Poll: What's Your PS5 Game of the Year for 2026 So Far?

Crimson Desert for me 😊

My top 5

1. Resident Evil Requiem
2. Nioh 3
3. Saros
4. 007 First Light
5. Darwins Paradox!

Good year so far.

I haven't played Crimson Desert or Mina the Hollower yet so currently it's still Arknights.
1. Arknights Endfield (7)
2. Big Hops (7)
3. MOTORSLICE (6)
4. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (5)
5. Resident Evil Requiem (5)
6. PRAGMATA (5)
Very underwhelming year so far. Hoping the September lineup redeems it.

Starfield for me. I just love the atmosphere, and it runs like a dream on the pro. Sad to hear a lot of people are having some bad freezing issues. I hope everything gets sorted out eventually.

Gotta throw my lot in with Pragmata. It’s like comfort food, you know? Familiar but oh so good.

Marathon and 007.

Just finished First Light last night and loved the campaign. Perfectly captured the essence of Bond.

For Marathon, especially with the Season 2 revamp, this is just a really special game. Yes, it cost too much to make. Yes, Sony paid too much for the studio. YES, this game is awesome.

For me it's Resident Evil Requiem and 007 First Light.

RE Requiem, with nods for Slots & Daggers and Saros.

1.) Mixtape
2.) Saros
3.) Nioh 3
4.) Resident Evil Requiem
5,) 007 First Light/Mina the Hollower - I’m partway through both and they’re both excellent

1) RE Requiem and 2) 007 First light
(No other game comes close enough to these 2 games for me to add a 3rd place etc)

You forgot to put Destiny 2

Only voted for one as it's the only one I felt I had to get this year so far.

Resident Evil Requiem.

RE Requiem for me and nothing else I've played on PS5 this year comes even close.

I've only played Saros and Hades 2 from this list, but both are immaculate.

RE Requiem for me so far. I did enjoy Code Vein 2 and Nioh 3 but I feel like they aren't strong GOTY contenders but I do see them popping in some other categories.

Edit: Oh, I forgot Pragmata which I feel is also a strong GOTY contender. Capcom is on a roll this year and Onimusha Way of the Sword isn't even out yet.

Mouse: P.I. for Hire, as it’s the only game I’ve bought this year so far

1. Nioh 3
2. Marathon
3. Saros
4. Crimson Desert
5. 007

Only scratched the surface of Crimson Desert and 007 so far and there’s plenty on the list I haven’t got round to yet so this will change no doubt. It’s been an awesome year so far.

Pragmata and Trails

I have Crimson Desert in my backlog so I don't count this one. Pragmata and RE9 are a birthday gift from my wife(I blow the candles on Thursday.)

So my games of 26 atm are:

Tides of Tomorrow
Vampire Crawlers
Mouse P.I.
Adorable Adventures

Crimson Desert but Bond is a very close second.

The people here sure didn't like Mina the Hollower. Perhaps not deep cinematic enough.

Resident Evil Requiem is still the standout game for me so far and including all platforms, Forza Horizon 6 would be in second place

1) RE9 (obvs)
2) Saros
3) First Light/Pragmata
4 Nioh 3

Hades II for sure. I absolutely love the gameplay and any game with Greek gods is a must for me.

So far my GoTY is Pragmata. Not only is it another Capcom classic, but it was innovative in unique ways.

The game that has sold more will always win - these polls. Say someone has only bought Requiem this year, of course it gets his vote, nothing else .

Crimson Desert. Although I skipped most of the triple AAA stuff thus far aside from Forza Horizon 6.

Wow ive only played nioh 3. That and pokopia, I think might be the only two 2026 games I've played so far. And both are very much goty contenders for me. And they both come from koei tecmo lol

Been playing most new games on other platforms this year so… Adventures of Elliot, when it launches in a few days.

For me so far its,

1, Monster Hunter Stories 3
2, Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined
3, Pragmata
4, Marathon
5, Fatal Frame 2

I've been dividing my own GotY in my head between major release and indie release.

So for me so far in a top 3, it would be

Major:
Pragmata
RE9
Death Stranding 2 (on PC)

Indie:
Motorslice
Mina the Hollower
Escape from Ever After

Voted for Crimson Desert but 007 is a close second.

