Game Releases This Week — January 12, 2026 to January 16, 2026

Now that we're firmly into 2026, things are starting to pick up as far as game releases are concerned, with quite a few noteworthy titles to look forward to this week. Most of the offerings coming down the pike are PC-centric indie titles that have had a considerable amount of hype behind them (owing to some very enjoyable public demos or early positive response from previews), but there's a small selection of AAA games arriving this week that players have been looking forward to for the better part of a year. There's the Switch 2 port of Animal Crossing: New Horizons coming on Thursday, but the real highlight of the week is The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon, which is finally making its way to the West as the next chapter in the lengthy interconnected JRPG series.

• Release Date — January 12, 2026
• Developer — Tim Kashani
• Publisher — Fireapples
• Genre — Platformer, Music/Rhythm
• Platforms — PC

One of the more interesting game releases this week is B.I.R.D., which is the latest platformer from indie developer Tim Kashani. Kashani has quite a few well-received indie platformers under their belt, and B.I.R.D. looks to continue that tradition with what appears to be some unique gameplay and incredible visuals. More than just you standard platformer, B.I.R.D. mixes in elements of music/rhythm gameplay with timing your jumps from platform to platform and avoiding deadly obstacles, while also going so far as to incorporate some bullet hell elements. Players can also conveniently try B.I.R.D. out with an enjoyable free demo before making the decision on whether pick it up.

• Release Date — January 12, 2026
• Developer — Castle Games
• Publisher — Castle Games
• Genre — Roguelike, RPG, FPS
• Platforms — PC

Another great-looking indie arriving at the start of the week is Iron Decree. Similar to games like Mortal Shell or even Remnant II, Iron Decree is a fantasy-themed FPS where players wield swords and sorcery to take down wave after wave of bloodthirsty foes, anchored by roguelike structure and progression that make each run gradually easier than the last. The real kicker, though, is that Iron Decree is playable either solo or with up to three other friends in 4-player co-op, which should help it gain a decent audience with fans of other similar multiplayer roguelikes such as Risk of Rain 2 or last year's Abyssus. And once again, Iron Decree has a public demo that players can try out before they decide whether to take the plunge.

• Release Date — January 12, 2026
• Developer — Brigada Games
• Publisher — Devolver Digital
• Genre — Simulation
• Platforms — PC

Devolver Digital is a publisher that's consistently willing to take risks, and most of the risks they take also happen to consistently pay off. The latest title to receive the publishing push from Devolver is Quarantine Zone: The Last Check, and it's simultaneously nothing like anything else Devolver has published and a game that seems tailor-made to be a title in the publisher's library. Quarantine Zone is like what you would get if Papers, Please was mixed with something like Phasmophobia, using a camera to screen and check survivors in a crumbling city beset by a zombie plague and trying to ensure that one wrong move doesn't let an infected into humanity's last bastion.

• Release Date — January 13, 2026
• Developer — My Next Games
• Publisher — My Next Games
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Immersive Sim
• Platforms — PC

My Next Games' Hank: Drowning On Dry Land sounds like a great time just from its premise alone: Batman, but always drunk and capable of time travel. Sure, sign us up. In practice that bonkers premise plays out as a strange hybrid of 2.5D platformer, action-adventure game, and immersive sim that's all brought together by an incredibly slick looking visual palette and what appears to be plenty of humor and absurdism as players take on the role of a struggling superhero who's not your average comic book character. The time travel angle in Hank gives it a unique mechanic that seems incredibly cool, too, where the game plays out in a sort of "co-op" where you work together with your past selves.

• Release Date — January 14, 2026
• Developer — Atomstring Games
• Publisher — 2P Games
• Genre — Metroidvania
• Platforms — PC

Right during the middle of the week, Metroidvania fans are getting blessed with two excellent-looking new genre entries. The first is Kotama and Academy Citadel, which is an anime-inspired hybrid of slick combat and platforming along with strong narrative elements involving discovering the mystery behind the titular academy. Review copies of this one have already made their way into several players' hands, with initial impressions being very strong. A timed public demo from last year also garnered plenty of praise, with signs pointing to Kotama being one of the year's first great Metroidvanias. But it's far from the only one...

