Schrödinger's Call is one of 2026's highest-rated games: here's why

Schrödinger's Call has become one of 2026's highest-rated games, earning an 89 on Metacritic and a 92 on OpenCritic. Released on Feb. 10 for Windows PC and later on Nintendo Switch, it is the first game by the Japanese indie studio Acrobatic Chirimenjako. The premise centers on Mary, a girl who is alive and also dead after the moon falls to Earth; within the 21 nanoseconds between realization and the end, she must answer a telephone and listen to those calling for solace.

Using design elements of traditional visual novels, the game is a meditation on empathy and connection. Player decisions are few, so you mostly watch what often feels like a low-budget theater play: Mary speaking on the phone, taking notes and doodling in her notebook as different scenarios unfold.

The setting is melancholic but quietly beautiful, and its stillness pushes you to notice what is being said and shown. Phone calls function as the means by which identity is formed and revealed.

Japan

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