10 Lowkey Games That Could Make a Big Impact in 2026

There are some incredible games still on the way in 2026, but while the heavy hitters are all crowding up in the fall, ready to cannibalize each other before the inevitable GTA 6 behemoth swallows the entire world, there are some smaller games that have a ton of potential as well.

These are games from indie studios and even some from big-time names that are making lower-stakes games than the bombastic triple-A, visual dazzlers that are upcoming in this absolutely bonkers gaming year.

We're going to check out some low-key games that might make a name for themselves in 2026.

10 The Sinking City 2

A Higher Quality Swim

The Sinking City 2 is the second try for a franchise that hasn't quite gotten off the ground yet. I liked the first game a decent amount, as the Lovecraftian vibes were immaculate and the dreary, muted color palette immediately sets an amazing tone that doesn't let up throughout the game. However, the thing that held it back was the woeful combat. It just didn't feel sharp at all, and I dreaded any time it was required.

Thankfully, the sequel looks considerably better in the budget department, and from the demo that is currently out, the combat feels a lot better too. It's still creepy as hell, and the vibes are all there for this particular subsection of the horror world. It's possible this is the series' Alan Wake 2 moment. It's got all the makings of a hit in a year that has already had some great horror games released, and I'm pulling for this one to make a similar impact.

9 SacriFire

The Nostalgic Power

SacriFire is supposedly still coming in 2026, and whenever it decides to come out, I'm going to be here for it because this is an incredibly intriguing title. It's directly inspired by JRPGs from the golden era and has an action-turn-based hybrid combat system that looks thrilling in action. The graphics look amazing as well, with an old-school look combined with the more modern HD 2D style we've seen games like Octopath Traveler employ recently.

The animations look incredible too, with the combat showing off some crazy-looking moves and effects that make it look like a ton of fun to take part in. This game has been in development for a long time, and it has some driven and inspired developers behind it that are seeking to put their childhood nostalgia into a hit of their own that maybe we will all remember one day in a similar way to their favorites.

8 Full Circle

Powerful Pixels

Full Circle looks like it had a wild night with Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, and Legend of Dragoon, and, honestly, that's a party I'm here for. It's a game heavily inspired by the JRPG classics of old, and the combat looks like a highly interactive and colorful throwback that I can see immediately feeling great to experience.

It's a game about defying the fate that was already written for you, and the style of it is pure throwback nostalgia bait, and the developers should have no shame in this, as it looks as good as anything in this new revival of the throwback JRPG genre. It looks like a combination of fantasy and sci-fi, channeling some of Square Enix's all-time best efforts and sprinkling in the aesthetic of, say, Valkyrie Profile to make things look even more appealing. The rumors are that this could drop in 2026 somewhere. Maybe it's a late Christmas present, but regardless of when it comes out, it'll have me glued to the screen.

7 Blackwood

The Working Man

Blackwood is a wildly ambitious game that has you in the shoes of a DVD store employee by day, and an assassin by night. Now, that setup is compelling for a movie or a TV show, but for a game? Well, it's tough to see just how that DVD store worker gameplay is going to go in terms of fun, but one thing for sure is that the assassin side of things looks epic. This is the closest we've seen to a video game version of John Wick, and in this era where the third-person shooter is slowly making its comeback, Blackwood looks like it could nail that vibe.

The shooting and melee combat look fierce with some incredible animations, and it looks like a more intense version of Hitman's gameplay. It's got a ton of potential, and while the DVD store stuff has the potential to ruin what could be a fantastic shooter, it's possible that the developers can juggle this the right way and create something that we really have never seen before.

6 Threads of Time

Spanning the Eras

Threads of Time is yet another game that looks like it copied Chrono Trigger's homework, but you know what? The more, the merrier. I'm loving this outpouring of games that feel ripped right out of the golden age of JRPGs, and here, we've got some truly breathtakingly beautiful visuals that stand alone in this genre. It's got such a great vibe to it, from the music to the character designs and the environments; it all just feels so alive.

If there is one word I could use to describe this game, it's passionate. You can feel the love coming from the gameplay that we've seen, and as far as the handful of indie JRPGs releasing soon, this one has the highest potential to be a game we look at to set the standard for the single-player space going forward.

