I’m low on time this week, so I’m going to skip most of my usual, overly long intros to my lists.
If you are here, you might be a ranking sicko like me. If that is the case, reading my ramblings before getting to the list probably feels like when an online recipe has a drawn-out anecdote before it drops the actual recipe. So maybe this is a good thing; I’m doing you a favor. Let’s get straight to the good stuff. Here are 17 games that made me much more interested after their trailers dropped. This isn’t a list of games that I’m most hyped for in order. This is all about how well I think a game marketed itself, essentially, though my personal biases and tastes are also part of that.
I watched the Xbox, Nintendo, and Sony showcases, Geoff’s show, Day of the Devs, and The Future Games Show. There are so many more showcases out there, but I sadly didn’t have time to watch several dozen shows. With that, let’s get to the list!
17. Bub
Bub definitely had the most moving trailer I saw across the entire 10 days or so worth of showcases. This is a game about an artist living in New York City, and it has several different unique art styles. I found the trailer to be pretty interesting, as I really like it when a game dives deep into its setting. I’ve always wanted to go to New York City, and I often feel like a game like this actually does a better job of portraying life in the city than some realistic AAA game, as it is able to dive deeper into the details of the experience rather than just wowing you with the visuals.
The trailer took on a new meaning when one of the developers revealed he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the middle of the project, which obviously changed his life. This experience also made him shift some of the themes he was tackling in the game. I feel like this one is going to hit a lot of the right “hipster indie” buttons for me, and I’m now very curious to see where this one goes.
16. Vivarium
Holy crap, this art style is incredible. There are a few games coming out now with this sort of ’80s art style, and this might be the most striking of all of them. This game is gorgeous in every capacity.
The “vivarium” concept also hooked me a bit. I feel like there are a decent number of interesting directions they can go with it. We didn’t see much here, but the potential for this one is through the roof.
15. gen ATLAS
My interest in this game died down a fair bit after playing Shadow of the Colossus earlier this year. That game just didn’t do it for me, and the last game by Fumito Ueda was considered good, but didn’t blow people away either.
So I consider it a win for Gen ATLAS that it at least got me moderately interested in it from this trailer.
Honestly, I wasn’t totally sold on the gameplay here. It looked a bit clunky to me, but it also looked epic as hell. At the very least, this one has insane potential, and I’m curious to see more.
14. Ninjala 2: The Uncharted Planet
I had never even heard of Ninjala before this trailer, but it surprisingly won me over within seconds. This is a light-hearted open-world ninja game where you navigate using bubble gum. The movement mechanics look insanely cool. It seems like you can glide through the air as much as you want, swing on trees, and do several other cool moves. The combat also looked pretty serviceable. This surprised the hell out of me and could be another piece of the puzzle that finally gets me to pull the trigger on the Switch 2, in addition to another game on this list that we will get to later.
13. God of War: Laufey
First off, this was a very bizarre decision as a way to reveal the game. Showing the entire first 20 minutes of the game or so is just a weird way to introduce it to the world. This method didn’t allow the game to really showcase most of how it is going to be structured and how it is going to play.
But also, it undeniably looks great. I’m very interested to learn more about Faye, and the combat looks as good as you would expect. So this still won me over, but I think in a lot of scenarios, this would have been a top 3 winner for me.
12. Marvel’s Wolverine
We’ve seen it a few times now, but the violence in Wolverine still stuns me every time I see it. Coming off everything else that Insomniac has done, it is so jarring.
Outside of that, the combat looks great here. This is another one where I feel like they could have done a better job of showing more elements of the game with such a long trailer, but this looks very set to be another gem from Insomniac.
11. Clockwork Revolution
Clockwork Revolution was my most anticipated game of 2026. Sadly, this trailer shut down my dreams of playing it this year, but it showed off a few more elements of the game that made me excited all over again.
Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of the general tone of the trailer. It just doesn’t do it for me. But the depth of the combat still looks amazing. And now the reveal that you are time-traveling and can drastically alter the world in a bunch of different ways is really neat. With every trailer, this looks like the ultimate mix of BioShock and a Western RPG, and this is yet another trailer for the game that increased my excitement for it a little more.
10. Star Wars Galactic Racer
Even though this was the story trailer for Galactic Racer, this is also the most gameplay that I’ve seen from this game so far, and it looks ready to be exactly what we all want from this game. This looks so fast-paced and intense. All of the different environments look gorgeous as well. If the story is even half-decent, this one could be pretty special. But if the story bombs, which I kind of expect, I still think this is going to be a blast based on what I’ve seen.
9. End of Abyss
This one came out of nowhere to really blow me away. I feel like I’m never all that interested in any indie horror game, but this absolutely cooked. It’s really rare to see this much atmosphere from a top-down game like this. The lighting is amazing in particular, and the shooting looks suitably intense.
Apparently, this is also a Metroidvania, which has me even more interested. This one deserves way more attention than it has gotten.
