Metacritic Unveils Its Top 20 Games For The First Half Of 2026
Image: 007 First Light

Every now and again, we like to highlight the best games of the year according to the folks over at Metacritic, and they've actually published their own list over the past few days to cover the top 20 games from the first half of 2026.

We've mentioned before how Metacritic is a little weird in how it does this — the idea is they take the platform with the most reviews for each new release, and that's the score they go with. So for example, even though Resident Evil Requiem has a 93 average rating for Xbox which should technically put it in first place, it ends up finishing fifth because PS5 is the platform with the most reviews and an average score of 89.

Keeping all of that in mind, here is the Metacritic top 20 for the first half of 2026:

  1. Forza Horizon 6 (90)
  2. Mina The Hollower (90)
  3. Schrodinger's Call (89)
  4. Pokémon Pokopia (89)
  5. Resident Evil Requiem (89)
  6. Mewgenics (88)
  7. 007 First Light (87)
  8. Saros (87)
  9. Hermit and Pig (87)
  10. Titanium Court (87)
  11. Nioh 3 (86)
  12. OPUS: Prism Peak (86)
  13. Mixtape (86)
  14. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (86)
  15. Cairn (86)
  16. Timberborn (85)
  17. Esoteric Ebb (85)
  18. Pragmata (85)
  19. Wax Heads (85)
  20. Phonopolis (84)

As you can see, Xbox's Forza Horizon 6 is in first place! Here's what Metacritic says about it:

Metacritic's Best New Game of the First Half of 2026. Microsoft's open-world street racing series received its sixth installment in May and—like its immediate three predecessors—it scored in the 90s. FH6 heads to Japan, where settings include not just Tokyo (the franchise's largest-ever urban map) but also the Japanese countryside, and your vehicle choices number 550. Critics praised the gorgeous vistas and the wealth of content within the game.

Despite being Metacritic's "best new game" of 2026 so far, Forza Horizon 6 only comes in fourth (!) in the Xbox Series X and Series S list, with Hades 2 finishing first (95), Resident Evil Requiem in second (93) and Mixtape in third (92).

The other ways in which the Xbox list differs is that Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (88), Vampire Crawlers (86) and LEGO Batman (86) are all in the top 10, while the 11-20 spots are entirely different, featuring games such as Mouse P.I. For Hire, Reanimal, Marathon, Planet of Lana 2, Life is Strange: Reunion and others.

Here's a look at that Xbox list if you're curious:

  1. Hades 2 (95)
  2. Resident Evil Requiem (93)
  3. Mixtape (92)
  4. Forza Horizon 6 (90)
  5. 007 First Light (88)
  6. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (88)
  7. Pragmata (87)
  8. Vampire Crawlers (86)
  9. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (86)
  10. Monster Hunter Stories 3 (86)
  11. Reanimal (83)
  12. Marathon (83)
  13. MOUSE: P.I. For Hire (82)
  14. Planet of Lana 2 (81)
  15. MIO: Memories in Orbit (81)
  16. EA Sports UFC 6 (81)
  17. Life is Strange: Reunion (80)
  18. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (79)
  19. WWE 2K26 (79)
  20. Romeo Is A Dead Man (79)

It's probably best not to take any of this too seriously, then, but it certainly shows that Xbox delivered a phenomenal first-party release to kick off the year, and now we're eagerly awaiting to see how the likes of Halo: Campaign Evolved and Gears of War: E-Day will fare over the coming months.

We'll be back at the end of the year to round all of this up again, and we reckon the two lists will look very different!

Agree or disagree with what you're seeing here from Metacritic? Tell us in the comments below.

[source metacritic.com]