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

[JEMC]

The second part of the Thursday news:

Star Wars Outlaws' $110 and $130 editions prompt a collective sigh from potential players tired of season passes and ill-advised early access periods
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/star-wars-outlaws-dollar110-and-dollar130-editions-prompt-a-collective-sigh-from-potential-players-tired-of-season-passes-and-ill-advised-early-access-periods/
I'm genuinely excited for Star Wars Outlaws, especially since the trailer debuted earlier this week. It might not set the world on fire, or anything, but I like my blasters, I like my freaky aliens, and I like making ticks in an open-world checklist. I am not above the 'Ubisoft Game Loop™'. 
I am, however, exhausted by collector's editions that toss a few skins and items into the game for another batch of credits—and I'm not exactly alone. "Anytime I see charts like these it just makes me think: 'I can’t wait to buy the full game for $20 years later,'" writes an understandably-tired observer on Twitter. 

Slay the Spire 2 releases in 2025: 'The Spire isn't what it used to be'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/slay-the-spire-2-announced/
Slay the Spire, the brilliant roguelike deckbuilder that first released in early access in 2017, is getting a sequel next year.
Slay the Spire 2 was announced with a teaser video, embedded above, at the Triple-I Initiative showcase today. It's quite a glow up: A brief but sweet animated reintroduction to the Spire.

I respect a bloody arcade shooter with the courage to have a name as blunt as 'Kill Knight'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/i-respect-a-bloody-arcade-shooter-with-the-courage-to-have-a-name-as-blunt-as-kill-knight/
I have to hand it to the developers of Kill Knight for their choice of title: How can I not want to know more about an arcade shooter called Kill Knight?
It is, as you'd hope and expect, about a knight who kills. It's fast, violent, and coated in red, not unlike Doom Eternal. Developer PlaySide Studios—who, it should be noted, is still holding onto an NFT MMO project in development—describes the game as an "ultra-responsive arcade-inspired isometric action shooter," which is a mouthful, but makes it sound like it's somewhere between Supergiant's roguelike Hades and the original Helldivers.

Hunt down a crazed sniper in a major new content update for our favorite voxel-based Deus Ex-like detective sim
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/hunt-down-a-crazed-sniper-in-a-major-new-content-update-for-our-favorite-voxel-based-deus-ex-like-detective-sim/
We had a lot of positive things to say about the immersive sim Shadows of Doubt since its (sadly no-longer-available) demo arrived in early 2023, much of it comparing the game to Deus Ex—which, in case it's not clear, is very high praise indeed. Its voxel-based world grows bigger today with the release of the big new Sharpshooter Assassin content update, unveiled during today's Triple-I showcase, which adds a new type of killer for aspiring detectives to investigate and pursue.

Darkest Dungeon 2 is getting a free new game mode later this year that will feature 'some of the permanence and roster management' of the original game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/darkest-dungeon-2-is-getting-a-free-new-game-mode-later-this-year-that-will-feature-some-of-the-permanence-and-roster-management-of-the-original-game/
Darkest Dungeon 2 is getting an all-new campaign game mode called Kingdoms that's set to roll out as a free content update later this year. Revealed during today's Triple-I Initiative showcase, the new mode challenges players to find and defeat a grave threat to the Kingdom, a realm made up of a network of safe haven inns.

Vertical city builder Laysara: Summit Kingdom just surprise launched on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/vertical-city-builder-laysara-summit-kingdom-has-just-surprise-dropped-on-steam/
I'm not much of a city-builder girl—too many moving parts for my brain to handle—but I have been rather excited for the release of Laysara: Summit Kingdom. Trying to build an entire city up craggy cliffs and steep mountains all while trying to prevent your settlements being crushed by a giant ice ball sounds deliciously menacing to me. I've been wondering how much longer I'll have to wait—turns out the answer is "zero minutes" as the game has just surprise-dropped in early access on Steam.

Dinolords is basically Age of Empires with dinosaurs, and honestly what more could you want from a strategy game than that?
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rts/dinolords-is-basically-age-of-empires-with-dinosaurs-and-honestly-what-more-could-you-want-from-a-strategy-game-than-that/
When we first saw Dinolords back in October last year, it was hard not to be seduced by the premise: as a medieval English lord, you must defend your lands from Viking invasion, and also there are tameable dinosaurs. Now there's a new trailer offering a much more substantial look at the prehistoric action, thanks to the Triple-I Initiative showcase, and from the moment an armoured T-Rex crashes through a castle wall, you know you're in for a good time.

Palword's PvP arena is coming this year with 3v3 action Pal battles
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/palwords-pvp-arena-is-coming-this-year-with-3v3-action-pal-battles/
Creature collecting and survival crafting game Palworld took the internet, and my own nightly gaming time, totally hostage at the beginning of this year. People like the Pals, and not least because it was a Pokémon-inspired open world game. Now officially on the list of other Pokémon-derived features is a Pal Arena that Pocketpair revealed exactly 10 seconds of footage for during today's Triple I Initiative showcase.

Another Stardew Valley patch is on the way, with 'a new fishing thing, and some new mining-related stuff'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/another-stardew-valley-patch-is-on-the-way-with-a-new-fishing-thing-and-some-new-mining-related-stuff/
Will Eric Barone ever stop working on Stardew Valley? Someday, perhaps, but as Viggo Mortensen famously said, it is not this day: Because this day, Barone announced that another new patch is in the works that's expected to be out this week.

The coziest MMO feature is coming to Sky: Children of the Light next week: player housing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/the-coziest-mmo-feature-is-coming-to-sky-children-of-the-light-next-week-player-housing/
The cozy MMO from Journey's developers that I've been waiting years to play on PC finally launched on Steam today. Thatgamecompany also announced the details of Sky: Children of the Light's next in-game season, which starts next week, and it's adding one of the best features for creative players that any MMO can have: customizable player homes.