One of the best parts of our jobs at Polygon is recommending awesome new games to play. Whether it’s indie games, cozy games, board games, or just the best of the year, we’re always trying to introduce readers to new and exciting picks. Lists are a great way to share a variety of games in a short amount of time. But sometimes it’s fun to do something more personally curated.
That’s why we have this regular open thread dedicated to helping you, our dear readers, find the perfect game to play right now. Looking for a narrative-rich sci-fi epic that will have you fight the techno embodiment of god? We’ve got you. Want a five-minute distraction to break up the daily grind? We’ve got you there, too.
From 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT, I will be in the comments section down below answering your questions and fielding requests for what you should play. We previously programmed this as a weekly movie column but will be moving that version to a monthly schedule with more non-movie recommendation threads coming your way week over week.
I should add that this is also a great place to share what you’ve been playing, if you want to talk about that with your fellow Polygon readers! Participation is very welcome, even without questions.
Now to share a bit about your curator this time around: I’m Ana Diaz, a culture writer at Polygon. I am a contributor at MinnMax, a podcast and Patreon-supported network started by a fantastic group of ex-Game Informer folks. Online, I can be a bit over the top. Listeners will likely know me for going “feral” during our Cream of the Steam show, where we play random games on Steam, and screaming about Final Fantasy 7. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like to think about games in different contexts. I love all things local, including video games. As a result, I’m deeply invested in the games being made in Minnesota, and even spoke to one developer as part of an ongoing series for the contemporary art museum in the Twin Cities.
At Polygon, I play a lot of trendy viral games like Palworld or Lethal Company. However, I was raised on the classic Nintendo catalog and figured out how to run an SNES emulator on my family’s laptop when I was 13. These days, I tend to juggle playing living games with my other interests. I play Honkai: Star Rail daily and Fortnite a few times a week. In between those games, I’ll chip away at whatever non-ongoing game I might be interested in at the moment. Right now I am working my way through the narrative sci-fi adventure 1000xResist, and I’ve been doing challenge runs with my 18-year-old cousin in The Sims 4.
Now it’s time to turn it around to you. What would you like to play this weekend (or what are you planning to play)? Leave a request in the comments and I’ll get to it between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. EDT. Details help — let me know what you’re looking for, some idea of your taste as a viewer, and any other relevant info you feel like sharing (like the streaming services you have access to, or what it was about the show you’re looking to emulate, if anything).
Here are two examples of good queries from last month’s games edition:
fakebirb
Hi Chris! Really fun to read everyone's comments. I didn't grow up playing video games, and only discovered them during the pandemic (and now I'm all in). Because of this, there's a bunch of classics I've never played. I finally in the year 2024 played Portal and Stardew Valley, and I know that's just the tip of the iceberg on cultural phenomenons I've missed. The problem is, because I didn't play games growing up, I'm not very twitchy and I'm bad with 3D games. I've been trying to play Bioshock and I die every 3 minutes.
I love Slay the Spire and Breathe of the Wild, and have recently gotten obsessed with Balatro. Hades on God Mode was really good also, because felt like I was progressing & getting better even if that was an illusion.
What iconic video games should I catch myself up on that won't be infuriating because of my lack of skillz?
moosebean
Hey Chris,
I’m a huge fan of the Besties! Most of the games I play I get into from y’all talking about them on the show.
Wondering if you can recommend a JRPG for someone who played a few JRPGs as a kid, but hasn’t been able to click with one as an adult. As a kid I remember playing Dragon Quest 3 on GBC and loving it. I also enjoyed the first Kingdom Hearts game. These days, due to the length of JRPGs I find myself avoiding them, or even if I try to get into one (Sea of Stars was a recent attempt) I tend to bounce off. I’ve got a 2 year old so gaming time is sort of precious, and I find it hard to stay consistent with a story based game long enough to really get sucked in.
I think what I’m looking for is something with a story that is truly riveting where you really have to see what happens next, to keep me coming back. A shorter “time to beat” would also be dope.
Thank you so much!
Kind Regards,
Ben
See you in the comments at 3:30 p.m. EDT! Fire away your requests in the meantime.
