April is officially over — Saros, Pragmata, Hades 2 on console, Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, Vampire Crawlers, Mouse PI and more all dropped. Cast your final vote for the best game of what might be the greatest gaming month ever.
FINAL POLL: What Was The Gamer Scene's Game of the Month for April 2026?
April 2026 is in the books. The scores are settled. The reviews are written. You've had time to play what you wanted to play. Now it's time to vote on the question that's been hanging over the month since Pragmata launched on April 17: what was actually the best game of April 2026?
This isn't a theoretical exercise. These are all games that exist, that you played, that we reviewed. Cast your vote below — poll closes May 8.
The Contenders
🌑 Saros — PS5
TGS Score: 9.2 | Metacritic: 88 | OpenCritic: 92
The argument for Saros: it's the highest-scoring release of the month. Housemarque's Returnal follow-up launched April 30 to extraordinary reviews — 105 critics in, 96% recommending it. Game Informer gave it 93/100. CGMagazine called it "head and shoulders above Returnal." The bullet-hell roguelite loop is the most addictive Housemarque has ever made, Rahul Kohli delivers a standout performance as Arjun Devraj, and the 30-minute run structure solves the one problem Returnal never fully addressed.
The argument against: PS5-only, so a significant portion of our audience hasn't played it yet. And it launched on the last day of the month — players have had the least time with it.
🌕 Pragmata — PS5 / Xbox / Switch 2 / PC
TGS Score: 9.2 | Metacritic: 88 | OpenCritic: 87
The argument for Pragmata: it launched April 17 — readers have had two full weeks with it. It's on every platform. It sold 1 million copies in two days. The hacking-plus-shooting combat system is the most genuinely innovative thing in any action game this year. Hugh and Diana are one of gaming's great character pairings. And it's a new IP that delivered fully — which is rarer and more valuable than a sequel that delivered fully.
The argument against: Saros scored marginally higher by OpenCritic aggregate. Some players found the late-game weapon system underdeveloped.
⚡ Hades 2 — PS5 / Xbox / Switch / PC
TGS Score: 9.5 | Metacritic: 93 equivalent | OpenCritic: 92
The argument for Hades 2: technically the highest-scored game to land on PS5 and Xbox this month (it had already been on PC/Switch). 120fps, all patches included, day one on Game Pass. RPGSite 10/10. One of the finest games ever made finally accessible to the last remaining major platforms.
The argument against: it wasn't a new game — PC and Switch players had it since September. Is "the best platform to play a game that already existed" the same as "the best game of the month"? You decide.
👿 Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred — PS5 / Xbox / PC
Metacritic: 89
The argument for Lord of Hatred: 89 Metacritic across a massive franchise. The Warlock class. The Skovos campaign being called the best story Diablo 4 has told. The War Plans endgame finally giving the game the structure it always needed. For ARPG players, this was the month's most important release.
The argument against: it's an expansion to an existing game, not a standalone title.
🎩 Mouse: P.I. For Hire — PS5 / Xbox / Switch / PC
TGS Score: 8.4 | Metacritic: 81
The argument for Mouse PI: the most visually original game of the month. A debut studio producing a 1930s rubber-hose cartoon noir FPS that scored 9.5 from Destructoid and still gets the strongest "you need to play this" word of mouth of anything in April. It launched the day before Pragmata and got buried — a vote for Mouse PI is a vote for underdogs doing extraordinary things.
💬 TGS Verdict
We gave both Saros and Pragmata a 9.2/10 — equal scores for very different games. Saros is the more technically accomplished, the more critically celebrated, and the more mechanically refined. Pragmata is the more broadly accessible, the more emotionally resonant for the largest number of players, and the one that proved new IPs can still break through at the highest level.
If we're making a final call: Pragmata gets the edge purely because of availability and impact. Everyone could play it on day one across every platform. It sold a million copies in two days. It started the conversation about whether April 2026 was the greatest gaming month in history. The month's GOAT argument began with Pragmata.
But this is your vote. Cast it honestly.
Poll closes May 8. Results published alongside our May Week 1 roundup.
Share your vote using #TGSPoll on X/Twitter. Follow @TheGamerScene for results.
