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Noir games are dark detective stories, neo-noir thrillers, and tales where crime, hopelessness, and tough moral choices matter more than action. As a genre, noir (from the French film noir, "black film") is still a rarity in video games — so we've gathered the best noir games of every stripe: from classic 1940s-style investigations and neon-soaked neo-noir to noir shooters and bleak supernatural mysteries. You'll find cult classics, recent releases, and indie gems here, all dripping with dark atmosphere, drama, and inevitable tragedy. Pick your poison.

Detective games are all about the crime scene, the clues, the suspect interviews, and that one moment when scattered facts finally click into a name. We've rounded up the best — from classic whodunits to pure-deduction puzzles, open-world detective sims, and detective horror.

The soulslike genre owes its existence to Demon's Souls, released by FromSoftware in 2009. A PlayStation exclusive, it first earned a cult following among hardcore players in its homeland of Japan. From its core mechanics, FromSoftware's lead designer Hidetaka Miyazaki built a new game — Dark Souls — which launched a series that became iconic the world over. Soon the "soulslikes" started arriving: games that copy the Dark Souls formula of success. An entire genre was born, built on the hallmarks of Dark Souls — punishing difficulty, "bonfires" (checkpoints for saving and leveling up), enemies that respawn on a location once you die, collecting experience ("souls"), stamina management in combat, fragmentary storytelling, and — most importantly — gruelling boss fights that force you to learn every move set.

Dozens of games are released every month on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, making it easy to get lost among the releases. We have selected the most interesting new titles of the month: major single-player adventures, cooperative projects, and online games with regular updates. For each game, we've included the release date, platforms, and a purchase link, so you can jump straight to the project you're interested in.

Perhaps no other genre unites casual players and hardcore fans as much as fighting games. For everyday gamers, such titles are an excellent way to have fun with friends, while challenge lovers will immerse themselves for dozens or even hundreds of hours in ranked matches against other players. That’s why fighting games remain so popular and are released with enviable regularity. But which of them are the best? In this article, we’ve gathered the key representatives of the genre at the moment.

The best Tower Defense games for those who have beaten Kingdom Rush. A selection of similar TD games for PC—from classics to new releases from 2025–2026.

Battle royale games drop dozens of players onto one map and let them fight until one is left standing. Here are 20 of the best battle royale games on PC, console, and mobile.

Playing on PlayStation consoles does not mean you constantly have to buy new releases at full price. PS4 and PS5 offer plenty of free games, ranging from major online shooters and RPGs to sports titles and cooperative adventures. Some have been receiving updates for years and now offer as much content as many paid releases. This article brings together the 17 best free games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 that remain relevant in 2026. Yes, they may offer paid cosmetic items, battle passes, and other optional purchases, but you can start playing without spending any money.

The first half of 2026 has already dropped a stack of strong releases, and with GTA 6 and Marvel's Wolverine still to come, there's plenty to keep you busy in the meantime. This is our running list of the best games to play right now across PC, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 2 — some brand-new, others a few years old but still at the top of their genre thanks to regular updates. We've split everything by genre, so jump to whatever you're in the mood for. One thing to set straight up front: this is a "what to play now" list, not a "came out this year" one. A few entries are older, but they keep pulling players back with new seasons, expansions and patches.

Vivid heroines have always attracted attention, and games are no exception. In the early 90s, players went crazy for Sonya Blade from Mortal Kombat, and after 1996 millions became captivated by Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. Today, players' interests are focused on Tifa Lockhart, Ada Wong, Triss Merigold, and many others. They are the subject of this article.

The best roguelikes on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch — we have put together a top 35 list of roguelike and roguelite games of every kind, from genre classics to hits like Hades, Balatro, and Vampire Survivors. A roguelike is easy to recognize by two key features: the levels are generated anew each time, and after death you have to start over. It sounds harsh, but that is exactly what creates the “one more run” effect that makes players fall in love with the genre. Roguelikes are thriving right now — there are so many interesting and unusual releases like Balatro or Vampire Survivors that everyone can find something to suit their tastes.

