It’s hard to believe, but we’re already halfway through the year! 2026 has delivered some awesome games so far, so we’ve compiled a list of our personal favorites so far. Question: What’s your Game of the Mid-Year? Pragmata – Ozzie Mejia, Seniorly as Stunned as You Are How did this happen? In six months that featured some truly amazing games like Marathon, 007 First Light, Star Fox, Tomodachi Life, Pokémon Pokopia, Resident Evil Requiem, Mina the Hollower, Mixtape, and so many other heavy hitters, I
went with a game that I wasn’t even sure I was going to like until I tried it? Well, that’s the thing about Pragmata. I was so certain that the gimmick of the game’s combat was going to wear thin. Not only is it still entertaining to me after many hours, but the story is hitting me in ways that I didn’t expect. I was not expecting to be touched by The Space Adventures of Hugh Mann, but Capcom did a truly amazing job with
this game. I’m eating enough crow that I’ll need a takeout box, because I was totally wrong about this one. Pragmata is outstanding. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream – TJ Denzer, viviendo el sueño You know, when I went hard into cozy life sim games this year starting with Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0.0, I don’t think anyone would have guessed that it would be Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream that stole the lion’s share of my attention and became my daily game. My spouse
Sam and I have tailor-made a massive island of silly little guys with silly little lives and silly little stories, and coming back to them to see what they’re up to is almost always a treat. Sometimes we have to break up a nasty fight. Sometimes my Miis are having a party. Sometimes Larry Chipmunk leaves Gorb the Flea, forcing Gorb to move his trash behind into the Rebound Ranch with fellow dumpy bachelor, Stocke, while their child, Ch’orb, stays behind. Yes, divorce drama happens
on Tomodachi. It’s that weird of a game. I’ve always said that what you get out of Tomodachi Life is equivalent to what you put in, but I think it gives back more to us every day we play. There might be games that are more fun in the moment or catch me a certain way, but nothing has stayed with me and made me eager to come back this year like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. Star Fox – Asif Khan, Can’t let you
do that, Shacknews I know that my answer will likely change by the end of the year, but Star Fox is my Game of the Year 2026 as of today. I have already played through the game over two dozen times as I go after Challenge Mode and all those Expert Difficulty Medals. The game features an amazing soundtrack, rock-solid 60 FPS performance, and is a visually stunning recreation of one of my all-time favorite video games. 007: First Light – Bill Lavoy, Shackmaps Overlord
IO Interactive makes games that I like. I knew that 007 would have enough Hitman DNA in it that I would be fully onboard, and I wasn’t wrong. It’s stylish, and the gameplay is superb. Not only did it fully grab my attention right out of the gate, but it also sent me back to the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy for more of that IO Interactive goodness. 007 is a sneaky good game, and it’s much less intimidating to jump into than Hitman given
its somewhat smaller scope. Marathon – Sam Chandler, Running Man Marathon is a phenomenal extraction shooter. It’s got the impeccable gunplay only Bungie can deliver, brutal endgame content in the form of Vaults, ruthless PVP, and enigmatic lore. I’ve poured 300+ hours into the game thus far and plan to dedicate much more. It’s unfortunate that its development and launch are tarnished by everything that has happened and is happening at Bungie. Under different circumstances, I think it would have gotten a far more reasonable
assessment from the community. It would still be niche, and not nearly as popular as Destiny 2, but it wouldn’t have been lambasted. Despite it all, so far, Marathon is my Game of the Mid-Year. Mewgenics – Donovan Erskine, Tactical Gamer Mewgenics was one of my first review assignments in the new year, and it’s still my most played video game of 2026. It’s a game that manages to blend two of my favorite genres: turn-based combat and sim management. Combat is so rich and
dynamic that no two runs feel the same. Mixing and matching different cat classes and their respective abilities makes for a stunningly vast range of possible strategies. I was still discovering new interactions and mechanics dozens and dozens of hours into the game. Between my runs, I loved just managing my family of cats, breeding them for stats, selling them for resources, and managing my inventory. It’s all chef’s kiss. The game got its proper praise at launch, but I still feel like it’s a
bit underrated. I’d be absolutely shocked if Mewgenics falls out of my top 5 games by the end of the year. Pragmata – Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo Show Host, Just Call Me Space Daddy! What is my game of the mid-year? That is a really good question because there are quite a few games that could be my pick for game of the mid-year. I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed Resident Evil Requiem when I played it on The Stevetendo Show. I’m not
the biggest RE fan, but this installment had its hooks in me, making me want to play more. I also really liked Mina the Hollower from Yacht Club Games. But for this question, I’m going with another Capcom game, Pragmata. I didn’t know what to expect going into this game as I had only played the demo when it was available on the Switch 2 eShop. After playing said demo, I knew I was looking forward to playing more. Pragmata was another game I played
on The Stevetendo Show, and I really wanted to play more off-show, but I had self-control and waited for the show each week. I love the interaction between Hugh and Diana as it really feels like they are father and daughter. The different locations really make you feel like you’re on the moon, where people modified it to keep their sanity. Case in point, I bet you didn’t know there was a New York City on the moon, did ya? The game also does a
good job of making collectibles easy to find during initial level playthroughs. Usually, in games like this, you’ll have to backtrack to earlier levels to get the bare minimum in upgrades. There is backtracking in Pragmata, but you could beat the entire game without going back to a level if you really wanted to. I’m still not over the ending of Pragmata, and if it left that much of an impression on me, how can I not say it’s my game of the mid-year? I
think you’ll see more Pragmata from me at this year’s Shack end-of-the-year deliberations, so stay tuned! LEGO Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight Dennis White Jr., Swear to Me! No, not really, kids! Some great games have dropped during the first half of the year, but I unfortunately have not gotten to play a ton of them the way I would like to because of health issues that affect my hands too much to play for normal periods. But after some recent recovery, I did
spend some quality time with the newest Batman game, and it really hit a sweet spot in my brain for being both a positive experience and a pretty fulfilling one beyond what’s initially shown on the surface. I’ve been getting back into some controller play after not being able to for months consistently, and this game’s got some quality accessibility options. I have severe memory loss as well so I’ve been re-watching some of the different Batman films over the past few months too. So
having this game lean into the entire history of The Bat has become a really fun experience for more personal reasons too, as I remember why I love both the serious tones and levels of camp from the different takes on the comic book hero. I love the way that this game lets you explore, and the open world does not disappoint. But there’s also plenty of room to progress at my own pace and still feel satisfied with the different adventures that I stumble
into along the way. Also,who doesn’t like cruising around in the Batmobile in a gorgeous version of Gotham City? I pass on plenty of collectible farming in games, but unlocking different suits and playing with different characters like Catwoman is pretty cool in this one. The Bat-Cave is freaking awesome in this game! I was ready to ask Alfred to bring me some croissants after keeping the streets clean for a couple of hours. Those are our favorite games from the first half of the
year. What about you? And what are you most looking forward to in the back half of 2026? Sound off in the Chatty and on social!
Pragmata, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Star Fox, 007: First Light, Marathon, Mewgenics, LEGO Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight, Mid-Year game picks, 2026 games