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

[JEMC]

Thursday news, part number two:

Don't worry, Mass Effect 5 is totally fine, EA reassures as BioWare downsizes, moving 'many' employees to other studios
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/dont-worry-mass-effect-5-is-totally-fine-ea-reassures-as-bioware-downsizes-moving-many-employees-to-other-studios/
One week after revealing that Dragon Age: The Veilguard significantly underperformed by missing its sales expectations by nearly 50%, Electronic Arts has announced that "many" of the studio's employees have been moved to other EA teams as part of an effort to make the company—you guessed it—"more agile."
"Now that Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been released, a core team at BioWare is developing the next Mass Effect game under the leadership of veterans from the original trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others," BioWare general manager Gary McKay wrote. "In keeping with our fierce commitment to innovating during the development and delivery of Mass Effect, we have challenged ourselves to think deeply about delivering the best experience to our fans. We are taking this opportunity between full development cycles to reimagine how we work at BioWare.

This ancient city sim constantly simulates 1000 NPCs in a clockwork murder sandbox where you can poison someone's drink and leave 'confident that you've pulled off the perfect crime'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/this-ancient-city-sim-constantly-simulates-1000-npcs-in-a-clockwork-murder-sandbox-where-you-can-poison-someones-drink-and-leave-confident-that-youve-pulled-off-the-perfect-crime/
Speaking as someone with a pathological fascination with procedural simulations, following the development of Streets of Fortuna feels like watching as my time and attention are steadily pulled toward the event horizon of a distant black hole. Considering it's coming from Kitfox Games, who we can thank for ushering Caves of Qud out of early access and publishing the Steam release of Dwarf Fortress, it should come as no surprise that Streets of Fortuna is aiming to simulate its ancient, Constantinople-esque sandbox cities so thoroughly that it already feels like beholding the works of a mad wizard.
And based on a devlog video Kitfox published yesterday, that sandbox looks like the wizards in question have a lot of murder, arson, and general skulduggery in mind.

The cyberpunk immersive sim I've been itching to play finally has a release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-cyberpunk-immersive-sim-ive-been-itching-to-play-finally-has-a-release-date/
Peripeteia is an upcoming indie immersive sim where you're an out-of-work cyborg mercenary living in a dilapidated post-Soviet city full of homeless people, gas-mask thugs, and talkative bartenders. "It's Deus Ex except you're Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, retired, in Poland." That's how I summed up the demo for Peripeteia when I played it in 2021, and I've been waiting to play more of it ever since.
I'll get my chance soon. Developer Ninth Exodus has announced that an early access version of Peripeteia will be out on February 21—the same date on which Marx and Engels published the Communist Manifesto. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. It's also the birthday of Ranking Roger from The Beat but that doesn't mean we're about to play an immersive sim soundtracked entirely by second-wave ska. (God, I wish.)

Overwatch 2 prepares to share 'Groundbreaking PvP gameplay changes,' and players can't decide whether this means we're getting 6v6 back or skill trees
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2-prepares-to-share-groundbreaking-pvp-gameplay-changes-and-players-cant-decide-whether-this-means-were-getting-6v6-back-or-skill-trees/
Things have been a little quiet for Overwatch 2 over the last couple of months. Despite having its 14th season, releasing new Mythic weapon and hero skins, and hosting a couple of 6v6 tests, it hasn't really been able to compete with the hype surrounding Marvel Rivals. But apparently, Blizzard has an ace up its sleeve.
"In 2025, Overwatch 2 is going to be packed with groundbreaking changes to the PvP experience that will be unlike anything you’ve seen before," a blog post says. "But it’s going to take more than a blog or a developer update to let you know what we have coming this year."

Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 is out so get ready to meet 'Doey the Doughman' and find out if he really is 'fun until the day that you die'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/poppy-playtime-chapter-4-is-out-so-get-ready-to-meet-doey-the-doughman-and-find-out-if-he-really-is-fun-until-the-day-that-you-die/
When I started playing the first installment of episodic first-person horror game Poppy Playtime back in 2021, I thought it might be just yet another Five Nights At Freddy's-alike. I was quickly proven wrong thanks to some top-notch voice acting, inventive puzzle-solving systems, and excellent character design. It may have a lot in common with many of the jump scare-fueled streamer-bait games that Steam is bursting at the seams with, but Poppy Playtime is pretty successful at doing its own thing.
Its fourth chapter, Safe Haven, launches today, and takes you deeper into the Playtime factory than ever before. Call it Hell, call it Toy Prison, call it whatever you like: it's a place "where the devil never sleeps," as some graffiti scrawled on the wall informed me when I played a bit of Chapter 4 this week. It's a deeply unsettling sub-sub-sub basement of the factory, where discarded toys are piled so high they seem to form mountain ranges and it feels like tiny button eyes are watching you everywhere you go.

Path of Exile's community is losing it over the news that the next expansion has been delayed because of Path of Exile 2: 'I need to make peace with myself and let go of this burden'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/path-of-exiles-community-is-losing-it-over-the-news-that-the-next-expansion-has-been-delayed-because-of-path-of-exile-2-i-need-to-make-peace-with-myself-and-let-go-of-this-burden/
Hoo boy. Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has released a new update video, delivered by Path of Exile 2 director Jonathan Rogers, which delivers some bad news to fans of the original Path of Exile. And in its wake there are tears aplenty, tearing of garments, and an awful lot of copium being huffed.

To celebrate Spider-Man 2 coming to PC, Marvel Rivals is adding a new Spider-Man skin, and saying fans are excited is an understatement
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/to-celebrate-spider-man-2-coming-to-pc-marvel-rivals-is-adding-a-new-spider-man-skin-and-saying-fans-are-excited-is-an-understatement/
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is finally out today for PC, but for those of you who aren't really interested in the 2023 sequel but still want to celebrate, boy, does Marvel Rivals have news for you: there's a new Spider-Man skin in the shop.

That Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles roguelike I refuse to stop going on about is adding Casey Jones as a playable character and a junkyard full of frogs to goongala your way through
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/that-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-roguelike-i-refuse-to-stop-going-on-about-is-adding-casey-jones-as-a-playable-character-and-a-junkyard-full-of-frogs-to-goongala-your-way-through/
One of my favourite surprises of 2024 was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate, a pretty unassuming licensed roguelike that turned out to be really good fun. It's basically Hades with turtles and four-player co-op, but as I said in my review, it's "a clever take on the formula with lots of ideas and personality of its own".
Before the PC launch, developer Super Evil Megacorp promised plenty of ongoing support, and it's staying true to its word with a new DLC expansion, due February 5th. Casey Jones & The Junkyard Jam introduces everyone's favourite hockey-themed vigilante as a playable character, with a fighting style that, uniquely for the roster, features ranged attacks (that is, whacking hockey pucks at people).