Super Smash Bros. Melee remains one of the biggest games in the competitive scene, and recent rumors about its potential high-definition, Virtual Console debut on Nintendo Switch has gotten many pro players excited about its next-generation prospects. While there are still reasons to be hesitant about Melee’s viability as an esports favorite on the upcoming hybrid console, we spoke to one of the community’s most visible members, who seemed optimistic about the Switch’s potential to shake up competitive Smash. To D’Ron “D1” Maingrette, who works at Twitch as the Smash Bros. strategic partnerships specialist, a Virtual Console re-release of Melee would make the game far more accessible. “If you were to visit a local game store and ask for a copy of [Melee], you would either not find it,...

There are few games like Well This is Awkward, which tackles the discomfort of buying condoms from a teen’s perspective. Yet, as lead designer and University of Baltimore senior Emma Kidwell told Polygon, this free-to-play comedy about contraceptives is actually quite mundane. “It’s relatable, which is the goal,” she said via Skype earlier this week. “I wanted to make something really weird and relatable.” Well This is Awkward definitely fits into the latter camp. Kidwell — who writes for Kill Screen and has written for Polygon before — designed it in Twine, a format popular with narrative designers. It tells the story of one uncomfortable night when a couple just wants to get it on ... except they’re missing just one important thing. It sounds like it could border on preachy — Don’t...

No one outside of Nintendo has their hands on a Nintendo Switch console quite yet, despite recent attempts by a popular YouTuber to convince people otherwise. Etika, star of the Nintendo-focused Etika World Network channel, came under scrutiny after uploading two separate videos featuring what he said is his very own Nintendo Switch. The first video, a livestream where Etika whips out a device resembling Nintendo’s hybrid handheld, has been taken offline since its weekend airing. But an archive made the rounds on social media, creating mass confusion and, eventually, frustration. ??????????????????????????????????????? WHAT pic.twitter.com/iYCc8flEkg— Alexander Pale (@AlexanderPale) November 14, 2016 Nintendo fans were furious not out of jealousy, but because they’ve seen this...

There's a trend emerging in game development, most particularly indie games, which leans towards a wistful appreciation for nature. Games like Firewatch, Oxenfree, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and The Witness take place in verdant, bucolic surroundings, outdoors places of trees and beaches, albeit touched by menace and modernity. Even Far Cry Primal sought to pull the player closer to nature through its stone age setting. though with a reliance on slaying creatures willy-nilly. Perhaps it's a reaction to gaming's long-standing love of post-industrial dystopia, its grim backdrops of decay, annihilation and rot. Like the Romantic poets who rebelled against the dark satanic mills springing up around them, game developers are looking towards an age of innocence for inspiration. Small...

It’s not unfair to say that, in 2016, the video game has superseded tabletop classics in popularity. Funny, then, that it’s the newfangled PlayStation VR headset which helped remind us at Polygon New York of board games’ unadultered, screenless pleasures. After several hours getting into the rhythm of the virtual reality version of Steel Crate Games’ Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, we’d found our new favorite party game, even if most of us had more fun without using the required $400 hardware. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes in virtual reality plays similarly to the standard mobile and Windows PC release from last year; in fact, we’ve played several iterations of it since development began in 2014. One player — the one with that gigantic, comfy headset on their face — is designated...