Saros, hands down. Perfectly addictive game-loop.

1. Saros
2. Mina the Hollower
3. Hades 2

Honorable mention: Pragmata

Where's Code Violet?

Only new game this year is Crimson Desert, but kids got me it on Steam. PS Plus are the only games we play on PS5 nowadays, so Spiderman 2.

Pragmata. Nioh 3 comes second - albeit abandoned after 70 hours. Saros and Screamer were both massive letdowns.

Have yet to play RE Requiem, but seeing as I'm playing REMake 4 at the minute, it can wait.

I’ve got Pragmata at one, but I have not played RE9 just yet so that could change. Between those two I think it’s a lock for me unless something else comes out of nowhere by the end of this year. I think Wolverine will be good but it’s really just reskinned Spider-Man so it won’t be a game of the year for me. And I’ve never thought GTA is game of the year worthy even if it’s the most profitable game like ever, lol.

Pragmata and Requiem are the only two I've played on this list. They're neck and neck for me. Pragmata was such an unexpected treat.

I played South of Midnight when it released on Xbox/PC.

If I'd played it this year on PS, it would be leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the dross that's released this year.

I even found Requiem to be a bit disappointing. I never got hooked which is rare for an RE game.

5. 007 first light.resident evil requiem. Nioh 3 .saros and hades 2.word up son

@KundaliniRising333 I can't believe you purchased forza horizon 6 what with all the egregious micro transactions and corporate greed that's prevalent through out it? Wow and I thought you were the real deal..(I'm joking by the way.)

Went with Mina since Sektori was last year.

Marathon and crimson desert for me. Marathons 2nd season is superb and has rectified a few of the minor niggles I had and crimson desert is just bloody awesome.

I've only played 2XKO and Saros, as far as 2026 releases go. 2XKO is great and likely my overall GOTY, unless Control Resonant is a masterpiece.

@Northern_munkey lol shots fired!!

The truth is I didn't buy it. Playing it on pc gamepass. You know the game division of one of those tyrannical companies that tanked itself by offering a far better value subscription service but forgot the whole profits are important thing.

To be fair and I do want to stress that I understand that most on this site have zero ability to be objective. The reality is that gamepass, even at its current price is by far the best subscription service and value in the gaming space today (pc it's literally less than 15 bucks a month). Also I didn't skip most of those AAA games because of big bad mega Corp development. I just genuinely think most of them I wouldn't like, especially yet another RE game (Capcom is overrated imo), and without question the bond game. Despite being a massive bond Stan.

The amount of recently released games I was interested in but skeptical of that I got to try and then pass on or love because of it is awesome.

Side note munkey: you gotta get mortal shell 2 when it releases to ps5, it's a banger.

No way someone picked Starfield lol

Pragmata is my personally Goty so far. It beats out Resi I think as it's a new IP with a new idea that's well executed.
Reanimal is great, under talked about for definite.
Mina was good, but after about 7 hours I'm feeling a bit burnt out on it. Hopefully I'll return soon.

@KundaliniRising333 it does look good but I don't know if I'd play it through to completion. Marathon and crimson desert pretty much take up my spare time and I just got my T598 back from being repaired so the rally and GT7 are back on rotation.

@Northern_munkey I hear that I had to set crimson aside just so I can pick it back up when they release the dlc and have more content to enjoy 🤣 Don't want it to end

Resident Evil Requiem easily if it was a pure survival horror like RE7 instead of a weird hybrid of 7 and 6.

Gotta go with Pragmata or Saros

Pragmata is my current GotY, with 007 as a close second, and Vampire Crawlers in third.

I actually haven’t purchased any games this year yet due to it being a very busy and financially tight year. Okay, I bought a couple games that were heavily discounted titles that came out last year.

That said, a LOT of amazing games have released which I plan to pick up around the fall/holiday season when they drop in price and my free time opens up.

The best game I played this year is Forza Horizon 6 (got 3 months of free game pass a while back that I was saving til this game dropped). Number 2 would be Pokopia, which was a surprise from girlfriend for my birthday.

This really is one of the best years for gaming. Can’t wait to play more titles!

