I Played 30 Games in 2025. Will I Play Them in 2026?

This year, I was shocked at the sheer number of games I racked up last year. In spite of all of the IRL activities I was up to, I guess I still made time to game! This list is quite late, coming in at the end of the first quarter of 2026, but it’s better late than never. Here are all the games I played last year, and if I see myself playing them this year too.

Aka

Aka is the perfect game for me, in theory. I loved the setup, the vibe, and the art style. For some reason, it didn’t capture my attention the way I wanted it to. I only logged around an hour of playtime on this game. Perhaps it was the season of life that I tried it in — a busy year full of milestones might not be the best time to become engrossed in a game about rediscovery and healing. I’d love to revisit Aka’s new island home again and follow his post-war journey during a quieter period of life.

Rating: ?/10
Will I play it in 2026? Possibly.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is three years old this year, and I still haven’t rolled credits on it yet. After 250 hours and 3 failed Honor Mode campaigns, I’m more determined than ever to finally finish this game — ideally, more than a couple times. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a gift that keeps giving. I probably won’t really be done with this game until I’ve romanced at least Lae’zel, Astarion, Karlach, and Halsin. Plus, I need to play a true evil run, which might take a few tries to get to the end. The only problem is that managing the inventories and stats of four characters at a time is exhausting. I need to be in a particular mood to play this game.

Rating: 9.5/10
Will I play it in 2026? Yes!

Chants of Sennaar

The pressure to learn Dutch (the local language) and Korean (my heritage language) is real. Instead, though, I decided to learn a bunch of made up languages in a video game. Chants of Sennaar is about connection and a tenuous harmony between different but similar peoples. At around fifteen hours of playtime, Chants of Sennaar was a beautiful game that made me thirsty for more of the same genre. (Let me know if you know of any in the comments!).

Rating: 10/10
Will I play it in 2026? I think this is a one and done, but I wish I could play it again for the first time.

Civilization VII

Yeah, I guess we’ve moved on from Civilization V, but Civilization VI and its successor, Civilization VII were on a pretty solid rotation with my friends last year. I was a little bit disappointed with the lack of quality of life mechanics in Civilization VII the first couple times I played it. However, with the (now, not so) new quality of life changes in Civilization VII, I can expect it to show its face around here at least once this year!

Rating: 7/10
Will I play it in 2026? Very likely.

Coral Island

Coral Island released multiplayer capabilities last year, and I’ve been trying to get all my friends to play with me since then. When I describe it, I usually say something along the lines of, Stardew Valley with 3D graphics, mermaids, and Indonesian folklore. Usually, it’s enough to pique interest in my non-cozy gamer friends, and convert the ones who are already primed to love a good farming sim. I’ve been taking a break from Coral Island, but I’m excited to explore more of Starlet Town this year!

Rating: 7.5/10
Will I play it in 2026? Yes.

Disco Elysium

I’ve been meaning to play Disco Elysium for years now. I had some free time at the beginning of 2025 and decided that this is the year I would finally learn about Harry and learn about Revachol. But, alas, I got stuck on maybe the second puzzle and never came back to it. I will finish this game, if it’s the last thing I do. But maybe I’ll need another year.

Rating: ?/10
Will I play it in 2026? Very likely. Maybe with the Good Game Lobby gaming club!

FATE

Much of my generation lives in nostalgia these days, and I am no different. The few hours I spent with FATE is proof of that. I spent hours playing this during weekends at my grandma’s house growing up. Playing it as an adult is almost just as fun, but unfortunately the shiny new games of today hold my attention better. I do eventually want to finally reach the end of the dungeon, but for now I’m content knowing I can go back to a childhood favorite whenever I want. Thanks, Steam.

Rating: 9/10
Will I play it in 2026? If the homesickness gets any worse…

Fields of Mistria

I had such high hopes for Fields of Mistria, but to me it felt huge and empty. It does look like exactly the type of game that I love: farming, decorating, super hot romanceable NPCs, and magic. But for some reason, it didn’t capture my attention that much. Maybe the beginning was too slow for me, or the inventory management too tedious. I’m not sure. I’ll give it another try when it’s out of Early Access because I do think that it’s possible that I will love this game when it feels more polished. For now, I will give it a little break.

