The absence of an obvious modern classic has defined this year’s awards conversation. Unlike previous seasons that produced standout achievements such as Clair Obscur or Baldur’s Gate 3, 2026 has instead delivered a remarkable concentration of high-quality work sitting just below the elite tier. Games including Resident Evil Requiem and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave sit comfortably above this group, while Grand Theft Auto 6 remains the anticipated giant still on the horizon.
The Eighty-Five Club Takes Shape
Near the center of this year’s landscape sits a distinctive collection of titles that critics have collectively dubbed the “85 Club,” named for the average score around which they consistently landed. Members include 007 First Light, Gears of War: E-Day, Star Wars: Zero Company, Pragmata, Saros, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Nioh 3, Control Resonant, and The Blood of Dawnwalker. All have earned Metacritic ratings between 83 and 87.
What unites these games goes beyond their numerical scores. With the exception of Zero Company, a strategy title, they all occupy space along the continuum between action, action-adventure, and light role-playing design. Each brings strong storytelling and polished production values, making them textbook Game Awards candidates despite falling just short of the critical acclaim typically attached to GOTY nominees.
“GOTY nominations and Metascores aren’t everything. Remember when Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas hit 84 on Metacritic, famously denying the studio a bonus payment for hitting 85? Painful stuff. Guess what’s now arguably the most fondly remembered Fallout game of them all?”
Polygon editorial analysis
The phenomenon cuts two ways from an analytical standpoint. On one hand, it reflects a disappointing year lacking a singular masterpiece to anchor the conversation. From another perspective, it represents fantastic news for players, offering a wide selection of mainstream entertainment that critics would confidently recommend to almost anyone.
Fighting Over the Final Slots
The real intrigue lies in determining how these games will fare once nominations are tallied. Assuming Grand Theft Auto 6 and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake secure automatic placements through strong anticipated reviews, and that Resident Evil Requiem and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave remain locked in, only a handful of slots appear genuinely open.
This count could narrow further if Big Walk claims the leading indie designation, a scenario growing more plausible following its strong showing during the recent Golden Joystick Awards nominations. That leaves commentators to weigh which mainstream titles might fill whatever remains.
Nearly every member of the Eighty-Five Club seems capable of claiming one of these positions, though not all are equally likely. Nioh 3 has faded from conversation since its February release, while Saros may be too niche and Zero Company faces genre hurdles despite strong critical support. The Blood of Dawnwalker and Control Resonant appear most reminiscent of typical nominees, yet their Metascores of 83 place them on the softer side of reception—a rating rarely seen among past nominees, though the original Control managed it with an 82.
Wildcards and Looking Ahead
The race remains far from settled, with several wildcards capable of disrupting expectations. Crimson Desert lingers in contention even as its momentum wanes, while Pokémon Pokopia—though nobody’s notion of a GOTY contender—retains sentimental appeal after being embraced by critics. Perhaps most notably, Phantom Blade Zero is expected to join the Eighty-Five Club later this month, potentially emerging as its strongest entrant if it avoids scoring even higher.
The reality is that all but one or two members of the group will likely go unrecognized, and it remains conceivable that none at all secure nominations. That represents a tough outcome for teams who harbored genuine hopes of competing in the final stretch.
Yet history offers reassurance that critical aggregates do not permanently define a game’s legacy. As the awards season approaches, the Eighty-Five Club stands as proof that 2026 delivered abundant quality even without a single undisputed masterpiece to crown it.
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