February 2026 Video Games Explore Body, Brutalism, and AI

Artribune's February 2026 video game roundup features five titles that examine contemporary themes. 'Cairn' (The Game Bakers, PS5/Windows) is a tragicomedy about rock climbing, simulating the physical and emotional toll of solo ascent on Mount Kami. 'Don't Stop, Girlypop!' (Funny Fintan Softworks/Kwalee, Windows) inverts the macho FPS genre with a Y2K, hyperfeminine, queer aesthetic, critiquing extractivist capitalism. 'On-Together: Virtual Co-Working' (GigaPuff/Future Friends Games, Windows/Mac) blurs work and leisure with a 3D virtual co-working island featuring productivity tools and cozy desktop pet elements. 'Quake Brutalist Jam III' (organized by Ben Hale and Lain "Fairweather" Fleming, free, requires Quake + Ironwail) is a massive mod collection of 77 maps inspired by brutalist architecture, including Robert Yang's 'One Need Not Be a House' referencing Louis Kahn's Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban and IIM Ahmedabad. 'TR-49' (inkle, Windows/Mac/iOS) is a sci-fi narrative about hyperstition, a concept by philosopher Nick Land, set in a WWII machine beneath Manchester Cathedral where players decode documents to uncover a conspiracy linking generative AI and the return of fascism.