I recently attended the GDC Festival of Gaming in San Francisco, an event known as the Game Developers Conference. Although it’s primarily geared towards educational sessions and networking for developers, it also showcased numerous games I had the chance to play. Here are some of my top picks, listed alphabetically, all potentially launching this year, hopefully before Grand Theft Auto VI.
At Fate’s End is a stunning new action-adventure game from Spiritfarer developer Thunder Lotus, focusing on sibling relationships through exploration and battles. I experienced two fights with the first of the main character’s siblings, which were thrilling with dramatic animations, full-screen attacks, and dialogue choices influencing the ending. I haven’t stopped thinking about it; it’s launching in 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Mina the Hollower, the next title from Shovel Knight developer Yacht Club Games, is reminiscent of Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy, but you play as a mouse that digs through the ground. Expected this spring after a delay, the demo I played revealed its worth. Unlike my previous experience on PC, I enjoyed exploring, battling, and finding secrets. It will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.
The Melty Way combines challenging, Super Meat Boy-style platforming with a twist: you play as a cute slime that melts and shrinks. As you become smaller, you can jump higher and squeeze into tight spaces, but you need to reach a checkpoint or finish the level in time, or the slime will die — and it’s too cute for that. The game heads to early access on Steam on April 24th.
In Poke a Nose by Jelle van Meerendonk, you fly around as a severed hand collecting toilet paper and poking noses to complete levels. Despite its absurdity, maneuvering the hand is challenging, making each successful poke rewarding. It’s slated for a 2026 PC release, though early 2027 might be more realistic.
Super Meat Boy 3D is a promising 3D version of the challenging 2D platformer. Maintaining the original’s signature elements like floaty jumps and buzzsaws, the new perspective can lead to some confusion, but quick restarts soften the frustration. It is set for a 2026 release on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.