Sam Nelson-Staff Writer

Sam Nelson

Contributor Since June, 2017
Expertise
Dungeons & Dragons, Television, Sci-Fi
  • 688
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  • 194
    News
  • 389
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  • 68
    Lists
  • 5
    Guides
  • 23
    Reviews
  • 9
    Other
Polygon.com logo Profile
https://www.metacritic.com/critic/samantha-nelson/

About Sam Nelson

Sam covers TV, movies, games and books at Polygon, making recommendations about what to watch and play while interviewing actors, writers, and designers about their work. She has spent 15 years working as a journalist and critic, with bylines across numerous publications including IGN, GamesRadar+, The A.V. Club, The Verge, and Windows Central.

What's your origin story?

Sam's mom read her The Hobbit while her dad introduced her to Superman, sparking a lifelong passion for fantasy and superhero stories. She knew she wanted to be a journalist starting in second grade, first learned Dungeons & Dragons in fourth grade, and started playing Magic: The Gathering when she was 11. By high school she was part of The X-Files fandom and watching anime. After graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University she started turning all those geeky passions into writing gigs.

What's a recent obsession?

MCDM's Draw Steel is the best TTRPG combat Sam has encountered, offering a faster and richer experience than Dungeons & Dragons. It's cinematic and makes characters feel powerful, while giving the game master plenty of nasty tricks they can use to turn the tide of a fight.

Homelander (Antony Starr) gives a salute in The Boys season 5
Interview

The Boys 'is pro-religion' says creator, just not the kind wielded by power-hungry madmen who think they're Jesus

Slay the Spire: Downfall board and components
Board Games

Slay the Spire board game designer explains how he adapted a hit video game mod

A group of epic level adventurers fight a wormlike monster with a giant maw ringed with many arms in art from Ariadne's Book of Legends
Dungeons & Dragons

Ariadne’s Book of Legends channels Frieren to deliver high-level D&D gameplay

Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings), a shirtless man with a salt and pepper beard and a headband with stag horns attached to it, holds a tankard and dances around a pole with Ser Manfred Dondarrion (Daniel Monk) a smiling bearded man in noble attire in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Game of Thrones

Knight of the Seven Kingdoms actually justifies Game of Thrones’ unearned ending

A tactical pause view of the Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes videeo game shows the Espadon fleet under assault by the Cylons
Previews

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes captures the relentlessness of the show’s best episode

Latest

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Everything we know about Spider-Man 5
FYI

Marvel has already set up a succession plan

Frosthaven-KeyArt-NoLogo-1920x1080
Gloomhaven's and XCOM's creators say collabs can save the industry in the era of layoffs and tariffs
Interview

Adaptations are funding future original projects

1
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When will Spider-Man: Brand New Day be available on streaming?
FYI

Here’s when Spidey will swing into your living room

An elf fights a group of naga in a ruined coastal city under the light of the moon in art from Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft.
Magic is probably getting a World of Warcraft set in 2027
News

A new D&D book offers a big clue

Batman Begins
Batman just brought back a forgotten DC villain with terrifying demonic powers
Explainer

The bat demon’s lore spans comics and mysticism

A group of heroes battle the black dragon Onyxia and her wyrmlings in art from Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft
Magic’s controversial money-making strategy is officially coming to D&D
Gen Con

World of Warcraft will be the first in a new line of licensed settings

7
A woman uses a VR headset while versions of her in the background take on the role of a racer, a demon, a farmer, and a space explorer in art from the TTRPG Infinite.
A D&D legend is expanding Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere RPG with a thrilling new pitch
Gen Con

Keith Baker is working on a new genre-hopping game

Huge crowds are gathered in the Gen Con exhibit hall
The 10 hottest board games you should play at Gen Con before they sell out
Polygon Lists

Pick up games based on Lord of the Rings, Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, and Star Trek

2
caped crusader joker
Batman: Caped Crusader season 2 has a few hits, but it’s mostly a nostalgia act
Reviews

The Joker redeems a season dragged down by a boring version of the Riddler

5
mistborn deckbuilding game
Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn movie just hit a massive new milestone
News

The news coincides with the book’s 20th anniversary

6
Kaladin flies over the Shattered Plains holding his spear while Syl flies next to him in art from Stormlight: War for Roshar
Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive will be adapted into an epic war game
Tabletop Games

War is coming to Roshar

1
Morty looks horrified while opening a door in Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty showrunners explain the reason for season 9's brutal finale
Interview

‘There is a concern that the show becomes unrecognizable.’

2
Nauctis-Artist-Leon-Tukker-3
Magic’s 2027 sets are breaking traditions and smashing worlds together
Polygon Lists

Delve into next year’s settings, mechanics, and inspirations

2
midnight club
Netflix’s 10-part anthology thriller is an underrated masterpiece you'll finish in one weekend
What to Watch

A master of the genre pays an emotional tribute to a horror legend

rick and morty president curtis
HBO Max's Rick and Morty spinoff is so good it's already been renewed for season 2
FYI

President Curtis is getting another term

1:50
LOTR_S3_UT_250929_ROTBEN_00250_R3_3000
The Rings of Power season 3 is finally getting to the good stuff
San Diego Comic-Con

A teaser trailer shows off the One Ring and the Nazgûl’s Black Wings

1
Lestat (Sam Reid) stands in front of a crowd taking pictures of him in The Vampire Lestat
Everything we know about The Vampire Lestat season 2
FYI

The vampire’s failures have apocalyptic consequences

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Mordenkainen assembles heroes of the Forgotten Realms in new Dungeons & Dragons comic
Exclusive

The Forgotten Realms are facing an apocalyptic threat, and Mordenkeinen is fighting back

2
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Doctor Manhattan raising his hand and blowing up heads in watchmen
HBO's new superhero show from the creator of Watchmen (2019) officially arrives in 3 weeks
FYI

Here’s everything we know about the latest sci-fi series from Damon Lindelof

Captain Pike (Anson Mount) points at words tattooed on his face in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds keeps putting gimmicks over storytelling
Reviews

The series continues to be fun but frustratingly inconsistent

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