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

[JEMC]

The news, the long, second part:

Spooky survival game Angst knows just I want: Survival mechanics that get out the way of my quest to steal a sad orb from the guy in the basement
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/spooky-survival-game-angst-knows-just-i-want-survival-mechanics-that-get-out-the-way-of-my-quest-to-steal-a-sad-orb-from-the-guy-in-the-basement/
Survival games! They're all the rage. Since the dawn of time, mankind has dreamt of exacting vengeance on its hated ancestral enemy: the tree. These games make those dreams reality—you punch trees, fashion their corpses into bizarre shapes, set them alight. Generally just a lot of tree torture going on.
Angst, whose ongoing playtest I spent a while mucking around in this morning, starts out much the same way. You wake up, it's cold, hit the trees, you know the drill. But things start getting weird when the tutorial voice on your banged-up ham radio starts imploring you to stick food in an old wooden chest. That would, ordinarily, be quite normal—you need to preserve food in these games all the time—but the voice makes clear that the food isn't for you.

Pal-dora's Box yawns open as Sega sues MementoMori developers over mechanic patents, seeking 1 billion yen in damages
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/pal-doras-box-yawns-open-as-sega-sues-mementomori-developers-over-mechanic-patents-seeking-1-billion-yen-in-damages/
It's too early to say exactly which way the wind is blowing, but it sure feels like Nintendo's opened a Pandora's Box of patent lawsuits in Japan—for the uninitiated, Nintendo took a public swing at Palworld after a few months of relative silence, filing a lawsuit in September. Now Sega's following suit, attempting to claim similar damages from MementoMori, a 2022 gacha game that's primarily mobile-focused, though it does have a client for PC as well.
>> Sega does what Ninten… does first.

This gaudy Ghost Face cosmetic isn't exactly helping Hunt: Showdown 1896 players escape the feeling of corporate crossover creep
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/this-gaudy-ghost-face-cosmetic-isnt-exactly-helping-hunt-showdown-1896-players-escape-the-feeling-of-corporate-crossover-creep/
Hunt: Showdown 1896's been going through it in recent months. Despite releasing a great new map in August and maintaining a pretty healthy playerbase on Steam, its UI update—criticised for its bad controls, confusing layouts, and prominent store tab—saw its score tanked to the tune of 10,000 negative reviews back in August.
(...)
Now Hunt: Showdown 1896 is dipping its toes into this same uglification trend, as Crytek has revealed a Scream crossover bundle starring Ghost Face himself, the first of its kind in the game. The awkward pairing has sent the game's subreddit into a frenzy. "Today, Hunt's identity died," proclaims a mourner in a top-rated Reddit post, "I cannot think of a different IP that has less to do with Hunt."

Two years after unveiling a new studio aimed at building 'the next big thing in gaming,' Netflix has closed it down
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/two-years-after-unveiling-a-new-studio-aimed-at-building-the-next-big-thing-in-gaming-netflix-has-closed-it-down/
Netflix's big-time gaming ambitions seem to have hit a slippery patch, as Gamefile reports that the internal studio known as Team Blue has been closed.
Team Blue was revealed, without the catchy name, in October 2022, and appeared to signify a real escalation of Netflix's gaming ambitions. The company said in 2021 that its move into gaming would be focused primarily on mobile games, but a year later it was "seriously exploring" cloud gaming and hiring some big names for its second internal studio, including former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny as studio head, former Halo Infinite creative lead Joseph Staten, and former Sony Santa Monica art director Rafael Grassetti.

Life sim Inzoi is still set to release in early access this year, Krafton confirms
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/life-sim-inzoi-is-still-set-to-release-in-early-access-this-year-krafton-confirms/
It has been our understanding that upcoming life sim Inzoi will release in early access this year, but there hasn't been much in the way of hard confirmation, and unless the earth's orbit slows down considerably, 2024 is nearly over. At a game demonstration this week, however, a Krafton representative confirmed to PC Gamer that the plan is still to release Inzoi in early access before the year is out.

Assassin's Creed Shadows drops promised early access for its big collector's edition, but it's also going to be $50 cheaper than planned
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/assassins-creed-shadows-drops-promised-early-access-for-its-big-collectors-edition-but-its-also-going-to-be-usd50-cheaper-than-planned/
Ubisoft has confirmed that the Assassin's Creed Shadows collector's edition, a honkin' big package that comes complete with a 16-inch statue, art book, wall scroll, and other such good stuff, will not include three days of early access to the game.

