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

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Monday news, part two:

We haven't heard the last of Lance Reddick in Destiny 2: Bungie says there are 'performances yet to come in the game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/we-havent-heard-the-last-of-lance-reddick-in-destiny-2-bungie-says-there-are-performances-yet-to-come-in-the-game/
It seems that we haven't heard the last of Commander Zavala in Destiny 2: In a tribute to voice actor Lance Reddick, who died unexpectedly last week at age 60, Bungie confirmed there are still "performances yet to come in the game."

Gamers once again repressed by the state as judge throws out lawsuit against Activision acquisition
https://www.pcgamer.com/gamers-once-again-repressed-by-the-state-as-judge-throws-out-lawsuit-against-activision-acquisition/
It's not been a bad week for Microsoft. Not only has the UK Competition and Markets Authority decided that, actually, it doesn't have a problem with the Xbox-maker taking ownership of Call of Duty at all, but now GamesRadar reports that the dread hand of a California judge has thrown out a so-called "Gamers' Lawsuit" against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Last long enough in this sci-fi survival colony builder, and you can buy the whole planet
https://www.pcgamer.com/last-long-enough-in-this-sci-fi-survival-colony-builder-and-you-can-buy-the-whole-planet/
One of the most interesting systems in early access colony survival sim Stranded: Alien Dawn is that you can eventually rescue all of your survivors, who begin the game after crashing their spaceship on a hostile alien planet. Once you unlock the technology to contact passing starships, escape pods come down from orbit and you can start sending your colonists to safety, one by one, which makes for an incredible, tension-filled endgame.

It looks like Counter-Strike 2 will cancel matches immediately if Valve detects a cheater
https://www.pcgamer.com/it-looks-like-counter-strike-2-will-cancel-matches-immediately-if-valve-detects-a-cheater/
If you haven't been playing CS:GO for 11 years, you might've struggled to see what all the fuss was about when Valve announced Counter-Strike 2 this week. Yes, the maps are prettier on Source 2 and apparently the smoke grenades are a lot smokier, but it is essentially the same game with a bunch of nice upgrades. Based on info datamined from the Counter-Strike 2 closed test happening now, one of those upgrades might be a new way to stop cheaters before they can ruin a whole match.

Genshin Impact developer's turn-based RPG will launch next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/genshin-impact-developers-turn-based-rpg-will-launch-next-month/
In Honkai: Star Rail, you explore the galaxy on a flying train blessed by a (possibly) dead god. You collect anime friends and fight anime enemies. It's basically Genshin Impact in space, and you'll be able to play it for free next month.

Dark and Darker delisted on Steam following legal action from Nexon
https://www.pcgamer.com/dark-and-darker-delisted-on-steam-following-legal-action-from-nexon/
Up and coming fantasy extraction game Dark and Darker has been taken down from Steam following a cease and desist as well as DMCA claim by publisher Nexon. It's an apparent escalation of Nexon's existing dispute with Dark and Darker developer Ironmace around the game's development assets. Overnight, from March 24th into the 25th, assets and material from Dark and Darker's Steam page were removed, followed by its co-op and PvP servers going dark, and culminating with the removal of the game from steam's Store.

Tractor makers are scrambling to get their gear into Farming Simulator
https://www.pcgamer.com/tractor-makers-are-scrambling-to-get-their-gear-into-farming-simulator/
Where once it had to ask politely to put high-profile farming machine brands in Farming Simulator, Giants Software now has too many requests to be in the wildly popular simulator series, a new profile of the game in The Guardian says.

Here's a game about being the spirit of nature after we've killed all the animals
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-game-about-being-the-spirit-of-nature-after-weve-killed-all-the-animals/
One might conclude that a view of the future where Humanity has taken not just itself down, but every other form of life on earth with it, as "pessimistic" and "depressing," and it probably is. No worries, though, as the artful developers over at Piccolo Studio are making After Us about a surreal post-human world where Gaia, the mother of all life herself, explores to salvage the souls of all animals and return life to Earth.

Fight rat hordes with steam guns in this tactical, squad-based survival RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/fight-rat-hordes-with-steam-guns-in-this-tactical-squad-based-survival-game/
An upcoming turn-based tactical RPG will put players' choice of survivors against a horde of giant, mutated rats in the struggle to cross the ruins of a fallen city and survive another day. Shardpunk: Verminfall will release on April 13, 2023, and sounds like an interesting blend of the turn-based tactics, RPG, resource management, and survival genres.

Be a swamp devil, cause chaos, steal stuff, in this lo-fi immersive sim
https://www.pcgamer.com/be-a-swamp-devil-cause-chaos-steal-stuff-in-this-lo-fi-immersive-sim/
What has eight eyes, a tail, and stabs people in the dark so it can steal their stuff? You, probably, once you download the demo for Brush Burial, a retro-inspired Thief-ish immersive sim about being a horrible little swamp devil named Fennel with eight eyes and a tail that stabs people in the dark so it can steal their stuff.

Chris Avellone accepts 'seven-figure payment' to settle libel suit with those who accused him of sexual misconduct
https://www.pcgamer.com/chris-avellone-accepts-seven-figure-payment-to-settle-libel-suit-with-those-who-accused-him-of-sexual-misconduct/
In June 2020 games writer Chris Avellone, best known for his work on Planescape Torment and the Fallout series, was accused of sexual misconduct on Twitter by two women. At the time Avellone was silent beyond a few brief replies on Twitter (now deleted), but the accusations led to several studios publicly cutting ties with the writer. Around a year after the claims were first made, Avellone publicly denied them and launched a libel suit in California (later re-filed in Illinois), seeking damages for lost work, emotional distress, punitive damages, the costs of the suit, and an injunction against the accusers.
This suit has now been settled, and in a manner favourable to Avellone. His accusers, Karissa Barrows and Kelly Rae Bristol, have signed a joint statement retracting their claims. Ms. Barrows has requested her previous comments to the media be retracted. "Claims were dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a confidential settlement that provides for a seven-figure payment that includes the return of the attorney fee award entered against Mr. Avellone in California."

Makers of one of Slay The Spire's most beloved mods announce full game
https://www.pcgamer.com/makers-of-one-of-slay-the-spires-most-beloved-mods-announce-full-game/
The creators of the fan-made (and very popular) Downfall expansion for Slay The Spire, which flips the script so you're defending the spire from those pesky heroes, are making a full-fledged game. Table 9 Studio has announced Tales & Tactics, a blend of "the roguelike strategy genre with the squad-based autobattler genre" that's due out later this year, and it looks like the devs are putting the lessons they learned from Downfall to good use.

Diablo 4 rogue almost solos world boss designed for 12 players, and would have if a necromancer didn't nick in and steal the kill at 1% HP
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-rogue-almost-solos-world-boss-designed-for-12-players-and-would-have-if-a-necromancer-didnt-nick-in-and-steal-the-kill-at-1-hp/
Diablo 4's beta came with a taste of one of the game's new challenges: Ashava the Pestilent, a world boss that can only be defeated once per week and spawns at limited times. It cropped up four times during the open beta, which was of course more than enough for the more dedicated min-maxers out there to have a crack at beating it in the most ludicrous manner possible.