I dont play too many games... so for me
1. Resident Evil Requiem
2. 007 First Light

Romeo is a Dead Man is my game of the year so far, with First Light not far behind.

I answered Crimson Desert prematurely. It's actually far too complicated and I stopped enjoying it once the euphoria wore off, I just feel dumb and get stuck on every tutorial still not knowing what to do.

RE9 and Crimson, other games I enjoyed a lot were Pragmata, Saros and 007

@Northern_munkey offtopic here but wanted to ask, how was your experience with wheel on FH5? I've tried FH6 with my T248 but unfortunately can't really drive without spinning and losing control of the car in pretty much all turns with some speed.. (Just some cars with very good handling and tuned from the community was able to drive ok)

I see many ppl with same problem and also comments stating the game is more designed for controllers, etc.. but there are some ppl without issues as well.. (Didn't have this problem with GT7 for example and even managed with AC rally which is very hardcore)

I've tried many settings from some content creators and stuff online but still no luck and ended up giving up and play with controller through completion, just following now the weekly stuff (playlist).

Anyway for future FH games they have to change the formula otherwise is more of the same and getting old

@KundaliniRising333 Mortal Shell 2 is indeed very nice, really excellent demo and very long, UE5 game in a beta much more polished than AAA final releases.. Btw Valor Mortis (demo also available - two chapters) is also cool, these are probably the only upcoming soulslike games I would play, too much of them and this genre is getting way too saturated..

@Fatewalker FH5 was awkward to get my T598 dialled in but I did and it's really,really good. If you want to add me on psn I can send you screen grabs of my settings and see if it helps at all.

Nioh 3 for me right now. Can’t wait until that DLC drops later in the year. Hadn’t ever played a Nioh game until ticking the first entry off the list late last year and after finishing Nioh 3 I jumped straight into Nioh 2. Safe to say I’m a new Nioh convert… and not just because the name is close to NieR, honest! 😄

@Northern_munkey sent thanks, but don't bother that much, tried so many and still same crap, maybe the game need more updates for better support on wheels or.. maybe sort of a skill issue. .

Cairn is my go to on this list!
Mostly stress-free methodical peaceful climbing. Very ambient and calm game which is what I often want after a long day at the office dealing with people.
Something like Resident Evil is fun and there’s absolutely a time and a place, but if I’m picking one of the two up to relax, it’s going to be Cairn.

I voted Pragmata and Resi, 007 was very good but not quite game of the year for me.

I have only played one game from this year so far and that's Cairn. I am loving it but I don't think it's game of the year material. The backlog just gets bigger and bigger and thanks to September, it's only going to keep growing.

@Fatewalker it's not a skill issue. FH5 was difficult to get the wheel right and I very nearly gave up on it myself but in the end I got it. The problem with the settings is that they are quite convoluted and overly complex. Once you have the wheel dialed in the game is just so much fun to play. I myself just can't use the controller..

not one of them has been worth a purchase so far. might pick up Crimson desert and 007 when they are cheap. But game of the year they are not.

Trails series always wins for me!

Easily Crimson Desert for me. I’m on around 155 hours so far and still having a blast.

Trails beyond the horizon clears everything here

I picked the only 5 new games I've played, so that makes it factually the best PS5 games!

I voted for:

• Romeo is a Dead Man
• RE 9
• Pragmata
• Saros
• GoW Sons of Sparta

@Fatewalker Nice! I kind of already made up my mind that I was getting valor mortis. How was the demo. Any downsides?

When I see so many people liking First Light and Crimson Desert, I feel like I’m from a different planet. I just don’t get it.,

@KundaliniRising333 Encountered few bugs specially on the last boss, it got freezed also had few crashes during some tutorials popups, but overall all good. They have been also updating the demo fixing this and adding some missing features like DLSS / XeSS.. give it a go.

@Fatewalker will do

Pragmata was a short and sweet experience. I completed the game in under 40 hours and felt like it completely delivered a full and fun game.

Saros followed by First Light for me.
On a pure gameplay/game feel level Saros clears every game this year by a mile. Personally, I really love the story and especially the final act more and more as time has gone on. It's a nasty story with nasty characters and it's perfect for it.

