Polygon.com - Recommends

Resident Evil Meets Evangelion in 2022’s Most Unforgettable Horror Game

Francesco Cacciatore — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:30:14 GMT

The year was 1998, and I was sitting in my living room in the late evening, with a PlayStation controller in my small hands. I had just fired up this new-ish game all my classmates were talking about: Resident Evil 2. You must play it at night, they said. Sure, why not. I remember getting to the police station, barely. Then a zombie unexpectedly crawled out in a hallway, giving me a jump scare I still remember today. I put my controller down, turned the game off, and never played again.

The Best Dog Game You’ve Never Played Is Waiting Patiently for You on PS Plus

Austin Manchester — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 11:00:14 GMT

In 2018, Nomada Studio broke hearts with Gris. It’s a beautiful platformer with a gorgeous, painterly artstyle and an exceptionally moving soundtrack. Without dialogue, it tells a universal story about depression and navigating grief. Basically, if you want a good cry in between platforming challenges, Gris is the game for you.

8 Years Later, Marvel Tokon Team's Amazing Dragon Ball Fighting Game Still Holds Up

Austin Manchester — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 20:00:12 GMT

Arc System Works has another hit on its hands in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. It survived a rough Windows PC launch on its way to half a million copies sold and an 86 on Metacritic, though reviewers have largely only played the PlayStation 5 version. The anime-inspired fighter pits 21 of your favorite Marvel characters against each other, and breaks new ground for the genre with its four-person teams sharing one health bar.

Stephen King's 103-Minute Sci-Fi Movie Masterpiece Has Officially Returned to Free Streaming

Terry Terrones — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 11:00:12 GMT

Mention the name "Stephen King" and most people immediately picture haunted hotels, killer clowns, possessed cars, and enough small-town nightmares to keep Maine's tourism board awake at night. More than 50 years after Carrie launched his career, King remains synonymous with horror. King's best stories, however, were never simply about monsters. They were about ordinary people forced to answer impossible questions. What would you do if your child had terrifying supernatural powers (Firestarter)? Would you knowingly send an innocent man to his death (The Green Mile)? Would you rewrite history if it meant sacrificing the life you'd built (11.22.63)? Horror was never the destination, it was the mechanism that forced his characters into impossible moral choices.

Where’s Waldo Meets a Cute French Bulldog in New Steam Game

Austin Manchester — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:00:12 GMT

Not too long after we got him, my dog Casper zoomed out of our front door and I had to chase after him. My outstretched hand couldn’t reach him in time before he escaped to the wider world. Instead, that hand met our screen door that came crashing to a close, leaving a scar between my index and middle fingers. I was only nine, and didn’t realize I was bleeding as I ran after Casper through neighbors’ muddy backyards, worried about what would happen if I never caught up to the pup. I did, thankfully, and the little shit never escaped my sight again.

Telltale's Game of Thrones is the only game to match HBO's intensity

Austin Manchester — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 15:30:20 GMT

Game of Thrones is back in our lives with the return of House of the Dragon. But, instead of a new season, I have a hankering for a great Game of Thrones video game to get my high-fantasy-crossed-with-political-intrigue fix in. Unfortunately, there aren’t many great options; Reigns: Game of Thrones might be the best GOT game around, but a “swipe ‘em up” strategy game isn’t exactly what I’m looking for.

36 years later, Akira's manga still has one of cyberpunk's best endings

Debopriyaa Dutta — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:00:21 GMT

Six years after the serialization of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira began in 1982, the acclaimed manga artist helmed a hugely influential anime adaptation of his yet-to-be-completed work. This 1988 film, Akira, would go on to become a cornerstone entry in the cyberpunk genre and inspire a global cult following like no other.

South of Midnight is one of Xbox Game Pass’ best games, yet that’s not enough to save its developer

Austin Manchester — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 21:30:21 GMT

On June 10, Bloomberg reported that Xbox was planning major layoffs for July. Around the same time, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty published a pretty dire memo for employees about an impending “Xbox Reset.” A week later, that “reset” is starting to look like a bloodbath: at least three Xbox-owned studios are in danger of being closed, and they’re not the only ones at risk.

Fullmetal Alchemist remains a masterpiece 16 years later

Debopriyaa Dutta — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:00:21 GMT

But any conversation about the boundary-pushing shonen anime is incomplete without Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist, which concluded its official manga serialization on June 11, 2010. While 16 years and two anime adaptations, countless light novels, and three live-action films have come and gone since Arakawa gifted her best-selling dark fantasy manga to the world, Fullmetal Alchemist continues to be a timeless classic. This is not just because of its breathtaking action and complex approach to alchemy, but thanks to its scathing dissection of capitalism, imperialism, and the pursuit of power at any cost.

Netflix is about to get one of the best school anime, and you shouldn't miss it

Ryan Epps — Mon, 25 May 2026 17:01:18 GMT

Anime has always had a strange talent for hiding deeply emotional stories beneath ridiculous premises. In Neon Genesis Evangelion, a teenager pilots a biomechanical god to fight angels while he spirals into depression. One Piece is about a group of pirates searching for a cartoonishly named treasure while grappling with grief, oppression, and inherited trauma. On paper, many of anime’s most beloved series sound too absurd to take seriously, right up until they land with surprising emotional weight.