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

[JEMC]

Thursday news, part two:

'Magma fish are back on the menu boys': Valheim's newest patch lowers the difficulty of the notoriously treacherous Ashlands biome
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/magma-fish-are-back-on-the-menu-boys-valheims-newest-patch-lowers-the-difficulty-of-the-notoriously-difficult-ashlands-biome/
Valheim's most recent patch turned towards the Ashlands to fix what ended up being a long list of issues. There's a couple of significant changes, but the main thing is this update will make the Ashlands easier to traverse. 

Tavern Keeper is immediately charming, narrated by a prolific audiobook actor, and has a furniture system so freeform I already know I'm gonna lose hours to it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/tavern-keeper-is-immediately-charming-narrated-by-a-prolific-audiobook-actor-and-has-a-furniture-system-so-freeform-i-already-know-i-m-gonna-lose-hours-to-it/
I wrote a little about Tavern Keeper when Greenheart Games, a developer that's spent 10 years making it, showed it off to me over a video call earlier this year. After sitting down, playing a little, and getting to chat with studio manager and director Patrick Klug at Gamescom, I've gone from curious to downright smitten with the thing.

Phantom Blade Zero plays less like Sekiro, more like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty—and I couldn't be happier
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/phantom-blade-zero-plays-less-like-sekiro-more-like-wo-long-fallen-dynasty-and-i-couldn-t-be-happier/
I got to sit down and play Phantom Blade Zero at Gamescom last week and—after muddling a bit to find my booth in the chaos of a bustling floor—came away quite impressed. Judging by the reactions of my fellow demo-triers, one of whom managed to beat it a whole 7 minutes before me (I'm not upset), it's looking to be a sleeper hit.

Bandai Namco and Amazon say no refunds as they kill off anime MMO Blue Protocol, but they'll give you 5,000 funbucks a month until it dies
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/bandai-namco-and-amazon-say-no-refunds-as-they-kill-off-anime-mmo-blue-protocol-but-theyll-give-you-5000-funbucks-a-month-until-it-dies/
Bandai Namco has announced that the Japanese version of its live service anime MMO Blue Protocol will be ending on January 18, 2025. After discussions with Amazon Games, the release of the title in Europe and the US will also be cancelled. 

CD Projekt dev explains how Geralt ended up in Balatro, and the answer will shock you: CD Projekt devs really like Balatro
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/cd-projekt-dev-explains-how-geralt-ended-up-in-balatro-and-the-answer-will-shock-you-cd-projekt-devs-really-like-balatro/
"Geralt is in Balatro now," we wrote yesterday following the announcement of the Friends of Jimbo update, a big cosmetic crossover that brought The Witcher 3, Dave the Diver, Among Us, and Vampire Survivors into the game. But Geralt in Balatro—how does something like that even happen? It turns out that if you make a really cool game that everyone loves, some people are just going to want to work with you—and a lot of folks at CD Projekt are big Balatro fans.

Deadlock players are learning they can pause the match for the entire lobby, and some are using it for evil
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/deadlock-players-are-learning-they-can-pause-the-match-for-the-entire-lobby-and-some-are-using-it-for-evil/
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. You’re about 40 minutes into a Dota 2 ranked match, the enemy Techies is planning on stalling for as long as he can, and some comedy genius decides to pause the match to drag things out just a little bit longer. Bad manners? Probably, but they’ll be laughing all the way to low-priority matchmaking, I’m sure!
The novelty of this feature is probably lost on those who’ve sunk thousands of hours into Valve’s previous MOBA, but its reprisal in Deadlock has players committing heinous acts of psychological warfare for kicks. Just take it from this streamer, who took a breather mid-match to get some recreational gambling in

Former Marathon director Christopher Barrett was reportedly fired by Bungie for inappropriate behavior with female employees
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/former-marathon-director-christopher-barrett-was-reportedly-fired-by-bungie-for-inappropriate-behavior-with-female-employees/
Bungie announced in March that its upcoming Marathon reboot had a new game director: Joe Ziegler, the former director of Riot's online shooter Valorant, who joined Bungie in 2022. Ziegler took over from Christopher Barrett, well known among Bungie fans as a designer and director on the Halo and Destiny games who'd been with the studio for nearly 25 years. A reason for Barrett's surprise departure wasn't provided, but a new Bloomberg report says he was fired following an investigation into multiple complaints about inappropriate workplace behavior.