First Light had my favorite story this year so far. But I think everything it did on a gameplay level was done better by the games it is built on. Uncharted is more kinetic with the set pieces, has better shooting and better driving. WatchDogs and Hitman WoA have better stealth/infiltration. The fact that First Light largely works is a shock but it feels very structured where other games felt looser even if they weren't.

Biggest drop-off RE: Requiem's shift from Grace to Leon. Killed the whole game as it became nostalgia slop and took way too many cowardly decisions with the plot.

Marathon and trails for me

Great 1st half, and the 2nd one will be even better!

@naruball agreed! Hades 2 is excellent.

Only played back catalogue games this year. 😂

It feels like RE Requiem is my GOTY on all platforms so far by a country mile. I just have a lot of deep love for it.

Pragmata was really great followed closely by 007 for me. For the rest of the year I'm looking forward to Starfox, Wolverine, Silent Hill and Ocarina of Time. I expect GTA 6 will ultimately become my GOTY though. If RDR2's quality is to go by, it will be no competition for me.

Out of that list - Crimson Desert GOTY

Re and hades2

007 and RE9 for sure

Someone other than me chose Screamer! Good to see at least a few people appreciating it.

Directive 8020 for sure! With Ghost of Yotei second and RE9 third.

Trails Beyond the Horizon for me.

Only bought 2 games this year so far. RE Requiem and Pragmata and loved them both. Capcom is cooking rn!

In no particular order:

• First Light
• Pragmata
• MH Stories 3
• Hades 2
• Crimson Desert

Marathon, because that's what I played for the last 3 months.

Crimson Desert all the way!

If I had to pick one I’d say Saros (I love the controls including not just the shooting but the running and jumping) but RE9, Pragmata and Hades 2 are on its level.

The objective and correct answer is Crimson Desert

I don't really have one as none of the games from this year are amazing.

If I had to pick though it'd be LEGO Batman because it's the closest thing we've got to another Arkham game.

Forgot Nioh 3 was even a thing. Not surprising, I think most people have. It was truly disappointing like Dragon's "Smegma" Dogma 2.

Haven't got one yet. Barely touched PS5 at all, or my PS4 either. Been Switch 1 focused these past few months/year. That and because my PS4 is annoying about controllers or other things cabled or wireless so I haven't bothered to use it really.

First Light I'd say is fair. Pragmata. Those are in the 'respect' category for me. I haven't played them. But think they stand out enough.

Maybe Stuntman Hollywood may change that but 2024 to 2026 hasn't done much in the way of PS5 games for me to care. 2020 to 2023 had those games on PS4 for me so didn't care.

Rhythm Heaven Groove will be my Switch game of 2026 'maybe' if it's any good compared to prior entries.

Been playing FMV games or Indies on Switch 1, the odd times on PS4 but not in a while.

I didn't play it on PS5, but Mina the Hollower is definitely the best game I've played this year. Crimson Desert and Saros were good, too.

Resident Evil is the only one I've played from this year tbh. 50 hours into Persona 3 which has eaten up most of my gaming time. Have also finished Silent Hill F, and Stellar Blade this year. Have 007 ready to go when I'm done with Persona though

My PS5 game of the year so far isn't listed. It came out in January though:
MIO: Memories in Orbit

Had a fun time with Avowed but now I'm back onto Diablo 4 and Dragon Age (which I am also rather enjoying)

@SuntannedDuck2 My PS4 is running fine, but the PS5 keeps popping up messages saying that it's lost the network connection, even though it's about 2 feet from the router which is on, connected and talking to everything else without a problem?

Crimson Desert. Number 1 for me. Have not played Res. Or Bond, but based on watching gameplay i think CD would still be at the top. It is the largest most dynamic open world sandbox that has brought me pure joy. It also looks amazing. the detail in the distance, just wow. It has its flaws sure, but to many amazing things in that game out weigh that for me. To top it off they keep updating it weekly. They actually listen to players. No pet names. Fixed. Not enough pets. Fixed Crazy control mapping. Fixed. To hard. To easy. Fixed. Nothing else to fight. Fixed. On and on. My number 1

Lol@ Sons of Sparta making the poll.

Anyways... none of the games mentioned will be in serious contention for GOTY.

GTA VI on the other hand...

I realise I haven't bought a single game released this year. Still digging through my backlog