8. Gundam Rogue Orbit
There have been an insane number of Gundam video games over the years, and I’m sure many of them are good to great, but there aren’t really any that have been considered “must-play” by the general public.
Perhaps Gundam Rogue Orbit will finally be the Gundam game that lives up to the potential of this series. Admittedly, there wasn’t a lot of gameplay here, but what there was looked so good. I know this is a high bar, but I really got Armored Core vibes from the little bit that was shown. I think this has a lot of potential, and it’s an IP that should have more great games attached to it.
7. Halo: Campaign Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved is a top 15 game of all time for me, but I haven’t been all that excited about this remake. I played the Master Chief Collection version of the game when that came out, and I just didn’t really see the need for it.
But this trailer changed my mind fast. The gunplay really looks top-notch here. I love what I see from the animations and sound design. And the addition of new missions is genuinely intriguing stuff. I think this trailer moved this game from a “maybe” to a “must-play” for me, and that’s a huge win.
6. Threads of Time
Chrono Trigger is easily one of the greatest games of all time, and we’ve had several games inspired by it in recent years that have gone on to great success. Chained Echoes and Sea of Stars are obviously the most prominent examples, but they had plenty of other influences too.
Meanwhile, Threads of Time probably couldn’t do anything more to declare that it is very directly influenced by Chrono Trigger, and honestly, I’m not mad about it.
This game is so freaking gorgeous. The cutscenes, in particular, are unbelievably good. Of course, there’s also time traveling and a battle system that has more modern touches, but also plenty of Chrono Trigger-esque elements. This trailer knocked it out of the park, and I am now very ready to play this game.
5. DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations
It’s absolutely crazy that this game is on my list. I almost never play DLC. The game has to be an all-timer for me to play some. I hate jumping back into a game I already beat and having to reacclimate to the gameplay and story just for a much quicker experience. It just doesn’t do it for me.
I liked DOOM: The Dark Ages a lot, but it certainly wasn’t an all-timer for me. It didn’t even make my top 10 games in 2025, though it was an honorable mention. But after watching this trailer, I feel like I have to jump back into this world.
Mostly because I’m stunned at how this DLC seems to make the game completely different. The new spear weapon seems to give you significantly more mobility than you had in the base game. This feels like a really logical middle ground between DOOM Eternal and The Dark Ages, and I think it’s the perfect fit for this series. This looks fun as hell. I seriously can’t believe I’m going to play this game, and that is purely a testament to how great this trailer was.
4. Stuntman: Hollywood
It’s rare for me to have any trailer that doesn’t have gameplay as a “winner” for these showcases, but this was an easy exception for me.
I think Stuntman: Ignition is one of the most underrated games of all time. It’s such a fun concept, and I love the arcade driving and crazy stunts. I definitely never expected to see a new game, so the reveal of Stuntman: Hollywood was absolutely stunning for me.
That would be cool enough on its own, but the reveal that they are going to be using licenses from actual movies puts this on another level. That is such a smart way to use this IP. I can’t wait to give this one a try.
3. Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
I was expecting to be fine with skipping Fortune’s Weave. I enjoyed Three Houses but burned out pretty badly on the formula by the end, and Fire Emblem Engage didn’t work for me at all. It was feeling like time to move on from a series that I used to love.
But Fortune’s Weave pulled me back in with two decisions that felt like they were made in a lab for me. First off, the game seems to be built around a tournament, which is very much my jam. I love almost any tournament arc or story out there. Maybe that is not surprising from a guy who loves to rank stuff.
Then it also revealed what essentially feel like Persona elements, where you have a specific number of actions you can do before a deadline hits to get stronger. That feels like the perfect genre to blend with Fire Emblem. I think this will make the pre and post battle elements of the game significantly more interesting. The weebs win on this one.
2. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse
It was always obvious that this game would be a complete banger. I love Evil Empire and Motion Twin, but I feel like the roguelike elements of their games actually hold them back a little. I’ve wanted to see them make a *real* Metroidvania. And now we are getting it, with the freaking Castlevania IP. It’s a match made in heaven.
This trailer more than confirmed how good this game is going to be. The art is so good, the combat and platforming both look intense, and the Metroidvania map looks very deep and involved. This looks like it has the sauce and then some. What an awesome trailer.
1. Final Fantasy VII: Revelation
I didn’t expect this game to be here, as I’m already going to be very hyped for it no matter what. I have absolutely loved this series.
But somehow, Revelation looks set to up the ante in a lot of ways that I didn’t expect. Suddenly, I’m wondering if this game might have the juice to surpass Rebirth on my all-time list.
The new open-world elements seem really promising. It looks like you’ll have a fair bit more freedom than before, and being able to dive from the sky into different areas is always neat. That was cool enough, but then the combat revealing way more customization with its class system really blew me away. Despite the fast (by modern standards) turnaround time, this looks set to make massive improvements on Rebirth. And of course, it looks great. I didn’t think I could get more hyped for Part Three of this saga, but I guess I was wrong. Revelation is going to be amazing.
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