↓↑journey

We’re just over halfway through 2026 and it’s been a good year for entertainment, even if a lot of the best is still to come (hopefully at least!).

See below to find out my top three films, video games, and theatrical productions of 2026!

Note: these are my favourites at the time of writing – 9th July 2026. It’s possible an American founding father and a wooden horse have rocketed up the list since then…

Top Three Films

I’ve seen 116 films this year, at the time of writing, though only 26 have premiered in 2026 (partially due to the lag caused by releases at film festivals and in other territories – see Obsession for example). But there have certainly been some brilliant releases, and I’m impressed by the range as well! See my top three for proof.

The Sheep Detectives

I loved this.

The perfect blend of cosy mystery, an old-school Disney kind of darkness, stellar voice acting and an all-star cast (including a, once again wasted, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith).

For once, I’m not actually convinced this would be better animated – though stop motion could be cool.

I think this is a compliment but as soon as I saw Sebastian, the big loner ram, I thought that Bryan Cranston would be perfect to voice him and, lo and behold, when he opened his mouth, there he was.

See more on my Letterboxd!

Disclosure Day

Spoilers to follow…

First things first, this was my first time at the BFI IMAX and damn they weren’t joking about the size of that screen! You walk in at the bottom of the screen and immediately look up, and I won’t lie, I had a visceral reaction to it – much like when looking up at a New York skyscraper. I’m not certain I continued to notice (much like going to HD) but I’ll let you know when I go back to my normal screen.

Secondly, Spielberg certainly hasn’t lost it. The sense of wonder and, as my brother pointed out afterwards, unbridled optimism is a joy to see.

See more on my Letterboxd.

Backrooms

I turn the corner and am faced with something that is just slightly wrong. It takes me a moment to realise what it is but then it clicks. It’s almost how I remember it. But something’s gone bad, like a jammed photocopier or, as someone told me, as if it’s a drawing completed by someone who has only heard a description of the scene. 

The stop sign is reflected, like someone had only seen it in their rear-view mirror. The chairs are stuck together, as if the designer had forgotten that being stacked isn’t their primary purpose. 

And then there’re the walls. Have you ever seen a wall without skirting? What about where there should be skirting, and I can almost picture there being, but instead the ceiling is there. Like the collision detection is all wrong. 

See more on my Letterboxd.

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Top Three Video Games

I have not played many games this year, I’ll be honest, and of those that I have, even less of them were released in 2026 (I’m still playing Hollow Knight for one thing). Not only this, but my favourite game of the year is a rerelease of a game over 20 years old… Still, there’s another 6 months for me to catch up!

Pokémon FireRed – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Besides being pure nostalgia wrapped up in Switch packaging, FireRed is also just a really good game. I’m glad to see that it’s aged well (besides occurring before the physical/special split of Gen 4 which massively improved the battle system’s logic and viability), and that some of the things I want Pokémon to go back to are as good as I remember. For one thing, it’s hard. This is due to three reasons:

1. Exp is not shared amongst all your Pokémon (and you don’t even get an Exp. Share until relatively late in the game) which forces you to actually use your entire team. It also meant that I lost the Pokémon League (something I’ve not done in quite a while) and had to spend a bit of time grinding levels – which I quite enjoy
2. The movepools are much shallower. This means you really have to think about your team makeup as most Pokémon can’t learn lots of different types (particularly without the physical/special split). This does get frustrating at times but also means that I’ve had to teach my Hypno a combo of Hypnosis and Dream Eater which is a bit different to my normal playthroughs!
3. It’s harder to buy items as money is more difficult to come by, even with the VS. Seeker. Sure, I could just play it without using items as I know some people do, but at least in this game I’ve had to ration my usage rather than just spamming Revives and Full Restores

Furthermore, your rival is someone you want to beat, and everyone else is shocked at how good you are, which makes it feel all the more rewarding when you finally win.

Don’t get me wrong, I love modern Pokémon, but I hope Game Freak have replayed, and learned from, one of their best as well.

Realm of Ink

I’m going to get this out of the way at the start. I’m so glad we’ve gotten to the point where we’re getting Hades-like games, and I am going to be referring to it throughout.

I don’t mean roguelite games, which are obviously much older, but if the developers haven’t played Supergiant’s magnum opus, I’ll be shocked.

And it definitely shows that it’s much harder to make a Hades-quality game than you’d expect.

But this new contender also shows that the subgenre has a lot of capacity for invention, divergence and, crucially, it’s just an inky good time.

See more in my review for DownUpJourney!

Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Honourable Mention – December 2025 Release)

I know this isn’t a 2026 release, but it came out on the 1^st December 2025 so it’s close enough! An excellent beat-em-up that makes me wish for a single-player Marvel fighting/Dynasty-Warriors game. It’s a bit short, I will admit, but apparently we are getting more in the future.

There’s also a solid selection of characters, all of which play fairly differently, and some out-there picks like Phyla-Vell and Rocket (without Groot). As well as a wonderfully comic-book storyline and some gorgeous backgrounds.

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Top Three Theatre Shows

It’s been a good year for theatre so far and this was probably the toughest medium to trim down to a top three. But I’ve settled for what I think is a good representation of, admittedly London-centric, shows. Some of these were created a few years ago but the specific productions came out in 2026.

Beetlejuice

It’s showtime! Beetlejuice is a brilliantly fun musical with loads of energy, heart, and superb performances. It’s also, in my opinion, better than the original Tim Burton film, mainly because it remembers to include a plot and character arcs. The staging is gorgeous and looks like you’ve fallen into Burton’s mind, while the songs have been firmly stuck in my rotation since I saw it.

And sorry Paddington but the theatrical/pop-culture references were hilarious.

Currently at the Prince Edward Theatre.

John Proctor is the Villain

A feminist retelling/exploration of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible through the lens of the #MeToo movement. All told in one act, which keeps the intensity constantly high, though I think there’s more that could be explored in a longer play. Some astonishingly good performances, particularly Holly Gilchrist’s Beth and Donal Finn’s Mr Smith.

And it caused the longest post-show discussion I’ve had in a while (granted I was at the Royal Court café with two of the biggest theatre fans I know but still).

Transferring to the Wyndham’s Theatre February 2027.

Redcliffe

The Southwark does it again and holds another superb musical production, this time a brand-new musical by Jordan Luke Gage. A wonderful mix of Curious Case of Benjamin Button and a Pasek and Paul soundtrack telling the story of two gay men in 18^th century England.

The costumes look like they’ve been painted in ink, and the songs have an intensity and desperation that demands them to be performed and listened to.

The story’s a bit thin in places and could’ve done with some more development, but hopefully Gage will transfer it to the West End after he’s done with Thelma and Louise: A New Musical.

It’s a production that deserves to be seen, and heard, and I hope we get to see it continue to evolve.

Unfortunately, Redcliffe finished it’s run at the Southwark Playhouse Borough on the 4^th July 2026.

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And that’s all! What do you think of my choices? What have I missed? What would your choices be? What are you looking forward to in the second half of the year? Let me know in the comments, and find the other adventures on DownUpJourney here. And be sure to check out my other writing here!