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

[JEMC]

Today there’s another news post:

The latest Vampire Survivors release is a straight-up crossover with Contra
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-latest-vampire-survivors-release-is-a-straight-up-crossover-with-contra/
Vampire Survivors continues to roll out new DLC in ever weirder, more delightful packages this month with Operation Guns, a full-on crossover between the worlds of Vampire Survivors and long-running shoot-em-up slash bullet hell slash action arcade series Contra. 

The season of game company gaffes continues with NetEase apologizing for a Marvel Rivals preview contract that asked streamers not to make 'subjective negative reviews of the game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-season-of-game-company-gaffes-continues-with-netease-apologizing-for-a-marvel-rivals-preview-contract-that-asked-streamers-not-to-make-subjective-negative-reviews-of-the-game/
Publisher NetEase has walked back a controversial "non-disparagement" requirement for streamers and video makers previewing its upcoming hero shooter Marvel Rivals. Just one day after prominent streamer Brandon "Seagull" Larned criticized the contract on Twitter, NetEase made a statement on the game's Discord and to PCGamesN that it would be amending the contract.

Total War: Pharaoh's big free update map is far, far larger than I would have thought
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/total-war-pharaohs-big-free-update-map-is-far-far-larger-than-i-would-have-thought/
Creative Assembly has posted new bits of maps and a more details on the large, free update coming to Total War: Pharaoh, including a look at its revised and expanded map that will now include the Aegean and Mesopotamia, adding Assyria, Babylon, Mycenae, and Troy as playable cultures with about 150 new and reworked units between them.

Path of Achra, the approachably bite-size roguelike full of superpowered combos, has hit its full release
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/path-of-achra-the-approachably-bite-size-roguelike-full-of-superpowered-combos-has-hit-its-full-release/
Bite-size arena battle roguelike and self-professed "broken build sandbox" Path of Achra has hit its 1.0 release. Developer Ulfsire's game is now finished, for whatever that means in a modern game. "I'm pretty much excrutiatingly grateful to you all who have helped bring it here, and 1.0 of course won't be the end of updates," posted Ulfsire.

Here's a co-op action roguelike that's basically a boss rush of high-tier MMO raids
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/heres-a-co-op-action-roguelike-thats-basically-a-boss-rush-of-high-tier-mmo-raids/
The developer of Rabbit and Steel describes it thus: "a co-op action roguelike that recreates the essence of high-level MMO raiding in a randomized, simplified, bunny-sized package."

Finally, I have another game about being a freaky little nasty guy trapped in an otherworldly hell dimension to look forward to
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/finally-i-have-another-game-about-being-a-freaky-little-nasty-guy-trapped-in-an-otherworldly-hell-dimension-to-look-forward-to/
With how advanced 3D graphics have gotten, I wish we'd use these rendering techniques to get more freaky with it, ya dig? Alan Wake 2's funky lighting and lightning quick loading really scratched that itch for me last year, but 2022's Scorn is really what I'm talkin' about: a sickening fever dream that could only be brought to life in a game. Now it looks like we're getting our first Scornlike in Necrophosis.

'Thank you so much for the second chance chooms': Cyberpunk 2077's developers enjoy a well-earned bask as the game finally hits Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/thank-you-so-much-for-the-second-chance-chooms-cyberpunk-2077s-developers-enjoy-a-well-earned-bask-as-the-game-finally-hits-overwhelmingly-positive-on-steam/
Ah, Cyberpunk 2077—it's incredible to think that a game that launched so disastrously it prompted a class-action lawsuit is, years later, being praised as one of the best RPGs you can play right now. At least if its currently 'Overwhelmingly Positive' recent reviews on Steam are anything to go by.

Helldivers 2 major order challenges players to scrap 2 billion bots, but Super Earth warns it'll be much harder than last time
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-major-order-challenges-players-to-scrap-2-billion-bots-but-super-earth-warns-itll-much-be-harder-than-last-time/
A few weeks ago, Super Earth offered Helldivers 2 players two new stratagems and let them decide which one to unlock by voting with their guns. The winner was the Airburst Rocket Launcher, beating out the less flashy Anti-Tank Mines by a super mile. It was the correct choice, given how satisfying the Airburst's scattershot explosions are, but Super Earth has granted us another opportunity to complete the pair.
"Following the tragic, unavoidable loss of MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines on Choohe to the Automatons, and the civilians too, production began elsewhere immediately," reads a new in-game dispatch. "The Helldivers are ordered to conduct a forceful, large-scale decommissioning of Automaton forces. The recovered scrap of dismantled bots will then be put toward the construction of MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines."

Helldivers 2 only became a live-service game halfway through development, but 'feels like what live service was born to do'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-only-became-a-live-service-game-halfway-through-development-but-feels-like-what-live-service-was-born-to-do/
Russ Nickel, former lead writer of Helldivers 2, was recently interviewed by Inverse, where he explained that developers Arrowhead didn't decide it was going to be a service game until well after beginning work on it. Its popularity sure suggests it was the right call to make. "This feels like what live service was born to do", Nickel said. "For a while, Arrowhead didn't know if the sequel was going to be a live-service title. But as we talked about it more, it was clear that this would make for such a cool live service experience, one where the story can change constantly so it really does feel alive."

Helldivers 2 director says new de-listings are an 'administrative error correction' by Valve on Sony's orders, but 'we still want the game to be available everywhere'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-director-says-new-de-listings-are-an-administrative-error-correction-by-valve-on-sonys-orders-but-we-still-want-the-game-to-be-available-everywhere/
Sony may have walked back its disastrous decision forcing Helldivers 2's PC players to link their accounts to PlayStation Network, but this hasn't stopped the game from remaining delisted on Steam in several countries where PSN is not available. Now, as more countries are added to that blacklist, it's been put upon Arrowhead CEO to discover this was "an administrative error correction" by Valve to comply with Sony's demands.