5 Forsaken Realms: Vahrin's Call

A Fable That's Real

While Fable ran and hid from the oncoming monster of the GTA 6 release, another game in the same vein is coming very shortly. Forsaken Realms: Vahrin's Call is a game that looks to be directly inspired by Fable, in everything from the quirky humor to the whimsical look to the characters and environments. It's from a smaller studio in Titan Roc, and everything we've seen from this game so far looks like absolutely everything we want to see out of Fable.

The combat looks varied and interesting, with magic, and melee, and ranged options being available at any time and the world itself is simply beautiful. It doesn't have the super high fidelity graphics you'd expect from a triple A game, but there is charm here that you don't often find in those. It looks like there will be a good amount of enemy variety and an interesting story where you play a mercenary looking for their next payday, and, in the process, get pulled into an ailing land called the Vale of Vahrin. That's enough for me and I think this one is going to be a sleeper for the ages.

4 The Relic: First Guardian

Lurking in the Dark

Hope you have some more room in your gaming backlog because it's becoming another intriguing-looking Soulslke in just a few weeks. The Relic: First Guardian has this incredible look to it that I can only describe as liquid rust that makes it stand out in the sea of upcoming games in the genre. The combat looks fantastic, with a level of speed and verticality that you don't usually see in the genre, and while we haven't seen a ton out of it, what is there looks phenomenal.

In case you're worried this is just going to be a short little indie Soulslke, well, how does 80 bosses sound? I mean, it's possible this is just a boss rush from hell, and that alone could be fun, but it posits itself as an action RPG, so there is going to be a healthy amount of game surrounding those fights.

3 Acts of Blood

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

I'm a big-time fan of the game Sleeping Dogs and, to a slightly lesser extent, SIFU, so Acts of Blood checks all the boxes for me from a pure gameplay perspective. With a demo out for some time now and a release date imminent, Acts of Blood has that old-school Xbox 360-era sensibility that doesn't care about anything but delivering a kick-ass game. The melee combat is brutal, and the moves flow into each other in a natural and stylish way. Speaking of the style, the game's graphics have sort of a surreal quality to them, somewhat like what SIFU was going for, and the environments look properly gritty for what the game is trying to convey.

I'm not expecting anything but a bloody brawl from this game, and sometimes, that's all a game needs to be. Expect there to be plenty of moves to learn, weapons to use, and objects to take advantage of in the environment. The demo shows off everything I needed to see to think this could be the next great brawler, and we only get one of these every so often, so I'm ready to treasure another hidden gem that will undoubtedly be overlooked.

2 Mortal Shell 2

About to Make a Name for Itself

Mortal Shell 2 has its open beta out right now, and I'm confident this is going to be one of the all-time Soulslike games. It looks amazing, and the combat has taken a significant leap from the first game in the series to something that resembles Elden Ring more than Dark Souls. On top of that, we've got guns now and specific counter moves for every enemy, which have already shown some gruesome finishing moves.

The story will be the ultimate test on whether this ascends into the pantheon that I think is ruled firmly by Lies of P, but as long as the journey is more compelling than the rather dry first game, we should see something very special here. I was hoping for co-op here, but this is a firmly single-player experience that has upped the ante considerably from the compact world of the first game. This one feels big, open, and with a purpose. It's not just another Soulslike. Mortal Shell 2 is going to make a sizable impact, and its name will become one of the mainstays of the genre. Mark it down, because we're all about to be witnesses.

1 Final Fantasy: Resonance

The People's Champion

It might be Final Fantasy, and it might be Square Enix, but there is nothing big about Final Fantasy: Resonance. While Square Enix finishes up their magnum opus on Final Fantasy 7: Revelation, they also have been working on a much smaller-scale project in response to fan outcry about no more 2D Final Fantasy games. Well, that crying has been rewarded with a full rework of Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, a long-running mobile game that has now been transformed into a full single-player experience.

It's got a gimmick that stays with Final Fantasy: Resonance, and that is the ability to summon characters from previous games, which doesn't sit great with me, but I understand how key it is to the gameplay. What does have me hyped is the amazing-looking combat, gorgeous-looking worlds, and great-looking cast of characters that all have unique designs, and from what many who have played the mobile version say, are amongst the best characters the series has written. Big words for sure, but Square Enix didn't half-ass this one, and it looks like it could start a new subseries of its own if things go as well as I'm hoping they will.