Gaming

Castlevania is one of the most beloved franchises in video game history, despite a period of 13 years when we didn’t see a new installment until the launch of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse earlier this week. Over the years, the games have provided a variety of experiences, mixed with rich lore built on the vampire myth. With so many games available to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to begin if you haven’t touched the series in a while. Accordingly, here is our ranked list of the 8 best Castlevania games. It should make an excellent starting point. Released: Oct. 31, 1991 When Castlevania came to the Super Nintendo, it needed to impress players who were still deciding whether they wanted to spend money on a new generation of Nintendo hardware. Fortunately for everyone involved, the team at Konami was up to the task. Super Castlevania 4 features beautiful environments, as well as a hero who can now whip in eight directions, even while jumping. It’s also possible to grapple to distant points, or to wield the whip as a shield. Early use of Mode 7 rotation provided some visual showpieces to go along with parallax depth that brought static environments to life.

Picture Kellnor, a burly, Conan-looking Barbarian standing with a mighty weapon in each hand. In one, he holds a demonic sword stolen from the Cult of Asmodeus. In the other is Azuredge, a glowing battleaxe forged by the legendary archwizard Ahghairon. This intelligent weapon is inhabited by the spirit of Lady Lauroun, a legendary hero of Waterdeep. It operates under rules remarkably similar to Thor’s Mjolnir: it becomes impossibly heavy to hold if the character trying to wield it isn’t worthy, and it can be thrown through the air before returning to its owner’s hand. Unfortunately for Kellnor, Azuredge demands that its wielder remain virtuous, so sharing a wielder with an evil sword was non-negotiable. Even the numbers made Kellnor’s choice practically inevitable. The demon sword was +2. Azuredge was +3. And so, after extracting the Eye of Golorr hidden inside the sword’s hilt, Kellnor simply dropped it outside the entrance to the cult’s hideout and moved on. The rest of the do-gooders in the party wanted nothing to do with it.

Image: Nintendo Life / NintendoThe Pumpkaboo's Sweet Surprises event runs from 17th October to 1st November, adding two Gen 6 Ghost-types to Pokémon Pokopia. For those who have played previous Pokopia limited-time events, the format will be familiar: a new Pokémon, Pumpkaboo, visits a Pokémon Center and requests a currency (Pumpkin Candy) in exchange for items which can help make a couple new habitats. But in a spooky twist, this time is you have to scare the event currency out of your resident Pokémon.

Earlier this year, Swedish developer Liquid Swords released Samson, a GTA-ish, open world beat 'em up about dealing with debt, driving sturdy but battered cars, and saving your sister. It wasn't received all that well, including by us, notably because it was quite broken. While subsequent patches did seek to address those issues, it doesn't seem like it was quite enough, as the developer has gone bankrupt. As reported by Swedish outlet Breakit (via Gametalk), on October 12th the Stockholm District Court put out a bankruptcy order against the developer. According to Breakit, almost 30 employees are affected, with the Swedish state stepping in to cover all unpaid salaries. It seems that staff had gone at least two months without pay, obviously a significant period to be without it, and they themselves petitioned to file the company as bankrupt. Breakit also said that the administrator for the bankruptcy filing is hopeful in regards to finding a buyer.

Posted: Oct 17, 2026 3:52pm UTCBarry Sloane, the actor behind Call of Duty's Captain Price, has shared a message with fans as praise for Modern Warfare 4's campaign rolls in. Early reactions to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's story mode have filled social media feeds in the first 24 hours since early access players dived in – and most of them seem to be quite positive. Fans online have called it one of the more "brutal" and "intense" campaigns the series has ever seen, with many going as far as to say it holds its own against classic stories featured in games like the original Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops. It appears to be a winner for publisher Activision and developer Infinity Ward that critics like, too. While Steam reviews paint a "Very Positive" picture, IGN awarded this year's set of story missions an 8/10. Our reviewer said the Modern Warfare 4 campaign made them "feel something for the series again," adding that it managed to send the reboot saga series out "on a high note. ""The MW4 campaign was a 10/10 for me, they made a good story and ended it," one recent Steam review said. "Damn near almost cried at the end LOL.

Tomas Franzese is the Weekend News Editor at Polygon, following and reporting on the latest goings-on in the gaming and entertainment spaces. During the week, you can find him working on Remastered, his newsletter about video game history and retro gaming, or contributing to GameSpot and other publications. Previously, Tomas was the Gaming Segment Lead at XDA and a Staff Writer at Digital Trends. Nicolas Cage and Antonio Banderas will star in the next season of True Detective

Super Smash Bros. Melee pro Jason Zimmerman, better known as “Mew2King,” was scheduled to appear at Austin’s Xtreme Fighters Showdown this weekend. That was until yesterday, when event staff decided to bar Zimmerman from appearing at the last minute. The decision came following concern over a viral post from the player. Asking fans about sores along his arms and legs, other attendees were growing antsy that Zimmerman would spread bed bugs through the competition. “For the safety of our event, XFS 2026, we have politely informed Mew2King,” posted event staff, “he will not [be] able to participate or attend our event this weekend due to a self-reported health concern.” In a now deleted post, Zimmerman asked the public to help clear up a health anxiety on Thursday. Riddled with swollen red marks, he was convinced he had been bitten by fleas off a house mate’s cat, though others suggested the bites originated from a bed bug infestation. Made a post about my thoughts on things. Ngl im turning off replies cuz of the types of mean msgs many ppl sent me that i dont want to see or deal with. I wont be streaming or around for a while (maybe weeks idk).

