Pon Para and the Great Southern Labyrinth: Love and Shadows

A brand new re-release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North has been launched out of the blue on modern consoles and PC.

Video games like Her Story, Fez, and Tunic beg the player to take detailed notes to keep track of the story. But journaling or note-taking games are part of a long tradition that goes back to the game manuals of the 80s and 90s. Back in the day, games like The Legend of Zelda had incredibly beautiful, detailed manuals that helped the player navigate difficult puzzles and learn about lore, when memory on consoles was short. Polygon's Clayton Ashley details the history of taking notes in games, and some of his recent favorites that continue the tradition.

It's a great time to enjoy the stuff we already have.

gen Atlas is the new game from genDesign, former Team Ico lead Fumito Ueda's studio. The single-player action adventure game was announced at SGF 2026

Ueda's next game, Gen Atlas, is the first on PC in a 25 year directorial career.