Gaming trends often follow the success of breakout titles, and recent years have seen a surge in open-world games and Soulslikes. However, 2026 is witnessing a notable shift, with straightforward action games experiencing a resurgence and drawing significant attention.
This trend represents a departure from the expansive environments and deep customization found in many modern blockbusters, harkening back to an earlier era of gaming. This focus on more concentrated adventures offers a welcome change for players who have felt overwhelmed by the increasing demands of large-scale titles.
Capcom has been a significant driver of this movement, releasing a series of successful games that defy conventional wisdom. Titles like Resident Evil Requiem opted for a lean, approximately 11-hour experience, with a substantial portion dedicated to focused action gameplay. This approach ensures that no moment feels wasted, and ideas are not overused.
Another example of this design philosophy is found in Pragmata. Capcom's unique action game guides players through six straightforward levels, with limited exploration and a strong emphasis on combat mechanics. While protagonist Hugh's suit and abilities can be upgraded, the game avoids deep RPG systems, prioritizing a momentum-driven experience that concludes within its roughly 12-hour runtime.
Even within Capcom's portfolio, games that lean into modern trends, such as Onimusha: Way of the Sword, still adhere to a more focused structure. While its challenging, parry-heavy combat approaches the difficulty of FromSoftware titles and its hub town offers a small open-world element, the core quests largely feature linear level design. The game is notably longer than Pragmata and Resident Evil Requiem, but its pacing begins to falter in the latter half.
This move towards more contained experiences is not limited to Capcom. Insomniac Games' Marvel's Wolverine presents a surprisingly linear structure, a notable contrast to their recent open-world Spider-Man titles. Despite some challenges, the game's commitment to classic action conventions is refreshing, allowing players to complete the story in around 15 hours without straying too far from the main path, even with collectibles like whisky bottles.
This trend stands in contrast to other large-scale open-world releases in 2026, such as Nioh 3 and Crimson Desert. Games like Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy maintain a tight 12-hour runtime, ensuring its stealth-action gameplay, inspired by the Uncharted series, does not overstay its welcome. Similarly, 007 First Light, while broader in scope, offers a concentrated stealth-action experience compared to its peers. Microsoft's Halo: Campaign Evolved also signals a return to form, moving away from the open-world experiments of Halo Infinite towards a more focused thrill that encourages replayability, particularly with its "campaign remix" mode that randomizes enemy and weapon placements.
While the simultaneous arrival of these focused action games might be coincidental, it suggests a potentially positive direction for the industry. The appeal of compact, replayable experiences like the classic Viewtiful Joe is evident, offering a satisfying gaming session that can be completed in a weekend. This approach offers a welcome alternative to the extensive time and mental energy required by long-form action RPGs, providing a 'comfort' game that players may wish to revisit over a title that demands a significant commitment and may ultimately be abandoned.