It’s a matter of near-universal consensus that we’re living in a golden age for horror cinema right now, but horror games haven’t been letting the side down either. For all the other abominable things that the 2020s have wrought, and they’ve wrought a lot, they’ve also given us tons of great interactive experiences to take our minds off the dystopian hell that has become our lives.

2026 is set to continue that pleasing trend, with a healthy mix of dark horse indies, mid-budget curios, and AAA sequels that are sure to grab the attention of players. Among other things, we’ve got macabre animal hybrids, creepy Japanese spectres, legendary slasher icons, freakin’ dinosaurs, and the return of a bona fide genre juggernaut.

Honestly, we don’t know how we’re gonna fit it all in. Even our Honourable...