Ana Diaz

Ana Diaz is an internet culture and video games journalist based in New York. Her work investigates the intersections between consumer trends, internet culture, games, and fandom.

My Portfolio

Endless Mode •

Pokémon Fans Are Redefining the Art of Card Collecting

Now is kind of lowkey highkey maybe the worst time to get into collecting Pokémon cards. 
The prevalence of scalpers, and The Pokémon Company’s insufficient response to said resellers, has rendered what arguably should be a casual children’s hobby inaccessible. Scalpers have been accused of buying up the stock for a wide range of Pokémon Trading Card Game products and ruining events like a special Pokémon-themed exhibit at an art museum. These days, wealthy collectors aren’t just after valuable...
Flipboard •

If You Love Hades 2, You Should Read This (Much Better) Book | Flipboard

Madeline Miller’s Circe is essential reading for lovers of ancient Greek goddesses. Greek mythology has been around for thousands of years and its traditions have inspired artists working in nearly every medium. What brings me joy is that each writer, visual artist, director--or in the case of Hades …Read more on gamespot.com

Madeline Miller’s Circe is essential reading for lovers of ancient Greek goddesses. Greek mythology has been around for thousands of years and its traditions have inspired...
GameSpot •

If You Love Hades 2, You Should Read This (Much Better) Book

Greek mythology has been around for thousands of years and its traditions have inspired artists working in nearly every medium. What brings me joy is that each writer, visual artist, director--or in the case of Hades 2, a team of game developers--can explore a unique vision of the characters and events they choose to highlight. With the sequel to its popular hack-and-slash roguelite Hades, Supergiant Games explores the worlds of Greek gods from the perspective of Melinoe, the princess of the Und...
PC Gamer •

Deltarune's new chapters defy every rule of RPG logic

In Chapter 4 of Deltarune, I'm playing as a pixelated character named Kris when I encounter a hallway with a locked door, a step stool, and a bright green book on a shelf. Obviously I need to move the step stool so that Kris, or another party member, can reach the book and hit the switch mechanism I think is hidden behind it. But when I go to move the stool, there's no button prompt. I cannot do anything no matter how many times I press A. So I move on.Instead the problem resolves itself later,...
The Verge •

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a glimpse at Nintendo’s online future

Given the current landscape in which game developers constantly release new updates to vie for the attention of audiences, Borgia’s dedication to New Horizons can come across as admirable. Nintendo has not released a major update to New Horizons since the Happy Home Paradise DLC in 2021. (Just this week the game was patched in advance of the Switch 2.) The version of New Horizons Borgia plays today — the one where she pulls weeds and fishes each day — is more or less the same game that the compa...
Polygon •

7 tips from puzzle game developers on how to beat puzzle games

The puzzles of Blue Prince feel less like the gridlike blueprints you draft in the game and more like an intricate web. Even seasoned puzzle lovers might feel tested by its mysteries. In Blue Prince, you explore and construct a sprawling mansion estate room by room from a series of randomized blueprints. Each day (or run), the house will reset, and you must start constructing a new path forward. Both the roguelike elements and the detailed world pose a unique challenge. It’s the kind of game whe...
Polygon •

How to persuade in Oblivion Remastered

If you successfully persuade an NPC, they can give you valuable information or discounts while bartering. It’s an important part of the game if you want to get intel and lower the price of items.This will bring you to a screen that shows a circular menu displaying the NPC’s disposition number, a value that determines how much that NPCs likes you. The higher their disposition number is, the more that character likes you.Some characters have a minimum threshold for the disposition number that you...
Polygon •

The best ways to take notes for Blue Prince, according to Blue Prince fans

Here at Polygon, we aren’t strangers to the video game notebook. Handwritten notes can create a physical place that can serve as a guide and aid in our own game experiences. They can also enhance enjoyment of a game. Our staff has created assassination bullet journals and argued that taking notes can make games more fun. Now, Blue Prince — the hottest puzzle game of 2025 — has taken that inclination and set it on fire.In Blue Prince, you explore and construct a sprawling mansion estate room by r...
mixed feelings •

video games are fanfiction's next frontier

welcome to strong feelings! Essays by writers we love, in which they share their most impassioned opinions on a given subject. In today’s strong feelings, writer Ana Diaz explores how fan-made games are pushing the limits of both fanfiction and video games at large.Satoru Gojo, a 2D heartthrob from the anime Jujutsu Kaisen (JJK), put on his best outfit for me in the game, Teacher’s Pet: Winner Takes It All. He’s wearing black-tinted sunglasses and a button up tucked into his pants. It might soun...
Polygon •

How to unlock the time-lock safe in Blue Prince

The time-lock safe is a safe in Blue Prince that you’ll find next to the computer terminal in the Shelter. The computer allows you to schedule when the safe unlocks, but it can be tricky to set up if you don’t know how to figure out the time and date.This guide will show you how to unlock the time-lock safe in Blue Prince plus some tips on how to troubleshoot if it won’t open.To start, you must draft the Shelter as your Outer Room, which itself requires you to open the Garage door and West Gate,...
Polygon •

How to get an April Fools’ event flamethrower code in Dress to Impress

The April Fools’ Day event in Dress to Impress will only be 24 hours. It started at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, April 1, and will finish at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, April 2. After that, you won’t be able to access the special April Fools’ Day-related content.The developers of Dress to Impress have added two codes to unlock new items in the April Fools’ Day update. You can use one of them right away without doing the April Fools’ Day event, but you have to do a scavenger hunt t...
Polygon •

