Mike Mahardy-Former Senior Editor, Reviews

Mike Mahardy

Contributor Since June, 2013
Expertise
PlayStation, Xbox One, The Legend of Zelda
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About Mike Mahardy

Mike Mahardy has been covering the video game industry for 11 years, and now leads video game criticism and curation at Polygon. He also writes about strategy games, horror titles, and anything pertaining to the worlds of Zelda or Warhammer whenever he can. He was previously an editor, host, producer, and critic at GameSpot, and made frequent guest appearances on shows and podcasts at Giant Bomb. Before that, he was a news writer for IGN and an editorial intern for Game Informer. He studied journalism at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication. Every other week, he hosts and produces the podcast Fire Escape, which is mainly about video games, but also wine, Rocky movies, human anatomy, and home repair.

Latest

Link stands on a rock and surveys the sunrise over Hyrule in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda games, ranked
The Legend of Zelda

In a series that’s (almost) all classics, which of Link’s adventures is best?

John stands at the center of a collage of worlds from Eastward
The 14 best Zelda-likes to play after Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda

On some level, basically every game is inspired by Zelda — but these ones make it obvious

45
A battle between two armies with siege weapons breakouts out in a snowy landscape in Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition
Age of Empires 2 is more vital than ever in 2024
Sub Gems

Forgotten Empires’ continued support of the RTS classic is a welcome anomaly

Yuki stands at the helm of the Red Marley, styled in black, white, and yellow, in the Yuki’s Wish DLC for Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
Mimimi Games revived a genre, pushed it forward, and then shut down
Feature

One of 2023’s best DLCs is also a bittersweet goodbye

Karl Franz, the head of the Empire in Total War: Warhammer 3, stands in front of several generals
Total War developer issues an apology, totally overhauls DLC plans
News

Refunds for Pharaoh, delays. and free stuff for Warhammer 3

Same Lake, David Harewood, and the Old Gods of Asgard (Poets of the Fall) perform “ Herald of Darkness at The Game Awards 2023
The Old Gods of Asgard are The Game Awards’ best musical guest yet
The Game Awards

Poets of the Fall assumed its altar ego and paid homage to 2023’s best moment in video games

A skater grinds a rail in an urban environment in the gameplay trailer from The Game Awards 2023 for the upcoming Jet Set Radio
Sega announced five games in 90 seconds at The Game Awards
The Game Awards

Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, and more are getting new entries

The protagonist of Exodus braces himself in a drop pod as it falls from a spaceship
With Exodus, ex-BioWare devs aim to be ‘a titan’ in the RPG space again
The Game Awards

Archetype sets its sights on Mass Effect, Interstellar, and a renewed role-playing craze

A collage showing some of Polygon’s favorite video games of 2023, including characters from Alan Wake 2, The Legend of Zelda: tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, and more
The 50 best video games of 2023
Best of the Year

2023’s best games embraced chaos, creativity, and a willingness to be weird

Link wearing the Fierce Deity armor set on top of the balcony of Lookout Landing in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
How to get the Fierce Deity Armor set and Sword in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Feed a dog, unlock the pieces of armor, and collect the iconic sword

1
A ranger and a fighter take on a griffon in Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
Now is the perfect time to return to Dragon’s Dogma
Sub Gems

Prepare for Capcom’s sequel by playing the most underrated open-world game of the 2010s

Mr. Door, the host of In Between with Mr. Door, looks toward his talk show audience in Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2 has the best 15-minute stretch in a video game in years
Alan Wake

‘We Sing’ marks yet another virtuoso set-piece from Remedy

Miles Morales swings above Midtown Manhattan in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at dusk, while wearing the T.R.A.C.K. suit
Game developers keep (virtually) killing my favorite neighborhoods
Spider-Man 2

Forget making video games ‘fun’ and show me some respect

Link holds the Master Sword aloft upon discovering it in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
A Link to the Past set up Tears of the Kingdom’s master stroke
The Legend of Zelda

The idea of “another world” is central to the series’ best games

The antagonist of Ghostwire: Tokyo stands in front of an arch, and is backlit by neon lights
One of 2022’s most overlooked video games is free right now on PC
Ghostwire: Tokyo

Get Ghostwire: Tokyo with an Amazon Prime sub

Ramesses II raises his sword on a battlefield full of corpses in a Total War: Pharaoh cutscene
Total War: Pharaoh’s politics and subterfuge are more exciting than its battles
Impressions

Capitalizing on the chaos of the Bronze Age collapse

Basim speaks with two other Hidden Ones in an interior space in Baghdad in Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Assassin’s Creed Mirage feels like more of a throwback than it should
Impressions

Sleuthing work returns, but not without its hitches

A band of companions right off enemies with melee and ranged weapons in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader’s devs want to capitalize on 2023’s CRPG obsession
Impressions

Romance, tactical combat, and cooperative multiplayer make party-building even more enticing

A shot of Donatello the teenage mutant ninja turtle smirking as he sits in the driver’s seat of a van and reaches for the gear shift, knowing that Forza Horizon has made him a badass real-world driver, in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
If video games taught real-life skills like in Gran Turismo and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem…

Jann Mardenborough got gud. Why aren’t we experts in all the following skills by now?

Mother Ostankya recites an Incantation in fron of an Elemental Incarnate of Beasts in Total: War Warhammer 3 Shadows of Change
Shadows of Change marks an uneven step for Total War: Warhammer 3
Reviews

The Hag Witch of Kislev headlines an otherwise chaotic DLC

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