7 – Wargame Design Studio: American Revolutionary War
I know I said that this list was going to be all about the games that I played, but I have tricked you! In fact, it’s about the games that I have played, and Chris, the resident Wargame Design Studio enjoyer. A traditional hex-and-counter wargame, American Revolutionary War came out this year and was met with rave reviews from the whole wargaming community, with Chris singing its praises, calling it “not just about the Revolution; it is a revolution in wargaming quality. With its focus on historical accuracy, epic sound, and beautiful artwork, it is a perfect anniversary gift to the founding of the United States.” Coming from Chris, you can be sure that’s a very high bar to reach.
6 – Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era
I know you might be surprised to see Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era at the number 6 place, especially after my glowing review of it. That only goes to show how much I loved the 5 best games of 2026 so far, but more of that in a second. Olden Era did something truly special: it took the formula of Heroes 3, and brought it back into the modern era, where things are very much the same, but with better graphics, quality of life improvements, and the game doesn’t look like it’s old enough to be taking care of its kids instead of playing around. The game had such an impact on me that once I booted it for the first time, it instantly flooded my brain with memories of playing Heroes of Might and Magic on my Game Boy Color, something I have completely forgotten about. The fact that it felt just like what I remembered was all the proof I needed to acknowledge that Hooded Horse did something special with it.
5 – Vultures: Scavengers of Death
A lot of amazing strategy games fly under the radar, and the fact is that we just can’t physically play them all. Daily, I get dozens of emails from developers asking me to give their games a shot. Well, I’m glad I relented when it came to Vultures: Scavengers of Death, because this is a gem. I mean it. This game is the kind of title that’s right up my alley. It takes the turn-based strategy fundamentals of something like XCOM and mixes it up with the survival-horror aspects of early Resident Evil titles, and what we got is a title that, while not scary at all, is a damn good strategy game. You spend your time exploring massive compounds, sneaking through zombies, sometimes fighting them, being ambushed, and uncovering dark secrets.
The biggest problem I found with it so far is that you can kind of get softlock every once in a while if you’re not careful with your health and equipment management, but that was always part of the charm of survival horror. That might force you to go back a couple of saves or two, so keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up. The two VULTURES characters are the pinnacle of 90s campy, and I love it, and the girl even reminds me of the form from ONI. Remember that?
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