware. And the checkpoints come a bit extra often. This compels one to maintain making an attempt, making an attempt, and making an attempt once more, finally capturing the live-die-repeat essence that made Ghostrunner and its sequel such breakout hits. —Ari Notis
4
Stuntman: Hollywood
When the information broke that the unique Stuntman was being revived within the type of Stuntman: Hollywood, followers of this cult-classic PlayStation 2 recreation went wild. We performed 5 of the sport’s ranges earlier this year at Summer season Sport Fest, however when the chance arose to play a wholly completely different set of 5 ranges, we could not say no. Stuntman: Hollywood is precisely what you’d anticipate: driving sequences that final a couple of minutes every, filled with over-the-top, cinematic results and stunts you must get inch-perfect to land the very best rating doable. One degree I performed was themed after Jurassic World; I dare you to not really feel immense pleasure as you trip a bike excessive of a dinosaur then slide beneath the lengthy neck of one other. —Ford James
5
Tides of Annihilation
The place seemingly each new motion recreation lately swerves left into “parryslop,” Tides of Annihilation goes proper. Sure, there is a parry, however the fight is extra akin to conventional character motion video games. Past your normal assaults, you cycle by two outfitted knight avatars, every of whom have completely different talents that show you how to in fight. Pair that with some God of Struggle (2018)-like spectacle and unexpectedly wealthy exploration components (a bow that allows you to create ziplines, a groundpound that you simply use to open up new pathways) and Tides has turn out to be one in every of my most-anticipated motion video games. —Ari Notis
6
Wilderings: The Misplaced Spring
Wilderings: The Lost Spring is actually Hades meets Pokémon with a touch of Animal Crossing thrown in for good measure. That is as a result of at its core, it is a roguelike: you embark on runs, steadily getting stronger over time, defeating enemies and taking down bosses, all whereas exploring the world round you. Nonetheless, there’s additionally a creature-collecting aspect, the place you gather small critters often known as “hantu.” These lovable animals every have their very own abilities and could be leveled up, permitting you to have a celebration match to your playstyle. The explanation you are doing all of this? To revive the world to its pure magnificence, with a lot of biomes which have dying ecosystems that want you to save lots of them. Oh, and you may as well develop crops again in your airship base, for a bit extra healthful taste. —Ford James
7
Weapons of Eschaton
Guns of Eschaton tackles an attention-grabbing conundrum: How do you flip a first-person shooter right into a Soulslike? The FromSoftware-inspired style has actually had video games with weapons earlier than, however they’ve typically been third-person shooters, and melee fight is often an choice too. Based by the late, nice Viktor Antonov (Half-Life 2, Crew Fortress 2, Dishonored), the group at Eschatology Leisure is creating an all-out FPS Soulslike. How? Past the idea of simply making every enemy actually beefy, each foe you encounter has weak spots. This implies it virtually turns into an aim-trainer; shoot the weak spots within the appropriate order and your goal will fall rapidly, however in the event you miss, your bullets will deal negligible injury. Amidst a surprising apocalyptic Western setting, that is one to regulate when it launches in December. —Ford James
8
The Defiant
World Struggle 2-set FPS video games are a dime a dozen and have been for many years, however The Defiant is doing one thing barely distinctive. Developed by Hangzhou Hoothanes Leisure, the China-based studio is abandoning the much-explored angle of the conflict from a western perspective, and is as an alternative telling the story of “China’s Struggle of Resistance,” to cite the Steam page. Mechanically and structurally, The Defiant strongly resembles one of many early Name of Responsibility video games, or maybe a basic Medal of Honor, however when talking with one of many builders after enjoying the Gamescom demo, he instructed me that Name of Responsibility: Vanguard was truly the group’s greatest inspiration. Your complete marketing campaign can also be cut up into the 4 seasons, with every one taking round 4 hours to finish, which means you may discover all types of terrain and environments. —Ford James
9
Nodusfall
The makers of Genshin Impression and Honkai: Star Rail are making a… Monster Hunter clone? Certain! Nodusfall, on its ONL reveal, was immediately in comparison with Elden Ring. That holds up on a visible degree, however after playing a mission, I discovered its fight to be way more like Remaining Fantasy 16, significantly in how extravagant these boss fights are. Big gryphons, large dragons, large swords — every thing is huge. From the mission I performed, which tasked me and three different gamers with combating a rotation of evil spirits, you actually get the sense you are combating legendary beasts. There’s tons nonetheless unclear about Nodusfall, however I am curious to see how this one performs out. —Ari Notis
10
Exterminauts
It is about time Helldivers 2 received some competitors, and in the event you’re a fan of defending Tremendous Earth, you would be silly not to take a look at Exterminauts. The subsequent recreation from Behaviour Interactive, finest identified for Useless By Daylight, is carrying its inspiration on its sleeve, as a result of that is an all-out monster-slaying riot. After playing one full round in a group of three at Gamescom, I am each impressed at how a lot of a hook the gameplay loop is, and astounded that it is taken till now for a developer to emulate the success Arrowhead Sport Studios has seen with Helldivers 2. Lock ‘n’ load, exterminauts. —Ford James