Ashely currently works as a news writer for Polygon. After getting her Translation degree, she was hired as a guide and news writer for GameRant and TheGamer. She enjoyed working as an author for these sites for six years, and in 2026, she started at Polygon, where she is able to continue to do what she loves: writing about video games. "The legislation aims to close the gap between buying a game and owning it"

The best twists totally recontextualize everything that’s come before them. Mystery-box series master Damon Lindelof (Lanterns, Watchmen) once cited The Sixth Sense as the definitive example: The movie works if Bruce Willis is simply a psychiatrist helping a child who sees dead people — even if it’s a child hallucinating these haunting visions. The revelation that Dr. Malcolm Crowe was dead all along, however, changes not just the ending, but the entire movie. Lindelof told Vox in 2004 that the reaction is, “Oh, I didn’t even think I was sitting in that movie.” The twist makes The Sixth Sense “completely and totally transcendent. At the time, Lindelof was discussing his new series, Lost — which just four episodes in, had pulled off a mind-blowing twist arguably on the same level as The Sixth Sense. For its first few episodes, Lost seems like an ambitious survival drama with a dash of horror. Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on a seemingly deserted tropical island. Its survivors contend with dwindling supplies, a rampaging monster, an inexplicable polar bear, and the unfortunate realization that rescuers are probably searching a thousand miles away from where they actually crashed.

Tomas Franzese is the Weekend News Editor at Polygon, following and reporting on the latest goings-on in the gaming and entertainment spaces. During the week, you can find him working on Remastered, his newsletter about video game history and retro gaming, or contributing to GameSpot and other publications. Previously, Tomas was the Gaming Segment Lead at XDA and a Staff Writer at Digital Trends. There has never been a better time to play Star Wars Zero Company

Ashely currently works as a news writer for Polygon. After getting her Translation degree, she was hired as a guide and news writer for GameRant and TheGamer. She enjoyed working as an author for these sites for six years, and in 2026, she started at Polygon, where she is able to continue to do what she loves: writing about video games. Analogue's Super Nt and Mega Sg models are back with significant improvements

Giovanni Colantonio is a video game journalist who has covered the industry for two decades. He was formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends and has contributed to publications like Inverse, Fanbyte, and Hard Drive. His specialty is criticism, as he’s focused on a modern approach to video game reviews that’s focused on the nuances of how interactivity communicates to players. He is currently a member of the New York Video Game Critics Circle. Developers big and small keep hitting the mark this year

Liquid Swords, the Swedish developer and publisher behind the recently released GTA-like Samson, has filed for bankruptcy following an order issued by the Stockholm District Court. Liquid Swords was founded by former Avalanche Studios co-founder Christofer Sundberg, who oversaw the development of all four Just Cause games during his time at the studio. Following Liquid Swords’ founding in 2020, the studio’s first and only title, Samson, was released to Steam on April 8, 2026. Samson was released to less-than-stellar reviews and is currently sitting at a score of 51 percent on Metacritic. Critics and players primarily took issue with Samson’s litany of bugs and performance-related issues at launch, which resulted in an impassioned apology letter from Sundberg on Steam. Sundberg described the game’s state at launch as “unacceptable,” and vowed to address its “game-breaking bugs and performance issues” in future patches. To Liquid Swords’ credit, Samson has received several updates since release. As reported by Swedish news site Breakit (via Gametalk), the Stockholm District Court issued the bankruptcy order against Liquid Swords on October 12.

Brolin, Austin Abrams, director Brian Duffield, and author/screenwriter Daniel Krause talk to Polygon about the new movie Whalefall is now in theaters. Based on the novel by Daniel Kraus (Angel Down), who also co-wrote the screenplay with director Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You, Cocaine Bear), Whalefall is about a scuba diver (Austin Abrams) looking for the remains of his father (Josh Brolin) in the Pacific Ocean. However, while he’s on his expedition, he gets swallowed by an enormous sperm whale. With only an hour’s worth of oxygen, he must free himself from inside the whale.

Michael McWhertor is a New York-based journalist and editor with more than 20 years of experience covering games, industry events, technology, movies, and TV. Live-action Transformers is returning after 2024's unfortunate box office bomb

Tomas Franzese is the Weekend News Editor at Polygon, following and reporting on the latest goings-on in the gaming and entertainment spaces. During the week, you can find him working on Remastered, his newsletter about video game history and retro gaming, or contributing to GameSpot and other publications. Previously, Tomas was the Gaming Segment Lead at XDA and a Staff Writer at Digital Trends. People are finally playing the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 campaign and absolutely loving it

Valve is beta testing Steam Achievement Sets, a feature that lets developers group a game's achievements into collections. In an announcement, the company said that games "live longer than ever, continuing to receive updates through new DLC, expansions, and seasons", but that achievements added with new content "can be hard to discover and can accidentally break the completion status of players who have already finished the game".

Sink your teeth into apocalyptic tales and twisted romance In vampire stories, the immortal creatures of the night often trace their lineage back centuries. The authors of these stories are themselves part of a creative bloodline that took myths about blood-sucking monsters and turned them into timeless stories of horror. The genre’s foundations were laid by Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 novella Carmilla and Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, but Anne Rice is the undisputed master of the modern vampire story. By shifting the focus of the narrative from the vampire’s victims to the creatures themselves, Rice made vampires more sympathetic monsters. She penned 13 books in The Vampire Chronicles, inspiring multiple adaptations and a host of imitators. If you’ve already read the genre’s classics, we’ve put together a chronological list of the 8 best vampire books to read this spooky season.