10 Weirdest Upcoming Video Games to Watch for in 2026

I love video games (as you should expect), but sometimes, everything can start to feel a little… same-y. Sure, we have a lot of genres to jump into these days, but even so, sometimes I look for the odd topic.

I’m also a notorious Googler for “Aweirdest Movies on Netflix,” and I’ll just watch anything from some sleazy Russian Roulette indie movie genre. I am not completely I’m not sure what this says about me, but I just know that I’m someone who craves a lot of different media from time to time.

With that said, there are 10 upcoming indie video games I’ve put on the short list for whenever the mood hits me next. If you’re anything like me, here are some weird looking titles we should be hearing about soon.

10

Arcana Dice

Roll or Die

Arcana Dice looks a lot like Inscryption on the surface, except instead of a Roguelike deck builder that focuses on animals, it’s a 1-on-1 game that focuses on dice. To Dice of Arcana’s credit, Inscription was it is abundant it’s already weird, but it really doesn’t seem to hold a candle to how dark and twisted it seems the Dice of Arcana really is.

Here, your opponents clearly don’t want to play the game with you, and most of them are crippled and missing one to several body parts, apparently from lost matches in the past. We still don’t really know what’s going on in Dice of Arcana beyond the dice game, but whatever it is, it seems pretty weird at least.

9

Never

I Want To Go Home

Neverway has the DNA of a cozy game, but it doesn’t take long to see that it’s really lacking. Or at the very least, it has a lot of psychological horror at play to prevent it from being the comfortable kind of life sim that many fans of the genre would expect. It kind of has the same familiar setup: The main character Fiona quits her job and goes to the farm. He is beautiful! The main character Fiona owes a debt to a dead god. Yes!

It also boasts the same pixel art from Celeste, which is featured in the game’s art design. In fact, it seems like it’s a step up that Celeste looked cool. The art design is creepy while still somehow maintaining a good vibe, and I’m curious to see what we can do with this creepy, lovely world of Neverway.

8

Show American Story

I promise to be faithful to the sensory overload

Showa American Story is the kind of game where you watch the trailer and think, “Ah… I have absolutely no idea what I’m watching here.” In terms of overall style, it’s very similar to a movie like Big Man Japan, which I don’t really expect any of you to know, but you should check it out anyway. The weirdness is dialed up to 11 in the Showa trailer, filled with crazy visuals and an indescribable style as a whole. but strange.

Here, Japan bought the USA. Zombies and monsters are everywhere. Cut off heads are presented with golf clubs. And… well, that’s just scratching the surface of the weirdness you can explore in the game’s trailer. I’m not sure what this game is, but it interests me casually.

7

Shroom and Gloom

Fungus In The Middle

Visually, Shroom and Gloom immediately reminded me of Drinkbox Studios’ Severed masterpiece, a touch screen game, combined with the best game available on Apple Arcade, Card of Darkness. Despite the very unique artstyle, this is also seen as a game that does something different in the Roguelike-deck building genre.

In fact, Shroom and Gloom calls itself a DOUBLE deck-builder (whoa). It’s also a first-person dungeon-crawler type of card game, which is not something we see very often, and I personally think it looks amazing. Even better, if you like mushrooms, you can enjoy all the cool mushrooms in this game. Or if you hate mushrooms, you can enjoy killing them all in Shroom and Gloom.

6

Penguin Colony

Very Unpleasant Feet

At first glance, Penguin Colony doesn’t look that strange. Heck, we have a lot of sims out there where players just control an animal. Penguin Colony is just like that, isn’t it? Not immediately.

This game is actually labeled as “cosmic horror,” so we can be sure there is a lot there’s a lot more going on here than wandering around and eating fish. Penguin Colony is based on Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, but takes a unique, weird angle on the story by putting us in the shoes of a two-part human penguin hunting some kind of ancient creature in a frozen landscape.

5

Happy’s Humble Burgatory

You’re not getting paid enough

Happy’s Humble Burgatory is the sequel to Happy’s Humble Burger Farm, but this time, it’s a competition. Truth be told, I’ve never played the OG game myself, but it’s actually been well reviewed, and it takes about two seconds to accept that. definitely it qualifies as the next weird video game.

In a kind of crazy simulation, you and your friends will work in the kitchen and at the counter in a Hellish restaurant that has seen better days. Bad enough, and the simulation becomes unstable, resulting in things not being completely moved in some shocking ways.

4

Beauty and the Hammer

Throwing at the Phone

A game from Devolver Digital on the list should come as no surprise, as it has become the poster child for the weird video games they’ve chosen to publish over the years. Virtue and Sledgehammer fit the “weird” bill 100%, but I also think they look realistic. good again.

This time, you will return to your hometown. But you didn’t come to meet family and old friends. He has come to destroy it all with a hammer. The trailer for the game seems to be leaning towards something that is there, and the visuals and music are both amazing and weird in their own way.

3

Pal♡ the world! ~More Than Just Friends~

No Judgment

The original Palworld is great on its own as a Pokémon clone that lets you equip your animal friends with assault rifles and use them in factories. But wouldn’t you know it, the actual dev team behind the OG game has somehow gotten out and gone through a weird phase.

Pal♡ the world! ~More Than Just Dating~ (a title I may rewrite as such) is a dating visual novel where you can… date the creatures of Palworld. No judgement! I didn’t expect that’s what it actually was! What’s most interesting to me, though, is that it also seems to deal with some very real horror themes, making it look like the most Doki Doki Literature Club we’ve got yet.

2

Broken Flowers

Nothing Good Happens on Empty Farms

Stuck in some kind of terrifying time loop, Fractured Blooms puts us in control of a girl who really wants to tend the garden in her farmhouse, cook dinner, do the laundry, and then go to bed. Unfortunately for him, life isn’t that easy, either something he is in the house with her.

Whether it’s a legitimate presence, some supernatural power, or it’s all in his mind, I’m not sure. What I do know is that starting over each day and seeing what happens next is addictive. I’ve got this game down, and I’m very excited to check out the final product if it’s hopefully released sooner rather than later.

1

Dungeon Experience

What is a crab?

Of everything I checked out at the LVLUP Expo earlier this year, The Dungeon Experience was there easily strange. In fact, it has a strong case for being one of the weirdest video games of my life the time. Another representative on the list from publishers Devolver Digital, The Dungeon Experience features a funny narrator crab who wants you to have a good time in his dungeon.

But that’s not all. And you want to be able to find financial freedom one day, and you hope this game will help. If this sounds strange, it clearly is. Dungeon Experience is a first-person narrative adventure game that’s like all the best parts of your favorite Adult Swim shows wrapped into something you just have to try to figure out. I can’t wait for this one.