Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

[JEMC]

Monday news, part two:

Epic Games Store users have been turning to Steam for Subnautica support
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-games-store-users-have-been-turning-to-steam-for-subnautica-support/
The Epic Games Store doesn’t have forums. When Epic announced the platform, it framed this as a positive thing. No forums, it said, would stop toxicity from flourishing, and with Discord, Twitter and developers’ own forums, there are other ways to get in touch. One of those alternatives is Epic’s competitor, Steam, and some players have turned to its forums to get support for the Epic Games Store version of Subnautica.
>> You can't see it, but I read this article with a sarcastic smile on my face.

Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord will let you talk your way out of (and into) trouble
https://www.pcgamer.com/mount-and-blade-2-bannerlord-will-let-you-talk-your-way-out-of-and-into-trouble/
Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord's title gives you a pretty good idea what it's about, but it's not all thundering hooves, flashing steel, and the crash of angry men in shouting, sobbing masses of broken bone and spilt blood. There is also, as developer Taleworlds explained today on Steam, the subtle art of persuasion.

The Bard's Tale 4 is getting a new, free dungeon and a big 2.0 update
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-bards-tale-4-is-getting-a-new-free-dungeon-and-a-big-20-update/
I liked The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep an awful lot when it came out earlier this year and it's improved considerably since then, with new features, performance improvements, and bug fixes. Today developer inXile Entertainment announced that the studio is working on a new dungeon, the Royal Necropolis of Haernhold, which will be free for everyone who owns the game.

This mysterious concept art for a Dusk boss monster was drawn by a sixth-grader
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-mysterious-concept-art-for-a-dusk-boss-monster-was-drawn-by-a-sixth-grader/
At a certain point in the brilliant old-school shooter Dusk, you will encounter the Intoxigator, a huge alligator with moonshine bottles strapped to its back that spits toxic vomit. Later on, you will meet Son of Intoxigator, a similar-looking boss beast who's smaller, faster, and much tougher. And even further into the game, if you find the secret, you will also discover Wife of Intoxigator. She's not a boss, though, but rather a picture that looks like it was drawn by a child and taped to a fridge.

Darksiders 3 adds 'classic' combat mode with more forgiving dodges
https://www.pcgamer.com/darksiders-3-adds-classic-combat-mode-with-more-forgiving-dodges/
Darksiders 3 has added a new 'Classic' combat mode aimed at making fights feel similar to the first two games in the series. The biggest change is that you can now interrupt attacks with a dodge move—previously, when you committed to an attack you had to see it through until Fury stopped swinging her weapon.

Pillars of Eternity 2 devs accidentally added turn-based combat this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/pillars-of-eternity-2-devs-accidentally-added-turn-based-combat-this-week/
The developers of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, the best RPG of the year, temporarily added turn-based combat to the game this week before hastily removing it—but not before players grabbed screenshots and gameplay footage.

You have eight days to kill Hitman 2's second Elusive Target
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-have-eight-days-to-kill-hitman-2s-second-elusive-target/
After flushing Sean Bean's head down the toilet and stabbing him in the eye with a pen, Hitman 2 players can now move on to the game's second elusive target: Vicente Murillo.

Quake Champions adds CTF game mode, gets rid of loot boxes
https://www.pcgamer.com/quake-champions-finally-adds-ctf-game-mode-gets-rid-of-loot-boxes/
Quake Champions has finally added its long-awaited Capture the Flag (CTF) mode—and completed its transition away from loot boxes to a Battle Pass system that rewards you with cosmetics.

Atlas is now live in Steam Early Access
https://www.pcgamer.com/pirate-mmo-atlas-is-finally-live-for-streamers-but-not-anyone-else/
A series of delays to the release of pirate MMO Atlas meant that tens of thousands of Twitch viewers watched their favourite streamers waiting for the game to go live yesterday. Now the wait is over: the major streamers have their hands on it, and it's currently the most-watched game on Twitch, pulling in more than 220,000 viewers (for comparison, 147,000 people are watching Fortnite right now).
Update 1: Atlas will launch into Early Access at 12pm PST/3pm ET/9pm GMT today, developer Grapeshot Games has confirmed.
Update 2: Atlas is now for sale on Steam Early Access. It costs $30 but is discounted to $25 until January 2. Servers don't appear to be up at the moment, but this post on the official site states they expect them to available in the next hour or so (though you might want to take that with a grain of salt, all things considered).
Update 3: The Atlas servers are now online, so you should be able to dive in.

Celeste adding free ultra-hard levels early next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/celeste-adding-free-ultra-hard-levels-early-next-year/
Matt Thorson, creator of tricky platformer Celeste, is giving away a late Christmas present to fans of the game: free levels. These "very hard" levels will be ready early next year, he announced on Twitter this week.

Trippy arcade shooter Polybius comes to PC with VR support
https://www.pcgamer.com/trippy-arcade-shooter-polybius-comes-to-pc-with-vr-support/
Jeff Minter's trippy tunnel shooter Polybius has wriggled free of its Sony exclusivity and is now out on Steam. You can play it on a normal monitor but if you have an Oculus Rift you can also play in VR, which Minter says is the best way to play.

Ring of Elysium's new mode is a cross between a battle royale and a survival game
https://www.pcgamer.com/ring-of-elysiums-new-mode-is-a-mix-of-battle-royale-and-a-survival-game/
Wintry, free-to-play battle royale Ring of Elysium has a new survival-themed game mode in which you compete with other players for food and fuel, and you have to cower indoors when the storm, called Ymir, surges.

Global Speedrun Association reveals live competition, cash prizes up for grabs
https://www.pcgamer.com/global-speedrun-association-reveals-live-competition-cash-prizes-up-for-grabs/
Speedruning competition organiser the Global Speedrun Association will hold its first live event in April, where Celeste, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Odyssey speedrunners will compete for cash prizes.

 

As you may have guessed, tomorrow there will be no news, and neither on the 26th (it's also festive here). I hope you get lots of presents for Christmas!