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

[JEMC]

As if being Monday wasn’t bad enough, here I am, bothering you with news. I have no shame:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Top-tier deckbuilder Balatro hits 1 million sales in less than a month, which hopefully justifies all the hours we've collectively lost to it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/top-tier-deckbuilder-balatro-hits-1-million-sales-in-less-than-a-month-which-hopefully-justifies-all-the-hours-weve-collectively-lost-to-it/
I don't like poker, but I love Balatro—and I mean, hey, I've at least got that in common with its creator (though I've played considerably more deckbuilders than they have). It's pretty astounding that someone with zero experience in almost anything their game is about could make such a banger, but here we are. 
(...)
Luckily, Balatro has enjoyed a success that's proportional to just how dang good it is—it hit 500,000 copies sold in short order, and now it's doubled that number to a staggering 1 million copies, as announced on the game's official twitter. Personally, I'm just glad some of the baffling issues with its age rating haven't slowed it down.

GOG has four new Deals of the Day that will last until Wednesday:

• Crystal Project is going to be 25% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/crystal_project
• Nobody Saves the World Complete (with DLC and OST) will be 60% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/nobody_saves_the_world_complete
• The Whale Rock Games - Immersive Puzzles Bundle, with 7 games, gets a 95% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/whale_rock_games_immersive_puzzles_bundle
• If the former isn’t enough for you, the Whale Rock All Games Bundle, with 15 games also gets a 95% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/whale_rock_all_games_bundle

For the youngest ones, Humble Bundle brings the Spring into Learning: The Humongous Collection, with 37 items to get during 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/spring-into-learning-complete-humongous-collection.

And Fanatical’s Spring Sale has advanced into its Encore mode, meaning that its end will come in the next couple days, more or less.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Steam has passed over 36 million concurrent players
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/steam-has-passed-over-36-million-concurrent-players/
Last week, Steam hit 35 million concurrent players. And in just a week, Valve’s digital service was able to set yet another new record. Yep, Steam has passed over 36 million concurrent players.
To be more precise, Steam hit 36.354 million concurrent players. So, it’s not THAT close to the 37 million goal. At least for now.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The demo for Dark Souls: Archthrones, the highly anticipated Demon’s Souls-inspired mod for Dark Souls 3, is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/demo-dark-souls-archthrones-mod-download/
And the time has finally come. The demo for the highly anticipated Dark Souls 3 prequel mod, Dark Souls: Archthrones, has just been released.
Archthrones is a retelling of the Dark Souls universe and a comprehensive total game mod for Dark Souls 3. The mod comes with its own lore that is based on the deepest secrets of the Dark Souls mythos.
As with all major mods, Dark Souls Archthrones features new enemies, bosses, armor, weapons and spells. Demon’s Souls will be also happy to find out that the level structure of Archthrones was inspired by it. Not only that but the mod promises to offer rich NPC questlines.
Players will relive some of the most memorable areas of the entire trilogy within one mod, with reinterpretations of iconic characters and some interpretations you’ve only seen in item descriptions.
What’s also cool here is that Archthrones offers a Nonlinear Progression system. Players can explore each throne at their own pace and in their desired order.
>> The article has the launch trailer of the mod.

STALKER Anomaly now supports a lot of advanced rendering effects like AO, Parallax Mapping, Indirect Light, SSR, Interactive Grass and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/stalker-anomaly-ao-pom-ssr-more/
Modder ‘Ascii1457’ has dropped a new version of the Screen Space Shaders add-on for STALKER Anomaly. If you’re thinking of diving back into the classic STALKER games, this is a must-have. This add-on improves the game with all sorts of cool modern graphics effects. So, you can expect effects like Ambient Occlusion, Indirect Light, SSR, Screen-Space Shadows, Interactive Grass, and more.
For those unaware, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anomaly aims to be the most stable and customizable experience for fans of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. It’s powered by the Monolith 64-bit engine, a custom fork of the X-Ray engine.
>> You’ll find an almost 3 minutes video in the article.

15 Minutes of Gameplay From the Need for Speed Most Wanted Fan Remake in Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/15-minutes-gameplay-need-for-speed-most-wanted-fan-remake-unreal-engine-5/
In December 2023, we shared a video from a fan remake of Need for Speed: Most Wanted in Unreal Engine 5. And today, we are happy to share a new video from it, packing over 15 minutes of gameplay footage.
In this latest version, NostalgiaNexus created a new particle system in Niagara for backfire and NOS FX. He also made his own custom traffic system, and added a fake interior shader. Not only that but he added 3D trees with wind effects to the game, as well as falling leaves FX. This is such a welcome addition as the original version had static tree cards.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – Unofficial PC Port vs PS5 Comparison Video
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/marvels-spider-man-2-unofficial-pc-port-vs-ps5-comparison-video/
YouTube’s ‘Combative 117’ has shared a comparison video between the PS5 and the latest version of the unofficial PC port of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. And, the results are quite impressive.
Now as you will see, the images are a bit low-res. The purpose of this video though is not to compare the textures. Its main purpose is to show how close to the PS5 version the unofficial PC port actually is.

