Every New And Upcoming Video Game We Played At MCM London 2026
I was lucky enough to attend MCM London Comic-Con last weekend, specifically to play as many new and upcoming games as I could to I could come back here and tell you all about them. Nintendo, Ubisoft, Bandai Namco, and…
I was lucky enough to attend MCM London Comic-Con last weekend, specifically to play as many new and upcoming games as I could to I could come back here and tell you all about them. Nintendo, Ubisoft, Bandai Namco, and more were in attendance, and I stopped by all of their booths to play their demos.
I specifically sought out games that haven't been released yet, since those are the games I, and I'm assuming you, want to know about most. Nine games in total, crammed into one very busy day, from the biggest upcoming triple-A releases, to indies that I want to put on your radar.
Professor Layton And The New World Of Steam
Level-5 has really made us wait for not only a new Professor Layton game, but for more news on The New World Of Steam, the first new entry in the series for almost a decade. That's why the first thing I did when arriving on the show floor at MCM London was make a beeline for the Nintendo booth so I could be among the first attendees to play through the next Layton game's short, but effective, demo.
The demo lasted around 20 minutes and included three puzzles, but that was all I needed to know the full version of this game is going to be everything I, and the Layton fanbase at large, want it to be. Not only were the puzzles challenging without becoming frustrating - a notoriously tricky line to tread in the genre - but Layton's world looks better than ever, as you'd expect after nine years between games. New World of Steam launches on December 10, so not long now until the series officially returns.
007 First Light On Nintendo Switch 2
The main reason I attended MCM London was to preview games that haven't been released yet. And to buy Funko Pops I definitely don't need, but you don't need to worry about that. However, the Switch 2 version of 007 First Light was playable at the Nintendo booth, and since its release date recently got pushed again, this time all the way back to March 2027, I wanted to check in on how it plays on the platform.
The good news for those of you waiting for the new Bond game to come to Switch 2 is I had no issues whatsoever. Sure, it doesn't look as crisp and clean as it does on a PS5 Pro, but it would be unfair to expect it to. The thing is, I only played through a very specific, walled-in part of the game. The demo didn't even call on me to fire a gun. It's possible that part has been polished for Switch 2, and it's elsewhere that the game is struggling to keep up on the less powerful platform.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3
Speaking of games that recently got hit with delays, over at the Bandai Namco booth was one of the more popular games available to play at MCM London over the weekend: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3. It was confirmed only a few days ago that the next installment in the Xenoverse series has been pushed from its ambitious early 2027 release window to one later in the year.
I'll confess, my Dragon Ball knowledge is limited. My love for it burned short, but it burned bright, and that was about 25 years ago. I enjoyed what I had the chance to play, though, as chaotic as it was and even though I understood very little of the story attached. Powerful characters engaging in big fights, doing unbelievable things. The small slice I was allowed to play seemed great. Here's hoping the extra polish Bandai needs to make the full game feel that good is applied effectively.
Gundam Rogue Orbit
While I was at the Bandai booth, I checked out Gundam Rogue Orbit. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the show for me as, even though Gundam is a series I'm even less familiar with than Dragon Ball, I loved what I played of Rogue Orbit. A game that wasn't on my radar whatsoever this time last week; now it's one of my most anticipated games launching in the first half of 2027.
Rogue Orbit is simply big robots fighting each other, which I'm reliably informed is what Gundam is all about. For the first few minutes, I was thoroughly overwhelmed, trying to figure out my Gundam's moveset. However, the extended demo gave me plenty of time to settle in, learn the basics, and really enjoy what this game is all about. The combat was also very forgiving, which helped, and I look forward to Gundam becoming a significant chunk of my personality when I become obsessed with this game when it gets here in March 2027.
Rayman Legends Retold
There's not much I can tell you about Rayman Legends Retold that you won't already know if you've been following this game. It was supposed to have been released by now, but its date got pushed into December. Unconfirmed, but likely a move made by Ubisoft in the hopes that it might not have to share as much oxygen with GTA 6 and Ocarina of Time.
My experience with the game at MCM London made me feel like that theory holds true. I played through three levels and came away with the impression that this game is very much complete; Ubisoft just doesn't want to release it quite yet. It looks incredible, and for the most part it feels fantastic. My only qualm was that, as I played on Switch 2, it required me to use awkward motion controls for certain tasks. Hopefully that can be turned off, and it's naturally not something that will be a problem on other platforms.
Ninjala 2: The Uncharted Planet
Ninjala 2 has flown under the radar somewhat since its reveal earlier this year. That's likely due to the fact that the first game didn't exactly set the world alight. Most compared the game to Splatoon, and not in a good way. It just felt odd that Nintendo would release a game so similar to something it already has, even if that series is a huge success.
The Ninjala 2 reveal didn't instil faith in me that the sequel would be all that different, and having now played it, I still don't understand why we're getting another Ninjala game. Sure, it was fun, but nothing much has changed and, even though I'm typically there for everything Nintendo has to offer day one, Ninjala 2 still hasn't shown me why I'll need to play it at all.
Pusher
Some of the best games I played at MCM London were the indies, most of which were made by solo developers. My favorite indie at the show was Pusher. A game with an Asteroids arcade aesthetic scored by electronic music that adapts to fit how you're playing, after getting to grips with what was going on, I struggled to tear myself away.
The premise of Pusher is relatively simple. You're that little white dot, and you collect those little pink dots to shield yourself from the enemies, those red ships. If they hit your shield, they blow up. Those pink dots, or "Crowd", can also be used to boost you around the stage. Everything naturally gets faster and more intense the longer you survive. It's available on itch.io right now, but the developer is still tweaking, updating, and improving the game.
AntFarm
An entire section on the show floor at MCM was dedicated to games created by students at the National Film and Television School. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to try them all. I did get to play a game called AntFarm, though, and it might be the game I've thought about the most between leaving the convention and now.
AntFarm is a 2D platformer in which you have to escape a facility that is being watched by what appears to be a giant eye. The eye can only see you when there's a window for it to look through. Spend too long in its gaze, and you get sent back to the last checkpoint. Between that and the abilities you can unlock as you progress, it shares a lot of the same themes as most Metroidvanias, and I hope it's a game that gets a full release somewhere one day.
Soot In The Sails
This final game I want to shine a spotlight on is a bit of a mystery, even to me, or at least it was. I loved the little I played of Soot in the Sails but didn't have the opportunity to speak with its solo developer. Turns out we missed each other by a matter of minutes, and now we've had a chance to catch up post-MCM, I can confirm that I didn't imagine this game and point those of you who want to know more in the right direction.
The protagonist of Soot in the Sails is a sentient pile of soot that's navigating an open world, trying to find pieces of coal to help a sailor power their boat. Between using the limited tools and abilities at your disposal and its pixel art style, the reason I got Animal Well vibes from this adorable indie is because it was directly inspired by it. You can read about that and everything else you need to know about the game at itch.io, with plans for a commercial release hopefully on the horizon.