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

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Tuesday news, part two:

Gotham Knights will take multiple playthroughs to see the whole story
https://www.pcgamer.com/gotham-knights-will-take-multiple-playthroughs-to-see-the-whole-story/
Each of Gotham Knights' four characters will take their own path through the story: If you want to see everything it'll take multiple playthroughs. Each character has their own perspective on the events any given mission, which while similar will contain unique content and subtle differences.
>> And it will support Ray tracing reflections and DLSS2.

Here's a cozy little life sim about making potions
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-cozy-little-life-sim-about-making-potions/
A pretty cute little life sim released this week: Potion Permit, which casts you as the new chemist in town, responsible for treating illnesses among the citizens of remote village Moonbury. Your job is to diagnose diseases, gather ingredients, and then brew them into cures as you make friends among the townsfolk and settle into local life.

Getting burned at the stake is just the start in this grimdark, witchy FPS
https://www.pcgamer.com/getting-burned-at-the-stake-is-just-the-start-in-this-grimdark-witchy-fps/
I'm a sucker for a nice main menu gag, especially one where you transition right into a cutscene with no loading (looking at you, Spec Ops: the Line). The demo for the upcoming retro FPS, Coven, kills it here by having the main menu overlaid on a scene of a crowd of medieval peasants staring at you. Starting a new game sees a priest come forward and light your pyre aflame, condemning you to a gruesome death. The first level then begins with you digging out of your own grave to get revenge.

Hack the police in this stylish cyberpunk visual novel
https://www.pcgamer.com/hack-the-police-in-this-stylish-cyberpunk-visual-novel/
Call me old fashioned, but I'm happiest with cyberpunk as a genre when it's about a diverse crew of marginalized people fighting back from under the oppressive boot of an authoritarian corporate regime. You know, when it's both cyber and punk.

Get ready to kick a cultist off a cliff in this retro FPS
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-ready-to-kick-a-cultist-off-a-cliff-in-this-retro-fps/
While Duke Nukem 3D may have been the loud-mouthed posterboy for the Build engine, it was also behind several other shooters of the day. Like Blood, a horror-themed FPS with a Dark Carnival level that let you throw dynamite at mimes. A few years ago Blood received the obligatory Nightdive remaster as Blood: Fresh Supply, but it also served as the inspiration for a new game: Cultic, which is being developed by Jasozz Games and published by 3D Realms.

Ultima Online has a special shield if you've been playing for 25 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/ultima-online-has-a-special-shield-if-youve-been-playing-for-25-years/
(...)
Ultima Online is a landmark, and that is most obviously shown in the fact it's still a going concern: servers remain live to this day, and the game receives regular if small updates. This month marks 25 years since the game launched and, alongside a merry in-game celebration (including drinks vouchers and a 'troll kissing booth'), Ultima Online also offers one of the most remarkable in-game collectables you'll see: a shield that reflects a player having spent 25 years playing the game.

E3 is returning in June 2023 with separate 'Business Days' and 'Gamer Days'
https://www.pcgamer.com/e3-is-returning-in-june-2023-with-separate-business-days-and-gamer-days/
We declared earlier this year that E3 should never be in-person again, but E3 apparently wasn't listening. In June, the Entertainment Software Association announced a partnership with PAX organizer ReedPop to make E3 return in 2023 and today they announced the show dates as well as a change in scheduling that will see the event split into industry and public days.

Atlus is suing fans for reviving its long-dead MMO
https://www.pcgamer.com/atlus-is-suing-fans-for-reviving-its-long-dead-mmo/
All over the corners of the internet, dedicated fans are keeping their favourite online games afloat. If I ever get a nostalgic pang to return to Toontown—an MMO that has been dead since 2013—there are a myriad of faithful and evolved servers I can jump right into. It's part and parcel of our hobby. Unfortunately, it seems Atlus doesn't love these fan revivals quite as much as I do.
As spotted by MarshSMT on Twitter, the developer is suing two fans (operating under Rekuiemu Games and COMP_Hack) for copyright infringement over its MMO Shin Megami Tensei Imagine Online. The game's official servers shut down in May 2016, with the revived fan server cropping up sometime in late 2020. A website that Atlus says is a "blatant copy" of the original Imagine website was also allegedly operated by Rekuiemu. The website seems to be a major pushing point for Atlus, with the suit claiming Reukuiemu "falsely added its own copyright information" alongside the ones for Atlus, Sega and co-developer Cave Interactive.

Ubisoft CEO sparks controversy by saying that making games requires 'friction'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-ceo-sparks-controversy-by-saying-that-making-games-requires-friction/
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has sparked controversy by saying that "you need a little friction" to make videogames, a remark that's caused backlash because of the company's well-known problems with toxicity and abusiveness in the workplace.

Big Darkest Dungeon 2 update introduces progression system and hero 'memories'
https://www.pcgamer.com/big-darkest-dungeon-2-update-introduces-progression-system-and-hero-memories/
When Darkest Dungeon 2 launched into early access on the Epic Games Store in October 2021, it shared a pretty substantial piece of the campaign: it was populated with enemies and equipment, and you could reach an endpoint at The Mountain, defeating the boss that lies at the end of the game's first act.
What it didn't have, though, was much of a progression system. But that's all about to change thanks to a major update that has brought the Altar of Hope, a permanent base similar to the Hamlet in Darkest Dungeon where players can unlock classes, items, and other upgrades.

The Epic Store just got afflicted with its first NFT game
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-epic-store-just-got-afflicted-with-its-first-nft-game/
The Epic Store saw the launch of its first NFT game today, Blankos Block Party, a sort of Roblox-like creation game powered by everyone's favorite tech snake oil, Web3 and the blockchain.

A new Silent Hill game just appeared on a Korean rating site
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-silent-hill-game-just-appeared-on-a-korean-rating-site/
After months of speculation, leaks, and all-around confusion, the future of the Silent Hill series has grown even more bewildering thanks to something called Silent Hill: The Short Message, which was recently rated by South Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee.

A WoW player has already hit level 80, a mere 9 hours after Wrath Classic launched
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-wow-player-has-already-hit-level-80-a-mere-9-hours-after-wrath-classic-launched/
World of Warcraft's Wrath of the Lich King Classic expansion launched just over 12 hours ago and a player has already made it to level 80. In fact, it seems he managed it in a little under nine hours.

Uh oh, Bulletstorm studio and Take-Two have an unexpected breakup
https://www.pcgamer.com/uh-oh-bulletstorm-studio-and-take-two-have-an-unexpected-breakup/
(...) People Can Fly has issued an oddly worded statement saying that it "expects that its co-operation with Take-Two Interactive will come to an end" and spinning Project Dagger being self-published as a positive. People Can Fly says "it has received from Take-Two Interactive a letter of intent to terminate the development and publishing agreement by means of mutual understanding between the parties. This agreement pertains to Project Dagger, new action-adventure IP, that has been in development for the last two years."

Multiversus decides people were levelling up too quickly, doubles the time needed
https://www.pcgamer.com/multiversus-decides-people-were-levelling-up-too-quickly-doubles-the-time-needed/
MultiVersus has doubled the amount of time needed to level up characters, much to the frustration of a handful of fans.
(...)
Unfortunately, Player First Games says in its patch notes (opens in new tab) that "players could get to level 15 of the mastery track too quickly," doubling the amount of experience needed between levels three and 15. (...)