Even after 200 hours, Marathon's greatest secret is still deciphering the rhythms of rival players

Every match is different, but the patterns that govern Bungie’s playerbase hold true

There’s a whole phase to the game of Marathon that occurs right when you might assume it’s over. It begins with the jolting sound effect that indicates a teammate has been downed - knocked on their back by volt fire or a claymore in a dark corner. Then, as you rush to help, a second jolt: another teammate pummeled into helplessness by an unseen assailant. Footsteps all around: a full enemy team, and you alone, as the revive timers of your friends melt away, like clocks in a Dali painting.

X-Men Finally Solves a 33-Year-Old Mystery — and Changes the Meaning of an Iconic TV Episode

Follow

Link copied to clipboard

Published Aug 5, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

X-Ternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Image: Marvel Studios

X-Men '97 breaks the rules of what a series revival can be thanks to a very unique set of circumstances. This is a direct continuation of the beloved 1990s X-Men: The Animated Series, but it's also working with the benefit of nearly three decades of X-Men comics that releases between the original cartoon and now. That means X-Men '97's writers can cherry pick the best plotlines and characters from 29 years of story development, while avoiding any pitfalls. It also means the series can circle back to major unresolved threads from The Animated Series with the gift of new information. (It's kind of like if there were 15 years of Scrubs comics that the Hulu revival could reference for ideas.)

'Baldur's Gate 3' Devs Reveal New Player Data, Including Which Npcs Players Murdered the Most

Follow

Link copied to clipboard

Published Aug 4, 2026, 4:44 PM EDT

You all really have it out for tieflings, huh?

Baldur's Gate 3 developers reveal the NPCs players murdered the most

Image: Larian Studios

Sign in to your Polygon.com account

'We're Talking About Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core' — Naoki Hamaguchi Plans to Unite Final Fantasy VII Spin-Offs in Revelation's Finale

Updated

: Aug 4, 2026 8:15pm UTC

Final Fantasy VII Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi opened up on the game’s connection to the Advent Children film, saying that more than one of FF7’s spin-offs are going to tie into the game’s ending.

Razer Blade 16 (2026) review

The Razer Blade 16 is still the most desirable gaming laptop money can buy. Unfortunately, these days you'll need even more cash on hand if you want to walk away with a top-spec model. It's still remarkably civilised, seriously quick, and equipped with one of the best OLED panels on the market. But the price increase means it's even further out of reach for most of us mortals, which keeps me from handing out another 90% score.

The Soulslike genre has grown stale after Elden Ring, and only FromSoftware can take it to strange new places

Souls Like A Dragon: Five Phases

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m a cliché, a person first compelled to write about games because I slew Dark Souls’ Gwynn, Lord Of Cinder and sat quietly for a moment before thinking to myself, “Hit me, come on, hit me!”. No, I was not okay. But my understanding of games shifted in that tiny university room: they could be overcome, not just completed. FromSoftware’s dark fantasy lands, with their puzzle-box intricacy and dribbly residents, ushered in the "Soulslike" as other developers sought to cash in on masochists like me.

Rust Fan Launches Lawsuit Against Police After Swatting Incident Leaves Him Paralyzed

A Rust player left paralyzed by cops in a swatting incident is now suing the police for $176 million.

Back in April of this year, 23-year-old Tucson resident Axeel Melendez was shot in his leg and spine by two officers who stormed into his house via his bedroom window. The cops were responding to a false report of an active shooter in the building — despite Melendez previously warning their unit that he was being targeted by a potential swatter.