Rating: 7.5/10
Will I play it in 2026? Maybe at the end of the year.

Frostpunk

Sometime during my last (hopefully, ever) exam season, I decided to become a charismatic cult leader and save my people from certain extinction. Frostpunk was an interesting challenge for me. I’m not usually one for min-maxing, but I was entranced by the high stakes and difficult decisions presented in New London. I sunk about 15 hours into saving New London, with varying degrees of success. Frostpunk reminded me a bit of The Sims in the way that it has real time simulation and periodically prompts you with important choices. I wrote about Frostpunk over at The Punished Backlog in an article about game suggestions for new (femme) gamers!

Rating: 9/10
Will I play it in 2026? Perhaps. But I’m much more likely to try out Frostpunk 2!

Infinity Nikki

I played this game because I’m such a big fan of Love Nikki, and I love a good open world. Infinity Nikki was fun for the first several hours. The world was exciting and new, I loved seeing all of the bits of lore that I knew about from Love Nikki, and I ran around the whole map several times. However, since the controversial lore retcon in 2025, and the game’s slow descent into “pay-to-play” territory, I’ve been less inspired to run around in my pretty dresses. I might give it another chance or two, but I guess Gacha games are really not my usual cup of tea.

Rating: 6/10
Will I play it in 2026? Very unlikely, but it’s not impossible.

Love Nikki-Dress UP Queen

I started playing Love Nikki-Dress UP Queen because I was looking for a mobile game that I could play while taking public transport or during those small minutes waiting around. My main goal with this game was to stop mindlessly scrolling, and have something I can put away at a moment’s notice.

Since I started playing this game in 2024, I’ve really grown fond of its cute art style and the bizarre outfits I find myself designing. Love Nikki is definitely here to stay!

Rating: 8.5/10
Will I play it in 2026? YES!

Marvel Rivals

I had a huge Marvel Rivals phase early on in 2025. I started playing with my cousin-in-law, but soon I found myself hopping onto ranked games by myself (and even getting MVP once in a while!). I haven’t found a good moment to play it recently, but I’m excited to see all the new heroes that have been released since I’ve been away. I’ve waxed on about Marvel Rivals before, but I will still say that it’s still my favorite first person shooter!

Rating: 8/10
Will I play it in 2026? Absolutely.

Minecraft

Another oldie but goodie, Minecraft: Java Edition is a staple for me. I love coming back for my yearly two week (or two month) Minecraft hyperfixation. Last year, I played quite a bit, jumping around servers from two different friend groups. I even made a little singleplayer world for myself. This year has already been full of adventures to find a cherry blossom biome, hatch a sniffer egg, and fill a shelf or three with all the free-to-read My Immortal chapters.

Rating: 10/10
Will I play it in 2026? Absolutely, and so should everyone else.

My Time at Portia

The first time I played My Time at Portia was during a pretty rough period of time in my life. I had temporarily moved home to take care of my mom, who had cancer at the time (she’s in remission now, not to worry). A friend of mine was making a Youtube video about petting dogs in games, so he bought it for me so I could send him a clip of me petting Scraps. He didn’t even end up using that clip, but I really fell in love with the game. I could tell that there was care put into developing the story and lore, and it intrigued me. Now, I’m replaying it to prepare to play My Time at Sandrock and (possibly) My Time at Evershine.

Rating: 8/10
Will I play it in 2026? Yes!

Palia

Like Minecraft, Palia is one of those games that I play for hours on end, take a break for a couple months, and then come back to it. They’ve now added ranching, new biomes, and oodles of quests. I stopped playing in 2024 because I felt that I’d completed most of the quests that caught my attention. Now, I have too many quests! I’m excited to play more and hopefully make some friends to play it with too.

