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

[JEMC]

Thursday news, part two:

Bloks is a cutesy god game by way of Tetris
https://www.pcgamer.com/bloks-is-a-cutesy-god-game-by-way-of-tetris/
Released over the new year, Bloks is an experiment from Dutch indie rascals Sokpop that builds a tiny god-game from the shape-dropping bones of Tetris. With each Tetronimo, you're building up a brand new world—from the sizzling molten core to the oxygen that'll hopefully fill the lungs of a new civilisation.

Pathologic studio's new game is an 'emotional' adventure about life in post-Soviet Russia
https://www.pcgamer.com/pathologic-studios-new-game-is-an-emotional-adventure-about-life-in-post-soviet-russia/
In July 2020, Pathologic developer Ice-Pick Lodge revealed a new project called Know By Heart, although as reveals go it was pretty minimal: Just the title, a single piece of art, and a bare-bones description of a game about a reunion of childhood friends in Russia that's "ruined by something beyond their control."
Last week, however, the studio dropped a new gameplay trailer, and a Steam page with a more detailed breakdown of what's in store.

Minecraft Earth is closing in June
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-earth-is-closing-in-june/
"Minecraft Earth was designed around free movement and collaborative play—two things that have become near impossible in the current global situation," Mojang announced today. "As a result, we have made the difficult decision to re-allocate our resources to other areas that provide value to the Minecraft community and to end support for Minecraft Earth in June 2021."

The Sinking City is returning to Steam and other storefronts, but the legal battle isn't over yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-sinking-city-returns-to-steam-but-the-legal-battle-isnt-over-yet/
The Sinking City is Sherlock Holmes by way of HP Lovecraft: A 1920s detective game set in a flooded, dilapidated fishing town built atop caverns filled with otherworldly horrors and madness. It wasn't great—"an occasionally entertaining detective game blighted by poor writing, rote combat, and a dreary open world" is how we summarized it in our 2019 review—but it resurfaced a year later in an unexpected way when it very suddenly disappeared from most digital storefronts.
Update: Shortly after sales of The Sinking City resumed on Steam, they were halted again: The listing is still present, but it can no longer be purchased. There's also still no sign of it on GOG, but it is now relisted and available for purchase on the Microsoft Store.

Everspace 2 comes to Steam and GOG on January 18
https://www.pcgamer.com/everspace-2-comes-to-steam-and-gog-on-january-18/
But with Cyberpunk now out of the way, and the pandemic clearly sticking around, Rockfish said today that Everspace 2 will finally make its big appearance on January 18. The initial Early Access release "will be good for at least 25 hours of gameplay," Rockfish said, with core gameplay mechanics in place and English voice acting for the first 12 hours of the campaign and several side missions.

Hitman 3's 'persistent shortcuts' will encourage exploration by making it easier to get around
https://www.pcgamer.com/hitman-3s-persistent-shortcuts-will-encourage-exploration-by-making-it-easier-to-get-around/
Your basic, bottom-line goal in the Hitman games is to kill people, but true mastery of the craft requires something more. It's all about panache: Yeah, your target is dead, but could he be dead in some cooler, more memorable way? As reported by Game Informer, the upcoming Hitman 3 will make it easier to indulge your taste for stylish assassination with a new system of "persistent shortcuts" that developer IO Interactive said is intended to "encourage exploration, reward curiosity, and incentivize replayability."

Sunlight is a hand-painted hike from the creator of Among The Sleep
https://www.pcgamer.com/sunlight-is-a-hand-painted-hike-from-the-creator-of-among-the-sleep/
Sometimes, after scaring yourself silly with a spooky game or flick, there's nothing better than decompressing with a bit of fresh air. Among The Sleep developers Krillbite must certainly think so at least, pivoting hard away from horror with Sunlight's woodland hike.

Dishonored co-creator Harvey Smith is working on a new project
https://www.pcgamer.com/dishonored-co-creator-harvey-smith-is-working-on-a-new-project/
Arkane Austin director Harvey Smith has confirmed he's working on an unannounced game alongside the Dishonored and Prey developers at Arkane Austin.

