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

[JEMC]

The news, part two:

This Pac-Man inspired one-button corridor-gobbler just ate several hours of my day
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-pac-man-inspired-one-button-corridor-gobbler-just-ate-several-hours-of-my-day/
"Kenta Cho?" I take a slow puff on my pipe as I stare into the distance. "Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time…" Way back when I was obsessed with 2D schmups, I'd tell anyone with ears to check out Kenta Cho's amazing games: often small, often built around a single smart idea, and always worth playing. Perhaps his best-known game is rRootage (which is now available as a Remastered version) but, honestly, everything this guy makes is worth the time.
So it was that I went to play Paku Paku, which was released last year but has only recently attracted the attention it deserves, and realised with delight it's another Cho special. Cho's games really are about the table-flip, the one mechanic or idea that everything else in the game revolves around, and that's a natural fit for Pac-Man, which itself is built on the table-flipping mechanic of running from the ghosts then chasing them when you're powered-up.

GTA 5 actor goes nuclear on AI company that made a voice chatbot of him: 'I'm not worried about being replaced... I just hate these f**kers'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-5-actor-goes-nuclear-on-ai-company-that-made-a-voice-chatbot-of-him-im-not-worried-about-being-replaced-i-just-hate-these-fkers/
Ned Luke, the actor whose roles include GTA 5's Michael De Santa, has gone off on an AI company that released an unlicensed voice chatbot based on the character, and succeeded in having the offending bot nuked from the internet (first spotted by PCGamesN).

Former Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 devs officially reveal their first game, and yeah it sure looks like vampires
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-witcher-3-and-cyberpunk-2077-devs-officially-reveal-their-first-game-and-yeah-it-sure-looks-like-vampires/
In February 2022, a group of CD Projekt veterans headed up by Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz announced the launch of a new studio called Rebel Wolves and teased its first project with a bit of concept art that Rich Stanton said gave him "strong vampire vibes." Today, two years later, the studio finally dropped the game's title and some new art, and you know what? It's giving me very strong vampire vibes.

Overwatch 2 director apologizes for the way self-healing heroes in Season 9 was announced: 'It was a mistake to talk about this lone change out of context'
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2-director-apologizes-for-the-way-self-healing-heroes-in-season-9-was-announced-it-was-a-mistake-to-talk-about-this-lone-change-out-of-context/
Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller has apologized for last week's announcement of upcoming changes that will grant every tank and DPS hero a self-healing ability, saying that there's a whole host of changes coming to the game in season 9 and talking about this one out of context "was a mistake."

Niche strategy sickos rejoice, Dominions 6 will let you cook up bizarre gods shortly
https://www.pcgamer.com/niche-strategy-sickos-rejoice-dominions-6-will-let-you-cook-up-bizarre-gods-shortly/
Long-running strategy series Dominions gets a new entry this week, as Dominions 6: Rise of the Pantokrator will launch on January 17, 2024. The Dominions series has players take on the role of a powerful demigod-creature attempting to become the next god of gods, the Pantokrator. The deep, complex strategy games are known for their wild variety of pretender gods, units, factions, and magic spells.

Diesel-powered city builder New Cycle invites you to rekindle hope after a solar flare wrecks the world
https://www.pcgamer.com/diesel-powered-city-builder-new-cycle-invites-you-to-rekindle-hope-after-a-solar-flare-wrecks-the-world/
Dieselpunk city builder New Cycle will release this week on January 18, 2024, challenging you as the leader of a band of survivors trying to rebuild Earth's civilization following a series of devastating solar storms that obliterate our societal and technological infrastructure.

Cities: Skylines 2 studio boss warns that growing toxicity could force developers to 'pull back our engagement' with the community
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-2-studio-boss-warns-that-growing-toxicity-could-force-developers-to-pull-back-our-engagement-with-the-community/
Cities: Skylines 2 was not in great shape when it launched in 2023. The underlying game was quite good but it was plagued with performance problems and missing a number of features, most notably an editor. That sparked a quick backlash on Steam, visible in the "mixed" user rating, but it also kicked off what Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen described as "a growing tendency of toxicity in our community."

Ark: Survival Ascended gets powerful mod tools this month, expansion maps in February and April
https://www.pcgamer.com/ark-survival-ascended-gets-powerful-mod-tools-this-month-expansion-maps-in-february-and-april/
Dinosaur survival game remaster Ark: Survival Ascended will get massive improvements to its development kit this month, letting modders do much more than they can now. Developers Studio Wildcard have also announced a release window and date for delayed expansion maps The Center, by the end of February, and Scorched Earth on April 1st.

The latest Baba Is You spinoff injects it with Into the Breach to create Mobile Suit Baba
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-latest-baba-is-you-spinoff-injects-it-with-into-the-breach-to-create-mobile-suit-baba/
Beloved puzzle game Baba is You is back with another weirdo spinoff: Mobile Suit Baba, which puts the titular star and friends in giant mecha versions of themselves to engage in tactical, turn-based puzzles all about predicting how enemies move, knock them around, and in true Baba is You fashion change the fundamental rules of the cosmos by rearranging phrases.

Embracer-owned Lost Boys Interactive reportedly undergoes 'sizable' layoffs
https://www.pcgamer.com/embracer-owned-lost-boys-interactive-reportedly-undergoes-sizable-layoffs/
Lost Boys Interactive has reportedly become the latest Embracer-owned studio to undergo layoffs, as former producer Jared Pace said on LinkedIn (via Game Developer) that "a sizable portion" of its workforce has been let go.