Rating: 7.5/10
Will I play it in 2026? Yes!

Peak

Good casual social games are part of the bedrock upon which online friendships are built. I really enjoyed getting stranded on an island with my best friends in Peak. This game is a team building experience, and it’s especially fun (or frustrating) when you have friends like me who are not really great at maneuvering with the controls. I was always accidentally jumping to my doom. I’m sure Peak will make another appearance or two this year.

Rating: 8/10
Will I play it in 2026? It’s definitely likely.

Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go has been an on-and-off game for me since its release in 2016 (fun fact, it’s now 10 years old!). This year was a pretty Pokemon Go heavy year for me due to all the travel, and I really enjoyed catching Pokemon and sharing them with my friends. However, most of the people I played Pokemon Go with have uninstalled it, and half the fun is trading and comparing Pokemon and post cards. Maybe if my friends get back into it, I will too, but for now, Pokemon Go can be just a fond memory. Once I get a Switch 2 I know I’ll be obsessed with Pokopia though.

Rating: 7.5/10
Will I play it in 2026? Maybe.

Ravenswatch

My friends became Bird Watchers and invited me to join them. How could I say no? Ravenswatch is a rogue-like based in an apocalyptic alternate reality where you play as one of the twelve members of the Ravenswatch. I love the fairytale theming of this game, and the aesthetics. It’s a bit difficult for me, as many roguelikes are, but I genuinely enjoy playing it with my friends!

Rating: 7/10
Will I play it in 2026? Very likely.

R.E.P.O.

I’m not really a horror game kind of guy. Lethal Company was way too scary for me even though I played it with my friends a couple times. R.E.P.O., on the other hand, is just the right amount of scary and silly. It’s a great social game, especially since I wasn’t just cowering in fear the whole time. Making the robots talk, hiding from the guy with the gun, and throwing each other across the room made this game a definite staple party game with my friends. I recently saw that they added a bunch of new stuff, so I’ll play again sooner rather than later!

Rating: 8/10
Will I play it in 2026? For sure.

Riot Games: League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics

Although definitely not its intended purpose, League of Legends is a social game for me. I’m not competitive enough to be good at it, so I like to play it when I have friends available to five-stack with (not often). I do love the League of Legends lore, and what Riot Games is doing with the creative direction of the franchise, so I do enjoy playing Teamfight Tactics! It’s my main competitive game and I have a lot of fun experimenting with different comps. This set, I’m hardstuck Gold, but my goal is to get to Emerald!

Rating: 8/10
Will I play it in 2026? For sure.

The Sims 4

The Sims 4 is just internet dolls for adults, which I also wrote about at The Punished Backlog. It’s my favorite when I feel like my life is spiraling out of control. I didn’t start playing The Sims until a couple years ago, but since then, I’ve racked up nearly 400 hours of playtime. I don’t know where I’ve found this time, but it has to have come from somewhere. I’ll probably be pulling hours from nowhere for this game all year, and for many years to come.

Rating: 8/10
Will I play it in 2026? Oh yeah. Lots.

Split Fiction

My partner bought Split Fiction when it was released, since he loved Hazelight Studios’ It Takes Two and A Way Out so much. Although we live together now, it’s nice to play co-op games like we did when we were dating long distance. We played a couple hours and then life got busy and we haven’t gotten back to it since, but I want to find some time to finish it and maybe replay it as a different character. As a writer, Split Fiction starts with a fun premise and a great anticapitalist message (so far, at least). I’m surprised I’ve been able to avoid any real spoilers, and excited to see the rest of the story play out.

Rating: 8/10 so far
Will I play it in 2026? Yes!

Stardew Valley

I’m starting to realize that I kind of just play the same 5-10 games all the time. Like many people, Stardew Valley was my introduction to farming simulators and “cozy” games in general. Ten years later, I’m still enamored by it. Nowadays, I only play Stardew Valley when I have a friend or two who wants to play with me, mostly because I hate fishing and all my friends love it. Otherwise I’d never finish the fishing bundle. I really hope that someone gets the itch this year.