Soviet post-apocalyptic games drop players into the ruins of the former USSR — a world of radiation, anomalies and mutants where the few survivors fight each other for every scrap. Retrofuturism usually mixes with grim realism here: rusted "Gaz" trucks, makeshift weapons and an atmosphere of decay sitting right next to technology that still doesn't exist. We've gathered the most interesting games of this kind in the list below.

Mobile games are a cure for boredom, especially when you do not have a PC or console at hand. They are also a solid way to have fun with a friend: many Android and iOS games support co-op or competitive modes. In this article, we will cover the best modern games for smartphones and tablets that you can play with a partner.

The best strategy games of the past decade—from classic RTS titles like Age of Empires 4 and Tempest Rising to the global empires of Crusader Kings 3 and city-building hits like Cities: Skylines and Manor Lords. The strategy genre is alive and thriving—over the past ten years, so many worthy titles have been released that they’ll provide hundreds upon hundreds of hours of gameplay. This list is updated regularly. This version features 41 games, organized by subgenre, including highly anticipated releases from 2024–2026: Manor Lords, Frostpunk 2, Tempest Rising, Cataclismo, Menace, and Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2.

Video games can feel difficult to approach if you did not grow up with them. Not because they are impossible to understand, but because many of them assume habits regular players take for granted: how to use a controller, move a camera, read a menu, follow a quest, or recover from a mistake. This list is for adults who want a clear and respectful starting point. It may be useful if your partner plays and you want to try something with them, if you bought a console for your child and want to understand the medium better, or if you have simply decided to give games a proper chance.

The best vampire games for PC, PS5, PlayStation 4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch — we've gathered a top 30: from cult classics to 2026 releases. Vampires are a fertile theme for games, though surprisingly few major projects about them have come out. But the last couple of years have been making up for lost time: in 2025, after long delays, Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 finally arrived, and on the way are the RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker from former developers of The Witcher 3 and the grim The Duskbloods from the creators of Bloodborne.

The best co-op games of 2026 on PC, PS5, Xbox and Switch: shooters, survival games, horror, RPGs and two-player co-op over the network and on one screen. 280+ games to play with friends. In short, the best co-op games right now are It Takes Two, Minecraft, Helldivers 2, Baldur's Gate 3, GTA Online and Stardew Valley. The full list is broken down by genre — shooters, survival, horror, RPGs, two-player games and more — below.

Metroidvanias are one of those genres where world exploration matters just as much as combat. The best games in the spirit of Metroid and Castlevania gradually reveal the map, hide new abilities behind locked passages, and constantly push you to return to familiar locations to find secrets, bosses, and optional challenges. In this list, we have collected the best metroidvanias on PC, consoles, and handheld platforms — from acknowledged classics to modern indie hits.

Female protagonists have led some of the most memorable games ever made, from large-scale action adventures and horror titles to intimate stories about grief, love, identity, and everyday life. The best games with female protagonists are not defined by one kind of heroine: they can star warriors, witches, detectives, explorers, students, writers, farmers, or women simply trying to find their place in a difficult world. This list brings together the best female-led games to play in 2026, including established classics and notable recent releases. Whether you are looking for intense combat, deep role-playing, emotional storytelling, mystery, or a quieter life-sim experience, these games offer compelling heroines and worlds worth spending time in.

This top list gathers the best visual novels: genre classics, mobile romance stories, otome games, horror titles, experimental projects, and free games for those new to the genre. A visual novel is a narrative genre that combines elements of literature, illustrated cinema, and interactive gameplay. As with reading a book, the focus is on text, supplemented by static background images and music. As a rule, there are no battles, jumping, or other dynamic gameplay elements. But unlike books, visual novels are interactive: the player makes choices that determine how the story unfolds and which ending is reached. The player does not simply read a story — they influence it. That is what sets visual novels apart from an ordinary book. Today, visual novels are no longer just anime and light dating simulators. In our selection you will find dark detective stories, psychological horror games, and romantic comedies — playable on PC from the comfort of your armchair, or on a smartphone to unwind or pass the time.