The Coolest Games We Played At Summer Game Fest 2026

Each June, Summer Game Fest, much like E3 before it, plays host to the latest and greatest upcoming and ongoing games. With Los Angeles, California, as the backdrop, Game Informer meets with hundreds of developers over the course of the weekend, checking out the most exciting games on the horizon and interviewing those who bring them to life. While we will have plenty of coverage across GameInformer.com and our YouTube channel, this page is the place where you can find a concentrated blast of our favorite games we played and saw while on the ground at Summer Game Fest 2026.

If you're coming to this article in the beginning of the weekend, be sure to come back throughout the next few days, as we will be updating this page with more games as we see and play them!

End of Abyss

Developer: Section 9  - Release Date: October 1

I’ve read the praises for End of Abyss from fellow editors Charles Harte and Kyle Hilliard, but after spending 30 minutes checking out this moody twin-stick shooter, I’m on the bandwagon. Developed by ex-Little Nightmares developers, that series’ trademark moody vibes and unsettling enemy design are fully present in this sci-fi Metroid-inspired adventure. As a survival horror fan, I enjoyed managing precious gun ammo to drop mutated humans and using limited items such as flares to distract threats or grenades to blow them apart. I especially loved scanning environments to gather intel, marking locked doors (which is then labeled on the maze-like maps for easy reference while backtracking), and revealing enemy weaknesses. I’m going to spend an embarrassing amount of time obsessively scanning, especially since Section 9 confirmed there’s an achievement for recording everything. End of Abyss’ creepy vibes, survival horror design, and tense gameplay make it a great way to kick off the spookiest month of the year. – Marcus Stewart

Slap Out Of It!

Developer: Turbo Button – Release Date: 2027

Slap Out Of It is a delightfully funny game in which you’re a new employee at PUZZL, an enigmatic, very unserious corporation with many rooms and floors. I assisted customer service with increasingly odd tasks: lubing someone’s digits with butter to help unfasten them from a finger trap, frosting a cop’s donut with a fire extinguisher, and photocopying paper currency to bypass pesky safeguards. You can pick up objects, slap people and things, and generally interact with the environment with both hands to solve involved-but-lighthearted situations. Later in the demo, I infiltrated a nightclub to steal a fog machine by rotating a room to get a pair of sunglasses (it’s a long story), which allowed me to reveal and rearrange the lasers blocking my access to the box holding one of the two bones. As for acquiring the second bone? You’ll have to solve that puzzle yourself! – Alex Van Aken

Valor Mortis

Developer: One More Level  - Release Date: October 13

I've always had a fascination with the Napoleonic Wars and the Emperor Bonaparte himself (I even visited his Paris tomb, recently), so Valor Mortis has one of the more intriguing story premises of any upcoming game. The next game by the team behind the Ghostrunner series blends the slick first-person action of that series, but trades parkour for Souls-like difficulty and sword duels. I had a fun (if challenging) time cutting down mutated coalition soldiers with a blade in one hand and either a pistol or, for a BioShock-esque twist, supernatural magic in the opposite arm. As a parry sicko, the satisfying clash that comes with deflecting attacks at the last moment, which you can immediately parlay into an execution,  feels especially satisfying. The game seems like a fun take on weird history, down to the spirit (?) of Napoleon chatting in the player's ear as if he's the Pharaoh to the player's Yugi Muto. – Marcus Stewart

My Arms Are Longer Now 

Developer: Toot Games - Release Date: 2026 (PC), 2027 (Consoles)

This bizarre puzzle/comedy game comes from Australian developer Toot Games, and as the name suggests, you control a very, very long arm. Who this arm belongs to is seemingly irrelevant, but using it to solve silly puzzles reminiscent of Untitled Goose Game and Thank Goodness You’re Here is the core experience. I played a demo set on a subway where I was tasked with stealing a sleeping woman’s briefcase, which was both locked and handcuffed to her. Without waking her, I carefully maneuvered the intentionally awkward-controlling arm to pickpocket the woman to find the keys, uncuff the briefcase, grab it, then reel in the mile-long limb like a hose to an exit at the opposite end. Along the way, I engaged in optional shenanigans such as stealing another passenger’s subway card (which later led to a ticket inspector kicking him off the train), and abducting a caged dog, all while enjoying the goofy grunts and cries from the understandably horrified onlookers. – Marcus Stewart

Erosion

Developer: Plot Twist - Release Date: 2027

This twin-stick shooter may look simple thanks to its voxel graphics, but there’s a lot more going on under the hood. It stars a cowboy on a mission to rescue his kidnapped daughter. However, time advances 10 years every time he dies. The girl who was abducted as a child could be a full-grown adult – even an old woman – by the time you save her. The twin-stick action boasts over 100 weapons and abilities ranging from simple pistols to lasers and other wacky powers. Mixing and matching skills reminds me of Hades in that the game encourages building broken builds to wreak havoc while exploring its dungeons. 

What impressed me most while playing was sampling the highly reactive (and destructible) open world. Sporting a Breath of the Wild-like structure, doing anything that isn’t saving your daughter is technically optional, but it will help you grow stronger while shaping the world itself. I helped cultists wipe out a town’s residents; as time passed, the cultists settled into the town, opening new side missions. But I could have flipped the script and eradicated the cultists at the behest of the town’s citizens, opening additional possibilities. This is a comparatively small sample of how Erosion changes as time advances, and you won’t see every outcome in a single run. I’m very intrigued to see how deep this system goes. – Marcus Stewart

Turok: Origins

Developer: Saber Interactive - Release Date: 2026

While I wouldn't say I was actively hating on this prequel to the 1997 Nintendo 64 Turok, I didn't expect Turok: Origins to impress me as much as it did. The upcoming shooter is a blast to play, and while you can play completely solo, I had a great time teaming with allies in three-player co-op. Sporting slick gunplay, cool weapons, powerful special abilities, and plenty of cool dinosaurs to mow down, Origins might be the game that brings Turok back to video game prominence. You can read my full impressions in this preview. – Marcus Stewart

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Developer: Capcom - Release Date: September 25

I've played two preview sections of Onimusha's big comeback, and I've remained impressed by how it's shaping up. My demo at Summer Game Fest featured a new section centered on a fascinating yet challenging boss battle that highlighted Way of the Sword's exceptional combat. Swordplay is thrilling thanks to an emphasis on parrying and deflecting attacks, which feels great and looks even cooler. I also looked forward to picking fights, and the boss battle against a twisted wish-granting demon put these skills to the test in an entertaining (and challenging) fashion. You can read my full thoughts in this preview. – Marcus Stewart