2026 has been an unbelievable year for video games. I think many of us thought that, because of the looming meteor strike that is Grand Theft Auto 6, this might be a quiet release schedule this year, but the exact opposite has happened. There are way too many good games to play, so inevitably, you're going to miss some of them.

These next games seem to have been missed by a whole lot of players. They reviewed well, have good word of mouth, and some were even really hyped or heavily advertised leading up to their launch, and yet it feels like virtually nobody has played them. Hopefully that changes when the release schedule cools down. That said, if you're looking for something to kill the time between now and GTA 6, why not check out one of 2026's most underappreciated games?

Screamer is unapologetically innovative. On the surface, it's another arcade racing sim. Dive in a little deeper, and you'll find a ton of surprising influences, from Mario Kart and F-Zero to . . . Gears of War? Yep, believe it or not, there's a mechanic clearly (and proudly) inspired by the Active Reload system, in this case called Active Shift. It essentially gives you control over your car's gear shifting with a carefully timed button press, and boy, is it ever satisfying.

The creative flair doesn't end there. Steering is performed by using both analog sticks to control your front tires and your back end. It takes some getting used to, but it works great in practice.

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