Last week, I wrote about how and why I didn’t play any games released in 2025.  And yet, as we begin 2026, it appears the trend will likely stay the same.  But I’ve still got plenty of games, or at the very least, general categories of games that I’d like to play during the upcoming year.  Because why rush to keep up with gaming trends when there are so many pre-existing games I’ve been neglecting! (And there are a couple new games I’m excited for…)

Backrooms – Recently, I’ve been learning how to use OBS for recording PC games, and I’ve started to think about what kinds of games I’d like to try.  The first category are Backrooms games, a pretty popular trend right now involving bizarre liminal spaces that don’t quite feel right.  I’ve watched my favorite Youtubers play plenty of these games, and I’d like to try them for myself in the near future.

Spot the Anomaly – I’ve also watched many games where you have to spot the way your environment has changed, from minor differences to more obvious, and often shocking, ones.  Attention to detail is important, and when I watch others play these games, I can kind of play along.  But I always wondered how well I’d do if I were to play them myself…

Rage Games – Okay, so this is kind of an odd category, but I’ve watched my favorite Youtubers play infamously difficult games like Getting Over It, or more recently, Egging On, and I find it rather amusing to watch people grow increasingly irritated as they lose all their progress because of one measly mistake.  So I’m rather curious to try one of these games myself.  Even though I doubt I’ll manage to progress very far, I imagine playing a game designed to make me lose my temper has got to produce some entertaining commentary!

FNAF Fan Games – I’ve played most of the official FNAF games, but there are a bunch of pretty great fan-made games out there that I’ve never gotten to try myself.  There are games like Five Nights at Candy’s, One Night at Flumpty’s, The Joy of Creation, and countless others waiting for me…

Indigo Park: Chapter 2 – Okay, here’s an actual upcoming game, a mascot horror where you visit an abandoned theme park.  I watched the first chapter, which looked very promising, and I’m quite excited for the upcoming installment, whose villain appears to be a pirate coyote?

Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5 – I’ve been following this mascot horror since the beginning, which takes place in an abandoned toy factory and has some pretty interesting lore involving the experiments that were done here.  I’m interested to see where the story is headed after that crazy ending in chapter 4.  Will chapter 5 be my first time actually playing Poppy Playtime for myself?

Hollow Knight: Silksong – I’ve still been meaning to play the sequel to one of my favorite Metroidvanias, this time starring the agile Hornet.  I have heard that the game is even more difficult than the first, however, which makes me feel ever so slightly intimidated…

Dave the Diver – I rather enjoyed the demo for this game, so perhaps I’ll eventually get the full game, where you scuba dive during the day and manage a sushi restaurant at night.  This game could be a mix of relaxing and…kinda stressful…

Little Kitty, Big City – As the name implies, this game stars a lost kitty exploring a big city, where you’ll get to meet other animals and just generally enjoy being a feline.  I just can’t pass up a relaxing game starring a cute kitty!