Call of Duty: Warzone has eaten Modern Warfare
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-warzone-has-eaten-modern-warfare/
Hey, where did Call of Duty: Modern Warfare go? You know, the one with Captain Price and Gunfight and all that? That was a great game—one of the best CoDs ever, even—but after December’s Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War Season 1 update that merged the game with Warzone, it disappeared from Battle.net.
Warzone ate it.

Call of Duty: Warzone's most annoying guns have finally been nerfed
https://www.pcgamer.com/cod-warzone-dmr-14-nerf-diamatti-mac-10/
Enjoy those overpowered DMR 14 loadouts while you can, because Call of Duty: Warzone's latest dominant gun is officially getting a nerf. Raven Software announced today over Twitter that Warzone's next major patch will target the rifle as well as a few other guns causing headaches across Verdansk—namely the MAC-10 SMG and commonly dual-wielded Diamatti pistols.
Update: Raven released the new Warzone balance patch this morning, detailing on Twitter how its most powerful weapons have been adjusted.
>> Even after the nerf, some players still think that it's OP.

CD Projekt says alleged developer post about Cyberpunk 2077's cut content is 'simply not true'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-says-alleged-developer-post-about-cyberpunk-2077s-cut-content-is-simply-not-true/
CD Projekt has officially denied statements from someone who claimed to be a Cyberpunk 2077 developer and said, among other things, that a major overhaul of the game is in the works and could be ready for release sometime in June. The supposed developer wrote that a significant chunk of the game's code has already been rewritten and that large portions of "cut content" will be returned.

Job listings suggest the next inXile game will be a first-person shooter RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/job-listings-suggest-the-next-inxile-game-will-be-a-first-person-shooter-rpg/
Last year inXile Entertainment released Wasteland 3, the latest in its series of turn-based isometric RPGs, and it was quite good. The studio is currently working on "wonderful new RPGs," as CEO Brian Fargo put it, clarifying that "our second RPG is in the infancy of pre-production."
Job listings unearthed by Twisted Voxel hint at what at least one of those RPGs will be like. A call for a lead gameplay engineer mentions the new hire will work on "the studio's next-generation action role-playing game", with "first person shooter gameplay features". The senior gameplay designer role calls for someone who can "understand the moment-to-moment gameplay loops of first-person shooters and RPGs", and mentions "powerful, tactile first-person weapons and unique combat abilities".

Apex Legends developer Respawn is working on a new project
https://www.pcgamer.com/apex-legends-developer-respawn-is-working-on-a-new-ip/
According to a now-deleted job posting, Respawn Entertainment is currently working on a new project. The link to the job listing takes you to a blank page with an error message, but the URL can confirm the EA-owned studio was seeking a 'generalist software engineer' for its 'new IP incubation team'. According to VG24/7, there wasn't much more said about the project, except a mention of 'new, practice technologies to enable 'adventuring forever.''

Biomutant is expected to launch within the next few months
https://www.pcgamer.com/biomutant-is-expected-to-launch-within-the-next-few-months/
Elusive martial-arts RPG Biomutant could be preparing for release within the next few months, according to publisher THQ Nordic.
Described as a "post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu fable", Biomutant is a shockingly ambitious open-world debut for developer Experiment 101. Last year's extended gameplay trailer was a rollercoaster of nonsense—open-world exploration, character introductions, boss fights, shootouts, and a fight between a massive fish and a mechanical squid. It was a lot.

Zachtronics turned a lockdown hobby into a free competitive card game
https://www.pcgamer.com/zachtronics-turned-a-lockdown-hobby-into-a-free-competitive-card-game/
Forget breadmaking or starting a podcast. After the global pandemic shut its studio doors, indie developer Zachtronics has turned the staff's favourite lockdown hobby into free-to-play card game Nerts! Online.

FIFA's Ultimate Team is a 'long way' from gambling, says former EA Sports president
https://www.pcgamer.com/fifas-ultimate-team-is-a-long-way-from-gambling-says-former-ea-sports-president/
Loot boxes and their place in games have been widely debated in recent years. EA in particular has taken the brunt of a lot of these criticisms, with Battlefront 2 receiving backlash for its extreme use of loot boxes. Another EA game to attract criticism and even some regulatory attention has been the FIFA series and its Ultimate Team mode. Some have likened loot boxes, including Ultimate Team, to gambling. But former EA Sports president Peter Moore doesn't think that's the case.