I didn’t watch it this year. Instead I just saw all the trailers after the fact, just like with Geoff Keighly’s other show, the Game Awards. But, as meh as the event was (it’s definitely no E3) there was a lot to get psyched for, even if we didn’t actually get to see gameplay for most of the games that got shown.  Here are my top picks!

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave

The one and only reason I’m sad I’m not buying a Switch 2.

If this had come out a couple of years ago, I would have been super psyched. Finally, FINALLY, we’re getting another proper entry in the Fire Emblem series! Seriously, it’s been a little over 7 YEARS since Fire Emblem: Three Houses came out, and all we’ve gotten in that time is Dynasty Warrior copypasta and a gimmicky spin-off featuring a “dragon” with toothpaste hair. 

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave even seems to be in the same world as Three Houses. It’s not set in Fodlan and takes place several centuries in the future, but Sothis is back which means we might actually get to find out what transpired after we saved the country. The faction-based gameplay and everything else we liked from Three Houses seems to be back too. The only catch? You gotta fork over $500+ for a Switch 2 to play it. I love Fire Emblem, but I’m gonna have to sit this one out, unfortunately.

Resident Evil: Veronica

YAS! MORE RE PLEASE!

It cannot be understated how much of a reset Resident Evil 7 was for the series. In just one game, Capcom took a series that was pretty much on its last leg and transformed it into even more of a powerhouse than it was in its original heyday. And now, nearly 10 years later, we’re all still clamouring for more! 

Every mainline Resident Evil game and remake since RE7 has been a banger, and based on both RE9 and what’s been shown of Veronica, there’s no reason to think that’s going to change. Capcom, uniquely among its AAA peers, seems to actually understand what its audience wants…at least when it comes to its blockbuster releases. Now they just need to figure out what on earth is going on with their smaller project teams.

Alien Isolation 2

Gonna have to wear the brown shorts for this one.

I’m mostly psyched for this since Creative Assembly basically knocked it out of the park with the first Alien Isolation. However, there’s a part of me that kind of wants to stay away from it too. Alien Isolation was a fantastically terrifying experience, but I’m not sure my nerves can take another one. The way the xenomorph hunts you creates tension so thick you not only cut it with a knife but you could then also take those cuts and slice them up for lunchmeat!

Judging from the trailer, Alien Isolation 2 isn’t going to be set on a locked down space station this time. That’s likely an upgrade in all the best ways, but I can’t shake the thought that that just means that the Xenomorph will have that much more space to ambush us in. Also, I’ll bet right now that it won’t just be one most of the time, either.

The Wolf Among Us 2

I doubt it’ll be everything we hope, but it’s just cool that this still exists.

If I had to pick the biggest surprise of Summer Games Fest 2026, it would have to be The Wolf Among Us 2. Like probably everybody else, I was convinced that the game was dead. Practically nothing had been seen of it since its initial announcement in 2017. Telltale Games (its developer) went bankrupt. Most of the staff moved on to other companies and products, and all the IP went to a holding company called LCG Entertainment. If any series of events was going to kill a game, it’d be these.

And yet, somehow, it turns out that The Wolf Among Us 2 still persists. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if it actually makes it into the hands of players next year, because it’s kind of a project out of time in the same way that Duke Nukem Forever was back in 2011. 

The Telltale brand of choice-driven episodic narrative adventures has been out of favor for a long time now, and even successors like The Dark Pictures Anthology games are struggling to retain interest. I for one am looking forward to finally seeing more of Bigby Wolf’s story, but doing so is gonna feel super surreal at the very least.

Stellar Blade: Blood Rain

Can’t wait to see how they expand on the first one!

Call me what you will, I had a blast playing Stellar Blade, so naturally I’m super psyched that Shift Up is making a follow up. I couldn’t really tell whether this game is a sequel or a side story from the trailer, but I’m leaning towards the former considering the sheer scale of the city and the vast numbers of people walking around now.

If Stellar Blade: Blood Rain is a sequel, though, I’m curious to learn how this scenario came about. With how the first game ended, I wouldn’t have thought a character like Evie, an “angel,” would be operating in the city. Regardless of the story, it looks like a lot of the fast action combat that made the first game so much fun is coming back for the sequel, and that’s more than enough for me!

There’s a lot of smaller projects coming that I’m psyched for too; stuff like the Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee remaster due out later this year. But, this is all the major stuff that stood out to me. Here’s hoping it all turns out to be as fantastic as it looks (even Fire Emblem)!

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What were you most psyched to see at Summer Games Fest this year? Any big surprises?

Image is the Summer Games Fest promo art