Image credit: MarkAis, Virginia Leo, James Krasner
I have a working theory that above all other aspects, the Vibe (with a capital V) of a game is the most important thing to enrapture a hypothetical audience. A strong Vibe is not a guarantee of such a thing, this algorithmic world we live in denies us such luxuries, it's just the most important starting point. The Vibe does not look like any one thing, the only rule is that it must elicit a response along the lines of, "now what's this, then?" Big Stretch, a game jam physics-based platformer that features hardly a semblance of assets, feels like it proves that theory to me.
"The Complete Set" quest in Control Resonantwill have you searching for altered speakers around Manhattan.
During the quest, you need to find a total of four speakers and a subwoofer, but need to visit multiple zones to grab them all. To make things worse, these speakers have explosive sound waves that will knock you away when you try to pick them up. To top it all off, you need to set up the speakers in their proper positions and make a difficult decision: should you turn the subwoofer volume up or turn it off?
Milan Records has released a five-track EP of new original music from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's upcoming Songs of the Past expansion. Titled The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past (Original Soundtrack Gamescom 2026 EP), the first taste of the DLC's soundtrack includes compositions from Magda Urbanska, Marcin Pryzbylowicz, and Daniel Elms.
Sam covers TV, movies, games and books at Polygon, making recommendations about what to watch and play while interviewing actors, writers, and designers about their work. She has spent 15 years working as a journalist and critic, with bylines across numerous publications including IGN, GamesRadar+, The A.V. Club, The Verge, and Windows Central.
Patricia is the former editor-in-chief of Kotaku, where she spent a decade writing and editing. Prior to that, she served as the Culture Editor at Polygon, and as a reporter at The Verge. Hernandez specializes in Pokémon TCG, Nintendo, and offbeat internet culture stories.
I am very excited at the prospect of an Arc Raiders PvE-only mode. I have been ever since I got a tiny taste of what it could be like in Shared Watch, and even before that while playing in friendly lobbies. I know some aren't happy at the prospect of a mode with no PvP, but the only thing I can't believe is that Embark hasn't made this change sooner.
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Ford James is a UK-based freelance games writer at Polygon. He also has bylines at industry-leading outlets including GamesRadar, Eurogamer, PC Gamer, and more. He mostly writes about FPS games such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Arc Raiders, but is also partial to a decent RPG, roguelike, or sports game. He's a huge Pokémon fan, thinks The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the best game of all time, and has a degree in Games Journalism & Public Relations.
Image: Remedy Entertainment