How to get tranq bombs in Monster Hunter Wilds

Tranq bombs are a hunting item in Monster Hunter Wilds that allow you to capture monsters instead of killing them.Monster Hunter Wilds gives hunters the option to capture monsters without killing them. For certain quests, like “New Ecosystems,” the game requires you to catch a monster instead of slaying it. To learn how to use tranq bombs to trap a monster, check out our full guide on how to capture monsters.This guide will go over how to get tranq bombs in Monster Hunter Wilds.The best way to g...
Polygon •

Minecraft composer C418 talks burnout after making Wanderstop, a game about burnout

Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418, composed a defining soundtrack of a generation when he made the music for Minecraft. As Rosenfeld told Polygon, he’s fine with always being known as “the Minecraft guy,” but on March 11, the composer released something more personal. A game that feels both intimate and emotional, and one that he had a central role in creating. It’s called Wanderstop.Developed by Ivy Road, Wanderstop follows the story of a powerful warrior named Alta who, after being beaten...
Polygon •

How to unlock layered armor in Monster Hunter Wilds

Layered armor allows you to customize what your equipment looks like in Monster Hunter Wilds. It’s functionally the game’s transmog system.Monster Hunter Wilds is stuffed with loads of cool-looking armor. (The silky layers of the Lala Barina set come to mind, and in the end-game Death Stench armor set.) But sometimes, the armor that will benefit you the most in a certain fight might not be the one you most like the look of.Luckily for players, the layered armor settings allow you to keep the sta...
Polygon •

Best character design codes in Monster Hunter Wilds

Taking the time to make sure you design a Monster Hunter Wilds character you like is well worth it. Once you start a new save file, you won’t be able to change appearance again unless you use a limited item called a character edit voucher.However a lot of those creators don’t share codes. Instead, many people have shared screenshots of all the settings people can use to remake the character. This can be helpful if you really want to remake a character that someone else has created, however, it c...
Polygon •

‘Inventing the Past’ quest steps and walkthrough in The Sims 4

Each week in the event brings new story content for players to complete. If you do it — and all the other quests part of the event — you can get free items like The Surprise Birthday Cake and The ElectroDance Floor.Here is how to unlock and complete the week two “Inventing the Past” quest in the “Blast from the Past” event in The Sims 4. Since the quest involves a lot of specific steps, this guide will also explain how to level up Logic, how to level up handiness, and how to find plathinum and i...
Polygon •

Cyrus is a cruel and vital addition to your Pokémon TCG Pocket deck

Cyrus is a trainer card that’s taken over battles in Pokémon TCG Pocket. In the video games, he’s the big boss of the devious Team Galactic and a major antagonist in the Sinnoh generation. Ever since the Space-Time Smackdown expansion hit TCG Pocket in January, he’s also become a popular card in several decks that follow the game’s meta.Cyrus is a super flexible card and has something to offer loads of decks. This Pokémon TCG Pocket guide explains why we think he’s a solid choice for so many loo...
Polygon •

Sea of Stars local co-op revived my love for turn-based RPGs

I was a bit skeptical the first time I heard about the local co-op mode in Sabotage Studio’s Sea of Stars. A turn-based game can feel a bit slow when playing alone, so I couldn’t really imagine how it would work with another person sitting next to me the entire time. However, I played Sea of Stars with my little brother over the holidays, and as it turns out, this co-op mode was just what I needed to revive my interest in turn-based RPGs. Sea of Stars’ secret weapon is the way it mixes real-time...
Polygon •

Love and Deepspace introduces a new innovation in video games: a period tracker

Love and Deepspace, the mega-popular mobile game from the studios behind Infinity Nikki, will be getting a head-turning feature in its next update: a period tracker.Released stateside in 2024 by InFold Games and Papergames, Love and Deepspace is a free-to-download otome game where players meet, date, and get to know a variety of swoon-worthy virtual men in a sci-fi setting. In a 3.0 update livestream on Friday, developers shared new updates heading to the game on Jan. 22, including one that woul...
Polygon •

Fortnite players could earn nearly $100 from a massive Epic Games settlement

Those who unintentionally made accidental purchases in Fortnite years ago are finally due for some compensation.The Federal Trade Commission will start the process of paying out more than $72 million in refunds to roughly 629,000 Fortnite customers on Monday. Each affected person will get around $114 from the FTC if they successfully filed a claim. The payments follow a 2022 settlement where the federal agency alleged Fortnite creator Epic Games “tricked” users into spending money on the platfor...
Polygon •

Death of the Reprobate combines potty humor with high art

In Death of the Reprobate, I assume the role of a young tyrant named Malcolm the Shit. His father, Immortal John, is dying. Usually, that would be good news for a spoiled heir like him, but his plans to assume the throne hit a snag when his daddy tells him he must perform seven good deeds to earn his right to rule the land. Malcolm, however, is the equivalent of some sort of Renaissance-era fuckboy who likes to order the execution of his subjects. It’s up to me to usher him along on his path to...
Polygon •

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket won’t rock your world, and that’s OK

I’m not really looking for another hobby or living game in my life right now. Between day-to-day commitments and juggling games like Fortnite and Honkai: Star Rail, it’s hard to fit more games into my schedule. However, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has shimmied its way into the ever-shrinking window of time I have to play a video game daily. It’s not an adventurous Pokémon game, nor is it the deepest, but the low commitment has made it a new mainstay in my regular rotation of games. Develope...
Load More