Space Marine 2's lead dev says more games can trace their DNA back to 40K than people might think: 'Many young gamers probably don't realize the influence it had on your favorite game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/space-marine-2s-lead-dev-says-more-games-can-trace-their-dna-back-to-40k-than-people-might-think-many-young-gamers-probably-dont-realize-the-influence-it-had-on-your-favorite-game/
Everyone loves a space marine. But is it just a coincidence that so many of our favorite franchises feature heroes fully encased in hulking power armor? Not so, says Tim Willits, chief creative officer at Saber Interactive (and, I imagine, most people who've seen more than one flavor of space marine). In an interview with PC Gamer at Gamescom, Willits said every Master Chief and Doomguy has a healthy amount of Warhammer under all that heavy plating.

The Witcher 4 'is nearing a major milestone' and will soon enter full production
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-witcher-4-is-nearing-a-major-milestone-and-will-soon-enter-full-production/
CD Projekt's 2024 half-year financial report is out, and there's not a whole lot to see for anyone who isn't a major shareholder in the company. But there is one thing that's of interest to non-investing gamer types: The Witcher 4 is just about ready to move into full production.

Just over a year after it launched on PC, Warner Bros is shutting down Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/just-over-a-year-after-it-launched-on-pc-warner-bros-is-shutting-down-harry-potter-magic-awakened/
Just over a year after Harry Potter: Magic Awakened launched internationally, publisher Warner Bros has announced that the game will be shut down in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania in October.

'I have not touched Haunted Chocolatier in a long time': Eric Barone says work on Stardew Valley's 1.6 console and mobile port is still ongoing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/i-have-not-touched-haunted-chocolatier-in-a-long-time-eric-barone-says-work-on-stardew-valleys-16-console-and-mobile-port-is-still-ongoing/
Stardew Valley's 1.6 update was released earlier this year for PC. But it wasn't an average patch, as it added a ridiculous amount of new features like a brand new farm, more festivals, and tons of quirky secrets for players to uncover. It was so popular with fans that 150,000 players flooded back into the game. 
(...)
So it doesn't really come as a surprise that Barone's latest Stardew Valley progress update also includes an apology to Haunted Chocolatier fans. "Console and mobile ports are still in progress," Barone says. "I acknowledge that they are taking a long time. There are reasons for this, but the bottom line is that they are not out yet. We are still working on them, and they have been our primary focus since 1.6 came out for PC. It would be a huge relief to me if they were ready for today, but they aren't, so all we can do is continue working on them until they are ready. 

I would bet money that Metal Gear Solid 4 is PC-bound after Konami tells fans they can 'probably connect the dots' about its inclusion on Master Collection volume 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/i-would-bet-money-that-metal-gear-solid-4-is-pc-bound-after-konami-tells-fans-they-can-probably-connect-the-dots-about-its-inclusion-on-master-collection-volume-2/
(...)
But I've got an inkling our long national nightmare might be ending. In a chat with IGN, Konami producer Noriaki Okamura was asked directly about the potential for MGS4 to make an appearance in a future Master Collection release. His response was, basically, a nudge and a wink: "We definitely are aware of this situation with MGS4. Unfortunately we can't really say too much at the moment with Vol 1 containing MGS 1-3 dot dot dot… you can probably connect the dots!"

Our favourite city builder of last year is releasing its first expansion next month, and it brings a new biome, new buildings and, oh yes, frog people
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/our-favourite-city-builder-of-last-year-is-releasing-its-first-expansion-next-month-and-it-brings-a-new-biome-new-buildings-and-oh-yes-frog-people/
Hooded Horse's roguelike city builder Against the Storm slipped out of early access late last year—too late to be in contention for PCG's Game of the Year Awards. Which is a shame, because—as our 91% review can attest—it's a triumphant reimagining of the genre, and a game that absolutely deserves more attention.
(...)
It's clever stuff, and made better thanks to the series of free updates made in the months since its release. And now developer Eremite Games is putting the finishing touches on the game's first expansion, Keepers of the Stone, which the studio today revealed is coming out next month, on September 26.