I Think My First Favorite Game of 2026.
After playing more than 200 recent games this year, I'm formally turning the page on 2025. My annual roundup is out in the world, and I am at peace with the ultimate rankings, even knowing plenty of fantastic releases likely fell by the wayside. At this point, it's plan is to other than unwind, take a short break, and perhaps take a refreshing hike in the— ah crap, found another brilliant title. So much for my intentions!
A Surprising Front-Runner Appears
With my casual gaming time, typically earmarked for a handful of quirky titles, I've discovered what might become my first favorite game of 2026. Sol Cesto is a distinctive roguelike for Windows PC that breaks down a conventional dungeon crawler into a probability-fueled game of significant risk peril and prize. Consider this a hipster's insider tip: If you relish discovering a game before it's cool, sample Sol Cesto so you can make a dent in your wallet for unique titles.
A Calculated Dungeon-Crawling Innovation
Sol Cesto is a thought-provoking procedural game that's different from everything I've previously experienced. The concept is that you need to explore a dungeon, progressing deeper and deeper in search of the sun, which has vanished from its world. Mechanically, this creates some recognizable genre framework. Choose an adventurer possessing unique stats and abilities, fight through each level of enemies, collect some stat improvements (represented as teeth), and overcome a few stage-ending champions. Simple enough!
The Novel Core Mechanic
The method by which you effectively complete a dungeon room, though. Every time you start another stage, you're shown a sixteen-square board of boxes. Every tile features a monster, a loot box, a trap, or a life-giving berry. To make a move, you just select on one of the horizontal lines, but which square you land in is determined by luck.
You could encounter a row with a pair of enemies, a strawberry, and a reward box in it. You initially will have a quarter likelihood of selecting a specific tile in a row.
Subsequently, your probabilities change. So do you press your luck, or do you opt on a different row first and aim for safer moves early? This is the risk-reward dynamic at play in Sol Cesto, and it's engrossing when you acquire its rhythm.
Shaping the Odds
The procedural hook is that your percentages can be shaped during an attempt by picking up teeth that modify the types of squares you're drawn toward. To illustrate, you may obtain a perk that will reduce the probability of hitting a trap, but will similarly reduce the odds of getting a reward too.
- Developing a strategy is about manipulating math as best you can to have a better shot at getting your desired outcome.
- During one attempt, I focused my power boosts toward physical attack/defense and picked as many teeth possible that would boost my chances of attracting me toward monsters of that variety.
- During a separate session, I developed my adventurer around loot caches and coupled it with a perk that would reduce the power of surrounding monsters whenever I claimed a reward.
The strategic possibilities are somewhat constrained, but it provides ample to experiment with to let you manipulate probabilities according to your strategy.
An Ever-Present Gamble
Naturally, it remains a game of chance. You constantly face the possibility that you have an 80% chance to hit the desired tile but ultimately choose a monster that would deplete your last bit of health. Every move is a gamble, so you feel ongoing pressure as you navigate a level and determine if to keep clicking or to proceed to the next floor instead of pushing your luck.
Tools such as destructive ordnance aid in reducing the chance, as do some special skills. A particular character's signature move, activated once making four moves, lets gamers to choose a column rather than a horizontal row for that move. By employing your cards right, you can hold that ability for the right moment to avoid a risky decision. There's a shocking amount of nuance in the basic action of clicking.
Future Development
Sol Cesto is still in its preview phase, and it has a final update scheduled until the full version is launched. An additional hero and a new boss are planned for release before the conclusion of January. The official version likely won't be much later, but the game's developers haven't announced a specific release window yet.
A Concluding Endorsement
Whenever it's fully released, you might want to put Sol Cesto in your sights. I have been positively obsessed with it, uncovering each of small details and banking my earned gold every session to access a constant flow of persistent upgrades, such as new characters and items I can buy during a run. I still haven't reached the bottom, and I have a sense I will remain attempting that goal when the official release drops. I'm committed for the entire experience.
