Gamescom 2026: the games that stood out
Gamescom 2026 brought major reveals, surprising announcements and a huge convention-floor selection of playable games. Held in Cologne, Germany, the event combined the scale of a trade show with the public-focused energy of a major gaming festival.
Among the many hands-on sessions were large productions such as Fable and smaller projects including Wilderings: The Lost Spring. These were the ten games that made the strongest impression, presented in no particular order.
1. Fable
Fable made a strong case for its place among the event’s most anticipated releases. Its combat feels responsive and fluid, letting players move between melee attacks, ranged weapons and magic.
The combat-focused demo followed the very British Humphry, voiced by Matt King of Peep Show fame, through an old mine filled with undead enemies. The sequence ended with a boss fight against a powerful spirit in a misty bog. The game is expected to be shorter than initially anticipated, but the demo still left a strong desire to play more. The game is listed on the Fable Steam page.
2. The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn proved to be considerably more than the third-person shooter suggested by its marketing. A 90-minute session showcased a science-fiction setting built around strict physics and a grounded vision of human expansion across the solar system.
The game also reflects the intrigue at the heart of its source material, with subterfuge, personal manoeuvring and political conflict complementing the action. That combination could make it one of the strongest adaptations of a book series in gaming.
3. Valor Mortis
Valor Mortis is an intriguing blend of first-person combat, Soulslike difficulty and a Napoleonic Wars setting. It comes from the studio behind Ghostrunner, and that pedigree is apparent in the precise, demanding action.
The game offers a slightly more forgiving parry than FromSoftware’s typical approach, while checkpoints arrive more frequently. Those adjustments make repeated attempts feel more inviting without removing the live-die-repeat rhythm that defines the experience.
4. Stuntman: Hollywood
The revival of the cult PlayStation 2 driving game delivers short, cinematic sequences built around spectacular stunts and exact positioning. A separate set of five levels was playable at Gamescom, following five earlier levels shown at Summer Game Fest.
Each stage asks players to complete elaborate driving manoeuvres with enough precision to earn a high score. One particularly memorable course was themed around Jurassic World, including a motorbike jump over a dinosaur followed by a slide beneath another creature’s long neck. The game is listed on Steam as Stuntman: Hollywood.
For players who enjoy arcade-style driving challenges at home, RETROCADE’s racing simulators offer a natural place to explore similar hardware-focused entertainment.
5. Tides of Annihilation
Tides of Annihilation takes a different route from the current wave of parry-focused action games. Although parrying is present, the broader combat system is closer to a traditional character action game.
Players can switch between two knight avatars, each with distinct abilities. Large-scale spectacle sits alongside exploration tools, including a bow that creates ziplines and a ground-pound move that opens new routes. The result is an action game with more discovery than its initial presentation might suggest.
6. Wilderings: The Lost Spring
Wilderings: The Lost Spring combines roguelike progression with creature collection and restorative world-building. Players go on runs, grow stronger, defeat enemies and bosses, and explore biomes whose ecosystems are in decline.
The creatures collected along the way are called “hantu”. Each has individual skills and can be levelled up, allowing players to build a party suited to their preferred approach. There is also an airship base where plants can be regrown, adding a gentler layer to the adventure. The game has a Steam listing for Wilderings: The Lost Spring.
7. Guns of Eschaton
Guns of Eschaton asks what a fully first-person Soulslike might look like. Rather than combining shooting with a third-person or melee-focused system, it builds the concept around firearms in an apocalyptic Western world.
Its enemies have specific weak points. Hitting those targets in the correct order can bring them down quickly, while inaccurate fire causes very little damage. That makes encounters feel part combat challenge and part aim trainer. Eschatology Entertainment was founded by Viktor Antonov, whose credits include Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Dishonored. The game is scheduled to launch in December and has an official Guns of Eschaton Steam page.
Its emphasis on precision also makes arcade shooting accessories worth considering; RETROCADE’s arcade light guns cover the hardware side of that format.
8. The Defiant
The Defiant approaches the Second World War from a less familiar perspective, focusing on China’s War of Resistance rather than the Western viewpoint commonly used in the genre. It is being developed by China-based studio Hangzhou Hoothanes Entertainment.
The structure and mechanics recall early Call of Duty and Medal of Honor campaigns, while the developers identified Call of Duty: Vanguard as their biggest inspiration. The campaign is divided into four seasons, each expected to take about four hours, with varied terrain and environments across the story.
9. Nodusfall
Nodusfall comes from the creators of Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, but its premise points towards a monster-hunting adventure. Its visual presentation prompted comparisons with Elden Ring, while the playable mission’s combat felt closer to Final Fantasy 16, particularly during its spectacular boss encounters.
A four-player group fought a succession of evil spirits, including enormous gryphons and dragons. The scale of the battles, combined with oversized weapons and legendary creatures, made a strong impression, although many details about the game remain unclear.
10. Exterminauts
Exterminauts is a cooperative monster-slaying shooter from Behaviour Interactive, the studio best known for Dead by Daylight. Its inspirations are clear, but a full round with a three-person team showed a satisfying gameplay loop of teamwork, firepower and extermination.
For fans of cooperative science-fiction shooters, it offers a promising alternative to the current field. The game has an official Exterminauts Steam page.
Why these games matter to arcade fans
Not every standout here is designed for an arcade cabinet, but the selection highlights several qualities familiar to arcade players: immediate combat, precise timing, score-driven driving, cooperative action and memorable visual spectacle.
Anyone planning a home setup can compare formats with RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide, browse full-size arcade machines, or consider a compact bartop arcade.
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