Rating: 9.5/10 (only because of the fishing minigame)
Will I play it in 2026? I seriously hope so.

Terraria

Terraria is a classic, but I find it so difficult. I play this game every once in a while with my partner, but I don’t usually play it by myself. I like building and exploring, and in theory, based on my other favorites, I should be in love with this game. For some reason, it just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s the difficulty level that I am usually goaded into playing, or that I should try playing it by myself for once. I won’t discount it and I’ll definitely continue playing Terraria whenever the occasion arises, but it’s not on my usual rotation.

Rating: 6.5/10
Will I play it in 2026? Maybe once or twice, with a friend.

Tiny Glade

A good friend of mine bought me Tiny Glade as a gift, because he thought it was the perfect game for my vibe. I do really enjoy building in it. The little animals are adorable; I love petting the sheep and seeing the ducks in the ponds I create! My favorite part was the calm sound effects. I’m not much of an ASMR fan, but wow the sound design is delicious. I want to play more of Tiny Glade and participate in building challenges this year, since I didn’t make enough time to get really immersed in it last year.

Rating: 7/10
Will I play it in 2026? I hope so.

Travellers Rest

I’ve been playing this game for a few years now, since its Early Access in 2022. I come back to it occasionally to see what new features they’ve added. When I returned to it in 2025 after about a year of not playing, I was overwhelmed by all of the new areas, NPCs, and story. Now, this game is not just about cooking and serving beer to random travelers. I’m determined to play more and build the greatest tavern known to the Kingdom of Rilia.

Rating: 8/10
Will I play it in 2026? How else will I become the Tavern King?

Valheim

Valheim is yet another game I love to play with my friends. I have over a hundred hours in it and have never even gotten to the third boss. Valheim is a great go-to for groups with mixed player experience levels. It’s atmospheric and beautiful, cozy, but also has difficult combat. There are so many different ways to play. Build your forever home? Be a nomad and set up a new home every so often? You can do anything! Remembering all the shenanigans I got up to in this game is inspiring me to start a new world with my friends now…

Rating: 8.5/10
Will I play it in 2026? I will now.

Wildermyth

I only played Wildermyth for a couple hours. My friends and I had a fun time reading the story in different accents and role playing as our characters. It feels casual, but challenging enough to stay interesting. We want to find out what happens next! We’ve been meaning to play it more and maybe actually finish a campaign. Although, like a real life tabletop RPG, I’m not sure if we’ll ever get to the end.

Rating: 7/10
Will I play it in 2026? Likely.

Yes, Your Grace

I had so much fun playing this game. I even played it twice (or more, if you count the few times I unwittingly drove my kingdom, Davern, to ruin). I loved getting to know King Eryk and his family (mostly his daughters), and seeing the chaos and tragedy that exists in Davern. I’m excited to play the second installation of Yes, Your Grace, which is already out, sometime this year!

Rating: 9/10
Will I play it in 2026? Most likely not, but I’ll probably play the second one, Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall.

Zoombinis

Like FATE, Zoombinis was a quest into nostalgia-land. Zoombinis holds up as the fun puzzle game I remember it as. Designing my spherical purple friends is just the beginning. Stewarding them through the Gloomy Mountains and Dusty Wasteland is still enough of a challenge that I ended up losing a couple Zoombinis on the way to the promised land. I am so excited that I was able to find Zoombinis on Steam after thinking about this game for so many years.

Rating: 8/10
Will I play it in 2026? Maybe, but I’m more likely to try other games from my childhood like Freddi Fish or Pajama Sam.

Demos

I also played the demos for Solarpunk, Cabernet, and Ages of Cataria. I can’t wait for Solarpunk and Ages of Cataria to release, and I was inspired to buy Cabernet after playing the demo. Gotta get around to playing it though. I’m getting more into playing demos when they pop up for my wishlisted games now too!

What games did you play last year? Do we have any games in common that surprised you? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe or follow me on Instagram!

Alexia Unplugged

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