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

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Given that it’s Monday, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to have a third news post:

The worst Tomb Raider game is getting cut weapons, areas and voice lines restored as part of its upcoming remaster
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-worst-tomb-raider-game-is-getting-cut-weapons-areas-and-voice-lines-restored-as-part-of-its-upcoming-remaster/
Aspyr's remasters of Tomb Raiders 1-3 were well received when they released last year, giving Core Design's foundational 3D action-adventures a graphical spit 'n' polish and a modernised suite of controls. But for the upcoming remaster of Tomb Raiders 4-6, Aspyr is going further, bringing back several features that were cut from the final game in that trilogy: Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

Update: Despite the TikTok ban's reversal, Marvel Snap is still blocked in the US
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/collectible-card-game-marvel-snap-has-been-banned-in-the-us-alongside-tiktok-but-its-dev-says-it-isnt-going-anywhere/
The popular free to play CCG Marvel Snap has been caught up in the United States TikTok ban, with players unable to access the game and instead met with a similar message about the takedown as on TikTok. Marvel Snap's publisher, Nuverse, is a subsidiary of TikTok owner ByteDance, but the possibility of Marvel Snap being affected by the ban was not reported prior to it taking effect, and seems to have taken even Nuverse by surprise.
Trying to log into the game on Steam just produced a log in error and a looping attempt to connect to my Google account, but this may be different for players with the game installed before the ban. On mobile, where most of Snap's users seem to play, launching the app presents the following message: "A law banning Marvel Snap has been enacted in the US Unfortunately, that means you can't use Marvel Snap for now. Rest assured, we're working to restore our service in the US. Please stay tuned!"
Update 1/19/25, 13:54 CST: Well that was fast, ByteDance has already reinstated access to TikTok in the United States following "assurances" from President-elect Donald Trump. Curiously, this doesn't seem to have trickled down to Marvel Snap yet: I am personally still unable to log into the game's desktop version, and I've seen sporadic complaints from players on social media.

Total Chaos, the full-fat remake of one of Doom's best mods, is a getting a demo 'very shortly'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/total-chaos-the-full-fat-remake-of-one-of-dooms-best-mods-is-a-getting-a-demo-very-shortly/
Released in 2018, Total Chaos is regarded as one of the best Doom mods ever made—a total conversion that transforms id Software's demon-blasting FPS into a grungy, low-fi horror adventure. Last year, creator Sam Prebble revealed Total Chaos is being remade into a full game, debuting its first trailer on The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted. Now, Prebble has revealed that a demo for the remake is imminent, letting players get their grubby hands on the game for themselves.

Bethesda intended Starfield to be more violent, including 'meat caps' for beheaded astronauts, but the gore was toned down for technical reasons and because it 'didn't fit thematically'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/bethesda-intended-starfield-to-be-more-violent-including-meat-caps-for-beheaded-astronauts-but-the-gore-was-toned-down-for-technical-reasons-and-because-it-didnt-fit-thematically/
For all this, it's worth remembering that Starfield is a decent game overall, one that, according to PCG's mag editor Robert, is significantly more fun now that it supports mods. Indeed, there's at least one gore mod available for Starfield already, so if the lack of gibs in Bethesda's sci-fi RPG was ever a problem, it has, in a way, solved itself.
(...)
As it turns out, Starfield was originally intended to be a gorier game than what Bethesda ultimately released, as revealed in an interview by Starfield's senior artist Dennis Mejillones. Speaking to Kiwitalkz, Mejillones explained that many of the grisly systems seen in Fallout 4 were implemented in Starfield initially, but were removed for a combination of technical and thematic reasons.

Baldur's Gate 3's shows off its upcoming photo mode by going haywire with memes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/baldurs-gate-3s-shows-off-its-upcoming-photo-mode-by-going-haywire-with-memes/
Larian is still prepping for Baldur's Gate 3's upcoming stress test of Patch 8, which it previously announced would include cross-play support, photo mode, and 12 new subclasses. In the first community update for 2025 Larian has now shared a few additional details about what Patch 8 has in store, before showing off the photo mode's potential via memes.

I felt goodwill and hope for the future seeing Cybrlich and the Death Cult of Labor, an FPS that's 60% HUD and looks like an Adult Swim cartoon where you smoke 'deepweed' to restore your health and blow clouds that spell out 'doink' and 'loud'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/i-felt-goodwill-and-hope-for-the-future-seeing-cyberlich-and-the-death-cult-of-labor-an-fps-thats-60-percent-hud-and-looks-like-an-adult-swim-cartoon-where-you-smoke-deepweed-to-restore-your-health-and-blow-clouds-that-spell-out-doink-and-loud/
Indie developer Polyhedra Games just has a single 30-second YouTube video and a Steam page showing off its upcoming FPS, Cybrlich and the Death Cult of Labor, but man, does it make an impression. The shooter boasts a knockout cartoony art style and anarchic sense of humor straight out of the classic Adult Swim days⁠—an inspiration Polyhedra proudly lays claim to on its Steam page.

Survival-stealth sequel Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone hit its Kickstarter goal in four days
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/survival-stealth-sequel-chernobylite-2-exclusion-zone-hit-its-kickstarter-goal-in-four-days/
2021's Chernobylite was a survival-stealth FPS set in the Zone of Alienation, only a version of the Zone where the laws of physics had been broken and a whole lot of people with guns moved in. The obvious similarities to STALKER ended at the concept, and Chernobylite was actually about putting together a heist crew, recruiting companions and reinforcing your base of operations between missions around the Zone. It was thoroughly decent—not great, not terrible—exactly the kind of game a sequel could improve on in interesting ways.
Which is why it's good news that a Kickstarter for Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone has already passed its funding target. It's raised enough in the opening days of its crowdfunding campaign to pay for a couple of stretch goals, namely the option to switch between third-person and first-person in play, and all the guns from the original game being carried over into the sequel.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has now banned 136,000 accounts as part of the ongoing struggle to ensure fair play but still says that IP banning isn't an option
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-has-now-banned-136-000-accounts-as-part-of-the-ongoing-struggle-to-ensure-fair-play-but-still-says-that-ip-banning-isnt-an-option/
As with any live service competitive shooter, the developers for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 have their work cut out for them trying to deal with the seemingly never-ending supply of cheaters who keep popping up. So far, a grand total of 136,000 cheaters have been banned.