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

[JEMC]

Monday news, part two:

Slime Rancher 2's latest update adds toys and see-saws for your colourful blobs, letting you transform your ranch into a playground for profit
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/slime-rancher-2s-latest-update-adds-toys-and-see-saws-for-your-colourful-blobs-letting-you-transform-your-ranch-into-a-playground-for-profit/
Like a Tabby slime squelching into your chicken coop, Slime Rancher 2 has been steadily working its way through its early access period since it launched in September 2022. This February, developer Monomi Park added 36 new gadgets into its squidgy farming sim, including a constructible Slime pinball machine. Now, its v.0.5.0 update adds yet more gizmos to the game, alongside a whole new way to purchase them: the ProntoMart.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail's official site goes up, casually reveals that we're doing both a tournament arc and a field trip to the Bermuda Triangle
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-dawntrails-official-site-goes-up-casually-reveals-that-were-doing-both-a-tournament-arc-and-a-field-trip-to-the-bermuda-triangle/
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail's early access is less than a month away—which can only mean one thing: I am just now scrambling to get all the Yo-Kai Watch event items and suffering for it. Oh, right, and the official Dawntrail site is up, that's important too. 

After a complete rebranding, legally-distinct Bloodborne parody Nightmare Kart is finally released to the general public—and the PS1 vibes are immaculate
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/after-a-complete-rebranding-legally-distinct-bloodborne-parody-nightmare-kart-is-finally-released-to-the-general-publicand-the-ps1-vibes-are-immaculate/
Nightmare Kart, the game formerly known as Bloodborne Kart, has had quite the roundabout journey to get here. Announced back in March 2022, the fan project—a Bloodborne-themed kart racer which feels like it started as a bit that was yes-anded into a real thing—was meant to be released January 31 of this year. 
Alas, Sony eventually stepped in just as the game was about to cross the finish line, and developer Lilith Walther was forced to completely rebrand the entire game. This has turned out to be a blessing and a curse—a curse, because it made the release date drift by a couple of months. A blessing, because in Walther's own words: "This is a fan game no more!" Now it's here, as announced by Walther on Twitter. 

The latest overnight survival game fixation blends a Mesoamerican theme, Bionicle masks, and the occasional Destiny guy
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/the-latest-overnight-survival-game-fixation-blends-a-mesoamerican-theme-bionicle-masks-and-the-occasional-destiny-guy/
At this point, it's one of life's regular occurrences: You buy groceries each week, you pay rent each month, and somewhere in between you'll wake up in the morning to see tens of thousands of people are playing a survival game you hadn't heard of when you went to bed the night before. Soulmask, which hit Early Access today, seems it's the newest offering to sate our boundless hunger for base-building and resource foraging.

Wildermyth developer Worldwalker Games is 'going into hibernation,' not because it has to but because it wants to: 'We did what we set out to do'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/wildermyth-developer-worldwalker-games-is-going-into-hibernation-not-because-it-has-to-but-because-it-wants-to-we-did-what-we-set-out-to-do/
Wildermyth, a narrative-driven tactical RPG released in 2021, is a game that "deserves to define the next decade," we wrote in our 90% review. Sadly, the studio that made it won't be around that long: Worldwalker Games co-owner Nate Austin has announced that after a "wonderful journey," Wildermyth is finished, and the studio "is going into hibernation."

Frostpunk devs say they're not out to make 'depression simulators' despite all the death and child labour: 'There always has to be a good way out'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/frostpunk-devs-say-theyre-not-out-to-make-depression-simulators-despite-all-the-death-and-child-labour-there-always-has-to-be-a-good-way-out/
The thing about both Frostpunk 1 and 2, 11 Bit's snowpocalyptic city-builders that see you eke out a desperate existence in a world plunged into perma-frost, is they're a real bummer. There's the child labour, the organ harvesting, the fact that you can't even solve the riddle of history without annihilating your populace through hypothermia. There's just a lot to be sad about, in general.
But despite it all, Frostpunk 2 co-director (and senior lead designer on the first game) Jakub Stokalski tells PCG the studio's not out to make you sad. At least, not all the time. "There's a joke running around that we're really doing 'depression simulators' at 11 Bit Studios," says Stokalski, "And on the one hand, that's a pretty distinct way of defining a game studio, but at the same time I would hope that our game was not really about making people feel miserable."
>> The studio is also surprised by the challenges some players put on themselves.

A new throwback RPG is so good, it's won praise from Larian boss Swen Vincke: 'I’m flying to LA next week and plan to play it the entire flight'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-new-throwback-rpg-is-so-good-its-won-praise-from-larian-boss-swen-vincke-im-flying-to-la-next-week-and-plan-to-play-it-the-entire-flight/
Retro-style RPG Skald: Against the Black Priory is a game that's almost snuck up on us with how good it is. Its VGA-style color palette and pixel art graphics harken back to an earlier age of CRPG history—one even earlier than the late '90s Fallout/Baldur's Gate heyday that continues to define the genre—and it pays homage to the oft-forgotten Ultima series. Skald is a niche product to be sure, but it's also found an advocate in one of the most prominent figures in gaming: Larian CEO Swen Vincke.

Take-Two CEO: The idea that AI will make everyone unemployed is 'the stupidest thing I've ever heard'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/take-two-ceo-the-idea-that-ai-will-make-everyone-unemployed-is-the-stupidest-thing-ive-ever-heard/
The rise of AI will probably (hopefully) not end with armies of merciless T-series androids roaming the streets of shattered cities, hunting down the pathetic remnants of humanity. It's somewhat more reasonable to worry (in the short term, at least) that it could put a whole bunch of people out of work, and convert much of our artistic landscape into soulless, six-fingered sludge. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick doesn't think so, though: In fact, speaking at a recent TD Cowen conference, he predicted precisely the opposite.
>> Well, he himself says some pretty dumb sh*t every now and then, so he knows a thing or two about stupid things.

Take-Two is reportedly looking to either sell or close its Private Division publishing label
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/take-two-is-reportedly-looking-to-either-sell-or-close-its-private-division-publishing-label/
An IGN report says Take-Two Interactive is looking to either sell or close Private Division, the indie-focused publishing label launched in 2017, and that most of the staff at Private Division have already been laid off.

Valve has now filed for a trademark for Deadlock, the hero shooter it refuses to admit exists
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/valve-has-now-filed-for-a-trademark-for-deadlock-the-hero-shooter-it-refuses-to-admit-exists/
Deadlock is a hero shooter that both does and does not exist, which is to say that we've all seen it and talked about it, and plenty of people have played it and are likely playing it at this moment, but Valve has steadfastly refused to acknowledge that anyone is even paying attention to it, much less that it's something currently in development, thus leaving it in a suspended state not unlike, say, a metaphorical cat in a box. But now Deadlock does not exist slightly less than it did not exist yesterday, because Valve has applied for a trademark on the name.
>> It’s from May 30. Wouldn’t it be fun if someone has already trademarked it after all the leaks?