Zenless Zone Zero's big end-of-year update brings multiplayer combat, free Zhao, and the first dual-form Agent

Zenless Zone Zero will soon become the first HoYoverse game to make its way to Steam, though we wish we had more details. HoYoverse just wrapped up a pretty exciting Zenless Zone Zero Special Program that not only delivered all the details on the next big update, it also came with the unexpected announcement that the action RPG is on its way to Steam.

Austin Manchester is a writer and editor living in New York City. At Polygon, he covers gaming and entertainment news, reviews new video games, interviews behind-the-scenes talent, and more. He enjoys discovering hidden gems and sharing them with Polygon's audience. Previously, he was the gaming editor for AIPT Comics and has written for other outlets like XDA, How-To Geek, and The List. He enjoys soulslikes, character-driven RPGs, and third-person shooters plucked straight out of the Xbox 360 era. He also likes to flex his non-video game nerdy knowledge sometimes, whether that's explaining who's who in the new Wolverine game or recommending a comic book series about a sentient sword.

While his politics and bigotry have long been part of the parsing, Lovecraftian scholars benefit a great deal by the fact that the namesake died before 1939. Tales of unfathomable beings, the reaches of sanity and proto-steampunk sensibilities are ultimately parceled with race science sentiments and colonial expeditions. A new game from Umurangi Generation creator Naphtali Faulkner seeks to wield the horror genre without excusing its many sins. And how does he accomplish this? Adorable penguins. In Penguin Colony, you play as Antarctic birds. A great deal of them. Big emperor penguins. Little baby penguins. Rockhoppers. Chinstraps. By nuzzling up against another penguin, the player can transfer their essence in an instant. Each has alternating characteristics. Speed. Swimming. Jumping. A photo mode. And while it’d be dandy enough to belly slide around the tundra, their harsh but uncomplicated lives are upended. With dabs of alternative history, the game retells Lovecraft’s At The Mountain of Madness, this time with Nazis unlocking the ice sheets instead of well funded New Englanders. Learning of an ancient god, captured in frost, their research team attempts to uncover the deity.

With Hollywood veterans Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine in the cockpit, Airwolf spectacular aerial action, and pure '80s escapism. The coolest helicopter ever defined this '80s TV classic

Given the serious nature of the Elden Ring game, it’s honestly pretty amazing that there’s not just one gag manga based on it, but now two comedies building on its established characters and lore. But here we are! Yen Press previously released single chapters of Elden Ring: Distant Tales Between from Haruichi in English, and now the first full volume is out and explores moments in the lives of Roderika, Brother Corhyn, Rya, and Blackguard Big Boggart. It’s less joke-after-joke than Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree, while still offering a similar sort of tone. Recommended Videos Editor’s Note: There will be no spoilers for the character stories found in the first volume of the Elden Ring: Distant Tales Between manga below. While the Elden Ring: Road to the Erdtree manga follows a specific Tarnished named Aseo, the Distant Tales Between dedicates each chapter to a major NPC we may or may not meet as we play. It reads more as a short story collection. Which is beneficial, in its way. I think it might be more appealing to someone coming from the game as a result of the decision, since it could be highlighting someone you connected with when playing through your Tarnished’s story.