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

[JEMC]

Friday news, the second part:

Wait, there are 5 Lord of the Rings games due in the next 2 years?
https://www.pcgamer.com/wait-there-are-5-lord-of-the-rings-games-due-in-the-next-2-years/
In August 2022, Embracer Group added Middle-earth Enterprises to its ever-growing lineup of studios and properties. And it's not wasting any time doing something with it: Embracer revealed in its Q3 2022 financial report that it now has no less than five LotR games in development.

Resident Evil 4 Remake system requirements are pleasantly mild
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-4-remake-system-requirements/
Resident Evil 4 Remake promises to surprise us with its modern survival horror reimagining of the Capcom classic. The PC system requirements, however, offer no surprises: they're exactly the same as 2021's Resident Evil Village, promising solid fps at 1080p on modest hardware.

Bungie is going to sell a 'booster' that unlocks the new Destiny 2: Lightfall subclass on your alt
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-is-going-to-sell-a-booster-that-unlocks-the-new-destiny-2-lightfall-subclass-on-your-alt/
When Bungie added the Stasis subclass to Destiny in the Beyond Light expansion, one of the chief pieces of negative feedback was that it was too grindy to unlock on your alts. Having acquired the new power on your main character by finishing the Beyond Light campaign, you also had to repeat the entire process on your other toons, including a lengthy time-gated questline.

Ubisoft has an 'improved version' of Skull and Bones that it hasn't shown anyone yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-has-an-improved-version-of-skull-and-bones-that-it-hasnt-shown-anyone-yet/
It has not been smooth sailing for Skull and Bones, Ubisoft's oft-delayed and much-derided game of high seas piracy that, for those keeping score, still doesn't have a release date. It's fair to say that what little we've seen of the game so far hasn't made a great impression, but chief financial officer Frederick Duguet thinks that will change once we all get a look at an "improved version" of the game that, for now, remains behind closed doors.

This solo-developed 'cross between Dark Alliance and Dark Souls' is shaping up to be my next RPG obsession
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-solo-developed-cross-between-dark-alliance-and-dark-souls-is-shaping-up-to-be-my-next-rpg-obsession/
Mortal Crux is one of those independent projects that's slowly assembling itself in front of our very eyes on Twitter and TikTok. We last checked in on this solo-developed action RPG last February when it was only a few months into development, but since that time it's been accumulating a laundry list of interesting features for its frigid fantasy, all demoed for an eager audience on social media.

Here's a thoroughly Slavic cyberpunk stealth-action game
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-thoroughly-slavic-cyberpunk-stealth-action-game/
Indie studio Red Square Games just announced SlavicPunk: Oldtimer, an isometric shooter/hacker/sneaker based on the fiction of Polish author Michał Gołkowski. You play a private detective with a whole lot of issues and an intimidating sitcom dad moustache who goes up against the usual assortment of gangs and corrupt corporate executives.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened delay announcement doubles as a short war documentary
https://www.pcgamer.com/sherlock-holmes-the-awakened-delay-announcement-doubles-as-a-short-war-documentary/
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened—a new entry in the long-running series, which pits the iconic detective against Lovecraftian weirdness—has been delayed "to March, or April at the latest". The accompanying video by Ukrainian developer Frogwares paints a bleak picture of daily life in the country.
>> Well, it's hard to develop a videogame (or do almost anything), when you get power cuts.

Wild Hearts devs acknowledge the PC port runs terribly and promise fix next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/wild-hearts-devs-acknowledge-the-pc-port-runs-terribly-and-promise-fix-next-week/
Wild Hearts is Koei-Tecmo's new attempt to get in on that sweet monster hunting action and, while it's not perfect, there's lots to like. PCG's Wes Fenlon mostly enjoyed his time with the game, but a dearth of monsters and terrible issues with performance saw the game limp off with a 63% score. I've been playing Wild Hearts and, yep, this thing runs badly and suffers from constant frame drops and stuttering. It's a sentiment shared by the wider community, with the game's Steam reviews currently sitting at mostly negative and summed up by this devastating one-liner from Katsummie: "The price is higher than the FPS you will be able to pull in this game." The development team, Omega Force, has now acknowledged that the PC version is not in a good state, and claims it has identified the problem and a fix is due imminently