Sony carves off more of Bungie: The Creative Studios team is now officially a part of PlayStation Studios
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/sony-carves-off-more-of-bungie-the-creative-studios-team-is-now-officially-a-part-of-playstation-studios/
Sony's assimilation of Destiny 2 studio Bungie took another step forward today with the announcement that its Creative Studios arm, responsible for directing and developing the "artistic vision" and branding of Bungie games, is now fully a part of PlayStation Studios.

Metaphor: ReFantazio director Katsura Hashino is already working on a new game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/metaphor-refantazio-director-katsura-hashino-is-already-working-on-a-new-game/
Metaphor: ReFantazio released last week to unanimous critical acclaim, which is probably not surprising: its famed director Katsura Hashino commandeered Persona 5. Following the success of Persona 5, Hashino formed a new Atlus arm called Studio Zero in 2016 to work on Metaphor: ReFantazio (then known as Zero Re Fantasy), which involved leaving Persona in the hands of P-Studio.
In a new machine-translated Famitsu interview shared with Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, Hashino revealed Studio Zero is already working on a new game. Asked what the studio will move to after Metaphor, Hashino replied "Ah, they've already started".

The real shocker with Disney Dreamlight Valley's Halloween event is that it's the same as last year
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/the-real-shocker-with-disney-dreamlight-valleys-halloween-event-is-that-its-the-same-as-last-year/
The annual Trick-or-Treat event has begun again in Disney Dreamlight Valley, and never in my life have I been so excited to collect virtual candy buckets. Much like last year a set of tasks are available for you to complete in the days leading up to and including October 31, and while you wander around completing your Dreamlight Duties you may find some new foragables around the Plaza. 
(...several paragraphs later...)
But even though I'm thrilled to get ahold of some Halloween decorations and have another chance to craft the Mickey Mouse candy bowl, I can't help but feel a little disappointed about the fact the event is the exact same as last year. With how constant Disney Dreamlight Valley is rolling out updates and adding new characters for us to spend hours unlocking, it's a shame that the same tasks and rewards are being recycled this year. 

Gorgeous deck-building shop sim Potionomics just got a patch that fixes all my problems with it—plus voice acting, and an option to smooch everyone in a single playthrough
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/gorgeous-deck-building-shop-sim-potionomics-just-got-a-patch-that-fixes-all-my-problems-with-it-plus-voice-acting-and-an-option-to-smooch-everyone-in-a-single-playthrough/
I had a ton of fondness for Potionomics when it came out in 2022—as did PC Gamer, apparently, as we gave it an 87 in our Potionomics review. In case you missed this charming gem—it's a shop simulator by Voracious Games about inheriting a bunch of debt and a potions store. The way it handles selling those potions (and competing in competitions) is via deckbuilding—with the protagonist gaining new sales tactics from the people she interacts with, then flogging her wares in Slay the Spire-style battles.
It's a genuinely gorgeous little thing. Everything from its UI, to its character designs, to its animations are designed to give you a lovely little fuzz of belonging, and it helps that its mechanics all slot together satisfyingly, too. Alas, it had a few key problems when I played it that stopped me from finishing my playthrough—problems that are now thoroughly fixed via a major update that dropped yesterday.

Telltale heaves a long, dog-tired sigh at 'unsubstantiated Reddit threads', reassures fans that The Wolf Among Us 2 is still being made, honest
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/telltale-heaves-a-long-dog-tired-sigh-at-unsubstantiated-reddit-threads-reassures-fans-that-the-wolf-among-us-2-is-still-being-made-honest/
The Wolf Among Us 2 is still in development, says Telltale, after having to remind the internet at large that "unsubstantiated Reddit threads" don't mean a game's getting shut down, no matter how bad things have looked in past years.

FF16's Ben Starr will host the 42nd Golden Joystick Awards this November
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/ff16s-ben-starr-will-host-the-42nd-golden-joystick-awards-this-november/
Since the dawn of time, mankind has asked itself the question: What are the year's best videogames according to a wide-ranging yet sober and precise array of categories? We're finally going to get our answer.
Actually, we're going to get it for the 42nd time, because the Golden Joysticks will be back this November 21, live from London. What's more, the show has revealed its host. None other than Ben Starr (FF16's Clive, dater of summons) will be on stage to guide us through proceedings at this year's event, which also makes it a great opportunity to generate exciting new memes of his face.

The Day Before developer cancels second Kickstarter after it whimpers out with $2,200 of funding, immediately goes all-in on a third game in the same announcement
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-day-before-developer-cancels-kickstarter-after-it-whimpers-out-with-usd2-200-of-funding-immediately-goes-all-in-on-a-third-game-in-the-same-announcement/
In what I can only describe as a display of biblical hubris, The Day Before developers have announced a third game, instead of going quietly into that good night.