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

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Friday news, part two:

Valheim has hot tubs now and you know what that means
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/valheim-has-hot-tubs-now-and-you-know-what-that-means/
Valheim's first major update, Hearth & Home, is now live and adds a huge amount of stuff to the Norse afterlife. The clue's in the title: this adds many tools for players to create a fancier dwelling for themselves, as well as a plethora of new cooking options. It adds so much, in fact, that developer Iron gate hopes it will tempt players to start all over again.

China calls for less 'effeminate' men in videogames
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/china-slows-new-game-approvals-calls-for-less-effeminate-men-in-videogames/
In August, China announced new regulations which will strictly limit when and for how long people under the age of 18 are allowed to play online games: Just one hour per day, from 8-9 pm, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and official holidays. That rule took effect September 1. All players are also now required to register using their real names, and game companies are strictly forbidden from offering any services to unregistered players.
>> It's a long article about a lot of things.

Death's Gambit: Afterlife update doubles the size of its Soulslike adventure
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/deaths-gambit-afterlife/
Death's Gambit was one of the better 2D soulslikes back in 2018, thanks to some great artistic direction and an impressive level of character customization (plus Matt Mercer playing Death never hurts). Those of you who missed out, or just want to revisit the land of Siradon, now have the chance with Death's Gambit: Afterlife, a free update for those who own the original game on Steam.

Sir Clive Sinclair, the father of the ZX Spectrum, has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/sir-clive-sinclair-the-father-of-the-zx-spectrum-has-died/
Sir Clive Sinclair, the inventor of the world's first slimline pocket calculator and founder of the groundbreaking consumer electronics company Sinclair Research, has died. A report in The Guardian says Sinclair's death occurred at home, following a long illness.

Blizzard will show off Overwatch 2 gameplay and Bastion's rework next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/blizzard-will-show-off-overwatch-2-gameplay-and-bastions-rework-next-week/
In early September, Blizzard announced that the Overwatch League's 2022 season will be played with an early build of Overwatch 2. It was an unexpected announcement for a few reasons, not least of which being that we really don't know a whole lot about Overwatch 2. Blizzard revealed some big changes to its PvP format earlier this year, but much of it (including a release date) is still in the shadows.

Gorgeous survival MMORPG BitCraft to have pre-alpha test this fall, sign-ups available now
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/gorgeous-survival-mmorpg-bitcraft-to-have-pre-alpha-test-this-fall-sign-ups-available-now/
There's a new MMORPG on the way, and you'll be able to try it out this fall. BitCraft is a sandbox MMORPG with elements from games like Valheim—you can play with friends and build villages, farm, hunt, and pretty much anything else a survival game offers. It promises cross-play in a "gigantic," procedurally generated world that hosts every single player, and sign-ups for its pre-alpha test are open now at its website. Everyone who signs up is also eligible to claim a secret limited item.

Hold off tens of thousands of on-screen nightmares in this survival horror RTS
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/defend-against-tens-of-thousands-of-on-screen-nightmares-in-this-survival-horror-rts/
Age of Darkness: Final Stand might be the most generic game name I've heard in a minute. But there's more than a few tricks to this survival horror RPG, and an absolutely unreasonable number of ghouls.

Guild Wars 2 is finally getting DirectX11 support, 9 years after launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/guild-wars-2-is-finally-getting-directx11-support-9-years-after-launch/
Guild Wars 2 may be coming on a decade old, but ArenaNet is preparing for a long future of visual enhancements and performance improvements with upcoming support for DirectX11.

Destiny 2 is retuning Trials of Osiris matchmaking to make loss streaks less frequent
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/destiny-2-is-retuning-trials-of-osiris-matchmaking-to-make-loss-streaks-less-frequent/
Last weekend Trials of Osiris returned to Destiny 2 in a newly revamped form. But while resident Guardians Phil and Tim have been having fun (with caveats), it seems like there are all too many people getting absolutely curbstomped in the game's hardcore 3v3 arenas.

Let's finish the news taking a look at the weekend deals at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The first one is the Weekly Sale, with up to 85% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210913_weekly_sale
• The Special Sci-Fi RPG Sale features up to 90% discounts during th enext 5 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210915_rpg_month_scifi
• And the Weekend Sale comes with games with female leading protagonists up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210917_weekend_sale

+Steam

• The new daily deal is Cold Waters, 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/541210/Cold_Waters/
• Valheim, still in Early Access, is 20% off during the weekend: https://store.steampowered.com/app/892970/Valheim/
• Hell Let Loose will be 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/
• Mind Scanners will be 30% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389550/Mind_Scanners/
• Half-Life: Alyx will be 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/
• Sea of Thieves will also be 40% off during the weekend: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172620/Sea_of_Thieves/
• And Paradox puts its strategy games on sale, up to 85% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/pdx_strategyweekend
• Last, but not least, there's also the weeklong deals.

That's all folks! Until next time, have a happy and gaming weekend.