• Release Date — January 14, 2026
• Developer — Odysseyer
• Publisher — Odysseyer
• Genre — Metroidvania
• Platforms — PC

Arriving on the same day as Kotama is Velaster, which looks to be a very different kind of Metroidvania. The most obvious comparison to make is with GRIME, with Velaster having similarly dark and brooding environments, strange enemy designs, and a clear lean toward hard-hitting, Soulslike combat combined with its exploration and platforming. Even the fonts used for enemy names and the general layout of the on-screen HUD are reminiscent of GRIME. As you might expect for a Soulsvania, parrying is the central mechanic of combat, and players have the chance to check out a public demo right now to decide whether the timing and responsiveness of that parry mechanic are something they can jibe with.

• Release Date — January 15, 2026
• Developer — Nintendo EPD
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Genre — Simulation
• Platforms — Switch 2

From the moment the Switch 2 was announced, players knew they would be getting Switch 2-enhanced versions of many of their favorite original Nintendo Switch games, starting with both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom as two of the system's best and most commercially successful. Right behind both Zelda titles, though (in terms of success), is Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is finally getting its own Switch 2 version this week. Along with the expected improvements to visuals and performance (which, let's be honest, the game looked and ran great on the original Switch already), Animal Crossing's Switch 2 upgrade promises to deliver new content that should help bring lapsed players back to their islands and introduce a whole new audience to the addictive colony sim fun the series is known for.

• Release Date — January 15, 2026
• Developer — Wonderland Kazakiri
• Publisher — Pocketpair Publishing
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Action RPG
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Monochrome action-adventure game Cassette Boy finally releases this week after a lengthy development and hype-building period, and it looks like a must-play for fans of games like Fez and The Legend of Zelda. While it starts off as your traditional, top-down action RPG/action-adventure game like the latter (or even Secret of Mana), Cassette Boy incorporates the former's famous perspective-shifting mechanic, allowing players to rotate the world on its axis to gain new viewpoints and use them to uncover clues or solve puzzles. There is some combat in Cassette Boy, but the real star of the show seems to be its clever puzzles and world-shifting mechanic, which is something we haven't seen too much of since Fez introduced the idea way back in 2008. Cassette Boy is also yet another game that has a great demo to try before you buy.

• Release Date — January 15, 2026
• Developer — Ariano Games
• Publisher — Ariano Games
• Genre — Strategy, Automation
• Platforms — PC

Part Lemmings and part Terraria, Craftlings has all the makings of a viral hit. This strategy and automation game is all about controlling the titular creatures, guiding them to collect resources and build thriving settlements that can be set in motion to self-perpetuate. The challenge, though, comes in making this all work while trying to guide the paths of the Craftlings and ensure that they don't get in the way of production or, worse, die. Craftlings' level-based structure and different challenges should help to ensure that the game doesn't get too old too fast, and the potential for experimentation and optimization should help satisfy fans of games like Factorio or Satisfactory.

• Release Date — January 15, 2026
• Developer — Nihon Falcom
• Publisher — NIS America
• Genre — JRPG
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2

The biggest game release this week is easily The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon, which is the next (and seemingly final) game in the current major arc of the Legend of Heroes story. Beyond the Horizon picks up right after the events of Trails Through Daybreak II and once again puts players into the shoes of private detective Van Arkride and his crew as they continue to pursue the nefarious forces causing chaos in the Calvard region of the series' sprawling world of Zemuria. Both Daybreak and Daybreak II were phenomenal RPGs that switched from bigger, more impactful story moments to focus on character-driven plots, so if Horizon can merge those two games' phenomenal gameplay with a more exciting plot that moves the series forward to its fast-approaching climax, it could very well be one of the year's best RPGs.