4 – Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era
This one was a tough choice, because between Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era and Dawn of War 4, it all comes down to the fact that I have played the first, and can say for a fact that Heroes is shaping up to be an awesome experience, reminiscent of what the series used to be in the late 90s and 2000s. Even to the point where, once I booted up, the game felt instantly familiar to my experience with it, on the Game Boy Color, 20 years ago. I have very high expectations for it, and I believe it’s going to be the game that’s going to revive the series.
3 – Task Force Admiral
We have reached the coveted top 3 spot on the list! The genre of wargames in 2026 is set to have some interesting titles, including Spain at War, and Battleplan, but the wargame that I foresee to have the most impact in the wargaming scene is Task Force Admiral, a truly transformative title that’s going to revolutionize the way we perceive the genre, by offering a mix a never before seen mix of realism, ease to play, repliability and high-quality graphics. Having played its demo a while back, I called it a next-generation wargame, and I still stand by it. With Task Force Admiral being set to release in the first quarter of 2026, and a substantial demo released just today, players can take command of Task Force 17 during its showdown against Carrier Division 5 in the Coral Sea in May 1942, and even try the game’s battle generator.
2 – MENACE
MENACE has proven itself to be quite a surprise when I previewed its battle system, just a couple of months ago. And while I cannot opine on the state of its grand-strategy layer, as nothing has been shown yet, the turn-based tactical combat of MENACE is phenomenal and brutal. Unsurprisingly, given the fact that this is coming from the same team that gave us Battle Brothers. Even in its limited showcase there was already plenty of unit customization and a lot of options for equiping and manaing your squads, the combat is well structured with a very distrinct turn system where each player moves a unit before passing the the torch to the adversary, changing the focus from moving all units as a force, to focus on moving each unit individually, fundammentally changing the way the game plays.
MENACE’s premise of commanding a space-faring mercenary company, the high-resolution textures and semi-realistic, industrial aesthetic, and the meaty combat make MENACE an obvious contender for a standout title for 2026, and the fact that the game is coming out in February is just another reason to be excited for it.
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