Here’s another look at the Tomb Raider 2 RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/heres-another-look-at-the-tomb-raider-2-rtx-remix-path-tracing-mod/
A couple of months ago, we shared some screenshots from a WIP RTX Remix Mod for Tomb Raider 2. And yesterday, modder ‘skurtyyskirts’ shared a new video, showcasing the latest version of it.
Before continuing, this mod is not yet available for download. Not only that but it’s not complete yet. Thus, it does not represent the quality of its final version. With this out of the way, let’s take a closer look at it.

Grand Theft Auto 4 Just Got a Fully Functional Vehicle Fuel System
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/grand-theft-auto-4-just-got-a-fully-functional-vehicle-fuel-system/
I don’t know how many of you are still playing Grand Theft Auto 4. However, modder ‘ElPapaDeTu’ released a really cool mod that adds a fully functional vehicle fuel system to it. This mod will greatly enhance your gaming experience. Thus, you should download it if you’re planning to replay this old GTA title.
Going into more details, this mod adds a fuel bar that changes color and size depending on your vehicle’s fuel level. Each vehicle has a category it belongs to for varying vehicle fuel sizes and fuel usage. Not only that but you can refuel your vehicle in the gas stations. Do note though that every gas station has its own fuel price. And, if you run out of gas, your vehicle will stop working.
>> There’s a roughly 1 minute video of the mod.

The Witcher 3: Next-Gen Now Has the Ultimate Netflix Mods
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-next-gen-now-has-the-ultimate-netflix-mods/
Modder ‘UburUbur’ has released two mods for The Witcher 3: Next-Gen that replace its main cast with the faces of those from the Netflix series.
To be more precise, Geralt now looks exactly like Henry Cavill. UburUbur’s mod is based on the Ultimate Netflix Henry Cavill Mod, created by Draiamond, Henry and Bjorn18. Moreover, Ciri will now look similar to Freya Allan, and Yennefer will look like Anya Chalotra.
The best one of these mods is by far the one for Henry Cavill. Seriously, just take a look at it. Geralt looks exactly like Cavill. It’s incredible. And while we’ve seen similar mods in the past, these new ones look absolutely amazing.
Now we need an AI audio mod that can replace Doug Cockle’s voice with Henry Cavill’s. Blasphemy, I know. However, right now, it feels a bit weird hearing Doug when the character looks like Cavill.
>> There’s an over 30 minutes video in the article.

GAMING NEWS

Here are some new in-game screenshots for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/here-are-some-new-in-game-screenshots-for-senuas-saga-hellblade-ii/
Ninja Theory has shared some new in-game screenshots for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. These screenshots were captured with the game’s Photo Mode. Yes, like its predecessor, this new Hellblade game will have a Photo Mode.

Lords of the Fallen Patch 1.1.598 brings performance optimizations, AMD stability improvements and PVP balance tweaks
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/lords-of-the-fallen-patch-1-1-598/
Hexworks has released Title Update v.1.1.598 for Lords of the Fallen. According to the devs, this latest patch brings to the game performance optimizations, AMD stability improvements and PVP balance tweaks.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 has been leaked and people are streaming it online
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/dragons-dogma-2-has-been-leaked-and-people-are-streaming-it-online/
Dragon’s Dogma 2 will be officially released on March 22nd. However, it appears that people have already gotten access to it, and are streaming it online. So, for the next seven days, you’ll have to avoid the Internet like a plague (unless you want things to get spoiled for you). And below, you can find someone streaming the game on TwitchTV as we speak.
>> Shame.

Bungie’s classic sci-fi FPS Marathon is coming soon to Steam
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bungie-classic-sci-fi-fps-marathon-pc/
Aleph One Developers has announced that it will release soon its PC port of Bungie’s classic sci-fi FPS, Marathon, on Steam. The game will be available on Steam, and its page is already up so that players can wishlist it.

Commandos: Origins gets brand new in-engine trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/commandos-origins-gets-brand-new-in-engine-trailer/
Kalypso Media has released a brand new in-engine trailer for the next Commandos game, Commandos: Origins. This trailer shows off some of the maps that players will find in this latest real-time strategy game.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves releases in early 2025, gets new gameplay trailers
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/fatal-fury-city-of-the-wolves-releases-in-early-2025-gets-new-gameplay-trailers/
SNK has announced that its latest fighting game, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, will be released in early 2025. To celebrate this announcement, the team shared two new gameplay trailers that you can find below.