I Think My First Top Pick of 2026.

Following my time with in excess of 200 recent games this year, I'm formally closing the book on 2025. My annual roundup is published, and I am at peace with the final results, even knowing plenty of excellent games probably slipped through the cracks. Currently, my only nothing for me to do other than unwind, unplug a little, and perhaps take a pleasant stroll in the— well, shoot, stumbled upon a great game. So much for my peaceful respite!

An Early Favorite Surfaces

In my more laid-back sessions, typically earmarked for a few oddball curiosities, I've come across what might become my earliest beloved game of 2026. Sol Cesto is a distinctive procedural dungeon crawler for Windows PC that reimagines a conventional dungeon crawler into a probability-fueled game of high stakes peril and prize. Consider this an early adopter's heads-up: If you relish in knowing about a game before it hits the mainstream, sample Sol Cesto so you can punch a hole in your gaming budget.

A Calculated Genre Subversion

Sol Cesto is a tactical roguelike that's unlike anything I've previously experienced. The setup is that you are tasked with descending into a dungeon, going down level by level to find the sun, which has gone missing from this mythical realm. When you play, this creates some familiar roguelike structure. Select a character who has parameters and powers, clear floor after floor of enemies, acquire some permanent upgrades (represented as teeth), and vanquish a few biome bosses. Simple enough!

The Distinctive Core Mechanic

The way you effectively complete a chamber, is unique. Each instance you start another stage, the game presents a four-by-four matrix of boxes. Each square holds a monster, a reward cache, a trap, or a healing strawberry. To explore a room, you just select on one of the four rows, but the exact space you select is determined by luck.

You might see a row with two monsters, a strawberry, and a treasure chest in it. You start with a one-in-four probability of hitting any given square in a row.

Subsequently, your odds shift. So do you press your luck, or do you click on a alternative option first and aim for safer moves early? This is the risk-reward dynamic on display in Sol Cesto, and it's captivating once you get an understanding of it.

Shaping the Odds

The procedural hook is that your probabilities can be influenced during an attempt by picking up teeth that modify the types of squares you're more attracted to. To illustrate, you might get a perk that will decrease your odds of landing on a trap, but will also decrease the odds of finding a reward too.

• Developing a strategy is about manipulating math optimally to have a improved likelihood at selecting the optimal square.
• In one run, I put all my power boosts toward physical attack/defense and chose every teeth possible that would increase my odds of attracting me toward monsters of that variety.
• In another run, I built my character around loot caches and coupled it with a perk that would weaken adjacent enemies whenever I claimed a reward.

The customization choices are not endless, but it provides ample to engage with to let you manipulate numbers according to your strategy.

An Ever-Present Gamble

Unsurprisingly, it remains a game of chance. There remains the risk that you have an 80% chance to land on the square you want but ultimately choose on an enemy that would take out your final hit point. Every move is a gamble, so you feel ongoing pressure as you navigate a level and choose whether to continue selecting or to proceed to the subsequent stage as opposed to testing fate.

Items like enemy-killing bombs help cut down the chance, as do some character abilities. A particular character's signature move, charged after clearing four squares, allows players to click on a vertical column in place of a horizontal row for that move. If you play this strategically, you can reserve that option for a crucial point to avoid a risky decision. You'll find an astonishing degree of depth in the basic action of clicking.

Looking Ahead

Sol Cesto is currently in early access, and it has another update planned before the full version is released. A new character and a fresh guardian are planned for release before the conclusion of January. The 1.0 release likely won't be long after, but the creators haven't announced a concrete launch day yet.

A Parting Recommendation

No matter when the complete game arrives, you should consider put Sol Cesto in your sights. I've been thoroughly captivated with it, discovering its small details and banking my earned gold in each run to access a constant flow of meta progression rewards, such as fresh adventurers and items available for acquisition while playing. To this day, I have not reached the bottom, and I suspect I'll still be attempting that goal when 1.0 finally hits. Count me in for the entire experience.