It's a great weekend for trying big games for free
https://www.pcgamer.com/its-a-great-weekend-for-trying-big-games-for-free/
If you can't find anything to play in your game library this weekend, there's some good news in the form of a bunch of free weekend deals on Steam and Ubisoft Connect. Along with Firaxis' platonic superhero dating sim Midnight Suns being free to try until Sunday, you can also dabble in Age of Empires 4: Anniversary Edition and Far Cry 6, all without dipping into your wallet.

Deeply weird Alice video basically begs EA to fund the game
https://www.pcgamer.com/deeply-weird-alice-video-basically-begs-ea-to-fund-the-game/
Designer American McGee is best known for his striking videogame adaptations—though adaptation may be too weak a word—of the children's classic Alice in Wonderland. The last game, Alice: Madness Returns, was released in 2011 and is still available on Steam, though 2000's American McGee's Alice is much harder to get a hold of.
McGee has in recent years made his intentions clear and public: He wants to make a third game, Alice: Asylum, and has a Patreon dedicated to funding the game's development (which has 3,224 paying subscribers). Thing is, though, the game isn't actually in development: It's still in pre-production. McGee released a draft script for the game back in 2021, but now he's gone all-in on trying to get old publishing partner EA interested in funding it.

Firaxis announces new Civilization game as XCOM director Jake Solomon leaves
https://www.pcgamer.com/firaxis-announces-new-civilization-game-as-xcom-director-jake-solomon-leaves/
Jake Solomon has announced he's leaving Firaxis after over two decades, during which he helmed the excellent reboot of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its sequel, before most recently directing Marvel's Midnight Suns (which is also excellent, if you're the kind of person who wants to take yoga classes with Blade). Firaxis announced the news with a bit of a consolation prize: A new Civilization game is on the way.

And now, the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• There's a new GIVEAWAY: Biing!: Sex, Intrigue and Scalpels, free to keep during 70 more hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/biing_sex_intrigue_and_scalpels
• These are the 9 Deals of the Day, available until Monday;
  • Sephonie is 10% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/sephonie
  • Re-Volt gets a 12% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/revolt
  • Expeditions: Rome is 40% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/expeditions_rome
  • Cossacks 3 gets a 60% deal: https://www.gog.com/en/game/cossacks_3
  • Smart City Plan gets a 65% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/smart_city_plan
  • Pid will be 70% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/pid
  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat gets a 70% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/stalker_call_of_pripyat
  • Mortal Kombat 1+2+3 is 75% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/mortal_kombat_123
  • The last one is Lock's Quest, with a 95% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/locks_quest
• And there's a new collection for the We Love Games Sale: the NSFW Collection. Do I need to explain what's in there? I don't think so. Just remember that it will last until three days, just like the WLG Sale: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_nsfw_week

+Steam

• To celebrate Bruce Wayne's birthday, the Batman games are on sale with up to 90% discounts until next Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/WBGames/sale/brucewaynebday
• Besides being free to try, Age of Empires IV will also be 40% off until the 23rd of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/Age_of_Empires_IV_Anniversary_Edition/
• Fabled Lands, that has a demo, will be 50% off until the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299620/Fabled_Lands/
• Disney puts its classic videogames (and also the LucasArts ones) on sale with up to 75% discounts until February, 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/disneypublishersale2023
• Book of Demons will be free to try during the weekend and gets an 80% discount until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/thingtrunksale
• The Wargaming Publisher Weekend features up to 95% discounts until Thursday, 23: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/wargaming2023
• Publisher Spike Chunsoft puts its games up to 90% off until February 27: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/spikechunsoft2023
• Pharaoh: A New Era gets a launch discount of 15% until the 1st of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1351080/Pharaoh_A_New_Era/
• And Publisher 2K puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts until the 2nd of March: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/2K/sale/2kpublishersale2023

And that's all. I wish you a happy and gaming weekend. See you next time!