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

[JEMC]

Tuesday news, part two:

Dark and Darker developer is 'looking to make amends' because its free-to-play model is 'not well designed'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/dark-and-darker-developer-is-looking-to-make-amends-because-its-free-to-play-model-is-not-well-designed/
Dark and Darker's return to Steam should have been cause for celebration. After a legal dispute with Nexon saw it removed from the platform in 2023, developer Ironmace was finally able to get it back on the store last week. Unexpectedly, it also shed its price, relaunching instead as a free-to-play deal. And that's where the trouble began. 

Streets of Rogue 2's dizzying open world sandbox will debut in early access this August
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/streets-of-rogue-2s-dizzying-open-world-sandbox-will-debut-in-early-access-this-august/
The open world sequel to indie hit Streets of Rogue is coming to Steam early access on August 14.
Announced in 2022, Streets of Rogue 2 multiplied the size of the original game's procedurally generated levels by 10,000—yes, 10,000—and has stuffed everything in one big open world. There are no loading screens; just one big world that reacts to whatever you want to do in it.

OutRage: Fight Fest is a nifty 16-player brawler that's trying to do punch-'em-up Fall Guys, but I'm just not sure there's enough depth to get people hooked
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/outrage-fight-fest-is-a-nifty-16-player-brawler-that-s-trying-to-do-punch-em-up-fall-guys-but-i-m-just-not-sure-there-s-enough-depth-to-get-people-hooked/
It's Steam Next Fest—which means there's gonna be a whole bunch of demos to whet your little gamer teeth on over the next few days. Included in the free-for-all is OutRage: Fight Fest, a party-game style brawler being developed by Hardball Games Ltd. The demo actually came out over the weekend, but it's still part of the festivities nonetheless.

Bungie's surprise showcase did not announce Destiny 3, but Destiny 2 is getting vampire hunting, the return of the Dreadnaught, and something codenamed 'Frontiers' in 2025
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/bungies-surprise-showcase-did-not-announce-destiny-3-but-destiny-2-is-getting-vampire-hunting-the-return-of-the-dreadnaught-and-something-codenamed-frontiers-in-2025/
Last weekend, Destiny 2 capped off a decade-long saga with an absolutely astonishing finale. Based on the community's reaction in the days since, it's an absolute triumph for Bungi. But now the obvious question: What's next? Today Bungie lifted the lid on the next year of Destiny 2 in a brief showcase trailer.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will not depict 9/11, Treyarch confirms
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-will-not-depict-911-treyarch-confirms/
Treyarch has shot down speculation that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will depict the September 11, 2001 attack on the US.
Rumors of a possible depiction of the 9/11 attacks began to swirl shortly after Activision began teasing Black Ops 6. One live-action pre-release trailer in particular focuses heavily on prominent political leaders from the 1990s including George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, and perhaps most notably Saddam Hussein. 

I'm slightly less panicked about Dragon Age: The Veilguard after seeing 24 seconds of gameplay
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dragon-age/im-slightly-less-panicked-about-dragon-age-the-veilguard-after-seeing-24-seconds-of-gameplay/
I wasn't expecting to see Dragon Age: The Veilguard turn up at the Xbox Games Showcase over the weekend ahead of the gameplay reveal it had already planned for tomorrow. But turn up it did, with a CG trailer that had a lot of fans, including me, very nervous about the plastic-y, poreless character designs. Partly to quell that public panic, I'm willing to bet, BioWare just gave us a "sneak peak" at 24 seconds of the planned 15+ minute gameplay reveal tomorrow. Everyone take ten deep breaths. It looks better—probably.
>> That tomorrow is today.

A new Anno city builder is coming in 2025, this time set in Ancient Rome
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/a-new-anno-city-builder-is-coming-in-2025-this-time-set-in-ancient-rome/
Ubisoft Forward showed off a bit more than just what we expected today (such as Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin's Creed Shadows), like a new entry into its long running Anno city builder series. Anno 117: Pax Romana was announced, and that's exciting news since it's the first Anno game to tackle Ancient Rome. Anno 117: Pax Romana is planned for release in 2025.

WB Games promises Suicide Squad 'will complete its currently announced roadmap'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/wb-games-promises-suicide-squad-will-complete-its-currently-announced-roadmap/
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League flopped badly when it launched earlier this year, and it hasn't shown any signs of turning things around. At the moment, SteamDB indicates that 161 people are currently playing the game on Steam, and while that isn't the whole picture—Suicide Squad is also available on Xbox and PlayStation—it's sure not a sign of good things happening.
The persistently near-subterranean player counts has led to worries that WB Games might do a Redfall and pull the plug on planned future updates—although hopefully without pulling the plug on the entire development studio in the process. From a business perspective, it's not an unreasonable suggestion: Why put however much money a full year of content takes to create (presumably a lot) for the benefit of a few hundred (or even a few thousand) diehards?
But that is apparently the plan: A WB Games representative has confirmed with Kotaku that "Suicide Squad will complete its currently announced roadmap."

One of my top early access games is finally getting a second level: a 3-hour underground factory-city with an overhauled, Thief-style stealth system, a new RPG hub area, and an explanation for where all those FPS crates come from
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/one-of-my-top-early-access-games-is-finally-getting-a-second-level-a-3-hour-underground-factory-city-with-an-overhauled-thief-style-stealth-system-a-new-rpg-hub-area-and-an-explanation-for-where-all-those-fps-crates-come-from/
I've been a Fortune's Run freak since first playing its bafflingly good demo level two years ago, and after launching into early access with a single, sprawling space station playground, we're finally seeing what comes next: an underground factory and settlement with a projected three-hour runtime and accompanying sneaking overhaul set to arrive in August.

XDefiant will get team deathmatch in 'a couple weeks' because we hassled them about it lots
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/xdefiant-will-get-team-deathmatch-in-a-couple-weeks-because-we-hassled-them-about-it-lots/
For decades now, FPS developers have been doing everything they can to get us to play their thrilling new objective modes. And also for decades, they've heard us reply: Cool, cool, but what about TDM?
Ubisoft free-to-play shooter XDefiant is the latest to be badgered into including boring old team deathmatch.
"One of the things players have been asking for in the two-and-a-half weeks that we've been live is a TDM mode,"  XDefiant executive producer Mark Rubin said in an IGN interview on Sunday. "So we'll be seeing that in a couple weeks."

FOMO is alive and well—Life is Strange: Double Exposure has a 2-week early access period if you cough up some dough for its Ultimate Edition
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fomo-is-alive-and-well-life-is-strange-double-exposure-has-a-2-week-early-access-period-if-you-cough-up-some-dough-for-its-ultimate-edition/
I was a little hard on Life is Strange earlier this week, but it is still a game I overall liked—which is why it's a shame to see Square Enix shooting itself in the foot with a publishing decision which, on the face of it, doesn't make a lick of sense.

Fans are afraid they'll turn Snake into a walking corpse after Konami announces that any injuries will 'leave their mark permanently'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/fans-are-afraid-theyll-turn-snake-into-a-walking-corpse-after-konami-announces-that-any-injuries-will-leave-their-mark-permanently/
This week has been a pretty great one for Metal Gear Solid fans. The Xbox Games Showcase showed off the first gameplay trailer for MGS Delta, which actually looked promising, and Konami has finally given us a bit more information about the remake. 
The upcoming game's introduction page details a couple of interesting tidbits, like how Konami rendered the characters and setting with Unreal Engine 5, and that players can now opt for a "more modern control style," which will hopefully make getting around more intuitive. However, one new feature has grabbed the attention of players: any injuries inflicted on Snake will leave scars behind.