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

[JEMC]

Monday news, part two of three:

WoW's new Undermine(d) patch had a live jazz ensemble recording its big-band bangers, and they got to improvise: 'Usually those were the takes that ended up in the final version'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wows-new-undermine-d-patch-had-a-live-jazz-ensemble-recording-its-big-band-bangers-and-they-got-to-improvise-usually-those-were-the-takes-that-ended-up-in-the-final-version/
WoW's Undermine(d) patch is out, and it's downright groovy—having done a few laps around the goblin city of Undermine myself, I've been pleasantly surprised by how the game's soundtrack, usually pretty ambient, has been front and center. I've been cranking that stuff up while stubbornly grabbing gold in my clunky car.
Turns out, as per a recent dev diary, that the game's composers worked on it with a live jazz ensemble—and while they definitely came out swinging with a template, a lot of what you're hearing while you and your mates are beating Gallywix up was improvised during the recording session.

3 years later, GTA 5’s Enhanced edition finally comes to PC, and it’s somehow 22GB smaller than GTA 5 Cool Original flavour
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/3-years-later-gta-5s-enhanced-edition-finally-comes-to-pc-and-its-somehow-22gb-smaller-than-gta-5-cool-original-flavour/
GTA 6 is somewhere, dimly, on the horizon, but Rockstar must be a bit worried it's forgotten how to release a Grand Theft Auto game in the last 12 years (maybe with good reason). To get some practice in, the studio is finally releasing GTA 5's next-gen update on PC next week on Tuesday, March 4.
(...)
Another surprise: the Enhanced version of the game is actually smaller than the original, unless Steam is lying to me. Where GTA 5 Legacy says it wants 114GB of your hard drive, GTA 5 Enhanced only lays claim to a slender 92GB. That's a 22GB saving! You could install KOTOR 1 seven times over in the space you've freed up, there.

'It was truly eye-opening to realize just how many people deeply love this type of game': Inzoi director hopes his life sim will 'bring comfort to many players' lives'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/it-was-truly-eye-opening-to-realize-just-how-many-people-deeply-love-this-type-of-game-inzoi-director-hopes-his-life-sim-will-bring-comfort-to-many-players-lives/
Inzoi director Hyungjun 'Kjun' Kim is gearing up for his game to be the first one to actually stand toe-to-toe with The Sims—not that he views his life sim as competition to EA's own, mind you. Considering this is the first time in over two decades that we're seeing something release that's seemingly close to the scale and scope of The Sims, I've been intrigued about Kjun's thought process throughout development.
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"One of the most fascinating aspects of developing Inzoi has been the enthusiastic reactions and feedback from fans of the genre," Kjun told me. "It was truly eye-opening to realize just how many people deeply love this type of game. The immense anticipation and valuable input we've received from players have been a tremendous source of motivation throughout the development process."
>> They’ve just announced a showcase later this month with the future plans for the game.

The BAFTAs dares to ask the internet: 'What is the most influential videogame of all time?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-baftas-dares-to-ask-the-internet-what-is-the-most-influential-videogame-of-all-time/
The best thing about awards shows is that they give us an opportunity to get mad and argue when the winners are announced. PC Gamer's Ted Litchfield, for instance, goes blind with fury every time Astro Bot wins another Game of the Year award. But in a nice change of pace, the BAFTAs are giving us an opportunity to get mad and argue before the awards by putting a very big and essentially impossible question to the internet at large: What is the most influential videogame of all time?
>> With Nintendo fans split between Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, maybe another game will win! You have until the 20th to cast your vote.

Helldivers 2 continues its streak of turning missteps into in-game lore: After a major feature was paused for 24 hours, Super Earth says 'nothing out of the ordinary has happened'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/helldivers-2-continues-its-streak-of-turning-missteps-into-in-game-lore-after-a-major-feature-was-paused-for-24-hours-super-earth-says-nothing-out-of-the-ordinary-has-happened/
Helldivers 2 has gone a little quiet since the end-of-year blowout that saw the game's third enemy faction, The Illuminate, storm into the galactic war with their undemocratic mind control tricks and chicanery. The heroes kept a-diving and the fronts of the galactic war have kept a-shifting until yesterday: When all of a sudden the liberation started going through the roof.
Arrowhead launched an update on February 27 that, appropriately enough, hid a very nasty bug. Except this one seemed to serve the cause of managed democracy because, in the studio's words, it caused "an error that is affecting planet liberation rates, causing them to skyrocket." Arrowhead admitted that "we know this is fun" but as the Helldivers tore through enemy planets with ease it was "breaking the Galactic War mechanic itself."

One of the best puzzle game designers is back with Kaizen: A Factory Story, a game about manufacturing Japanese consumer goods during the largest economic bubble in history
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/one-of-the-best-puzzle-game-designers-is-back-with-kaizen-a-factory-story-a-game-about-manufacturing-japanese-consumer-goods-during-the-largest-economic-bubble-in-history/
From the release of SpaceChem in 2011 through to Last Call BBS in 2022, indie developer Zachtronics was a legend in the admittedly small world of puzzle games that are a bit like programming a computer. While the studio made a variety of games, including a prescient visual novel about AI called Eliza, its specialty was a kind of engineering puzzle all about refining your input to create the ideal output—games that came to be known as Zach-likes.
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Zach Barth's next game, Kaizen: A Factory Story, will certainly be, er, Zach-adjacent. It's about running a factory in Japan in the 1980s, manufacturing products ranging from toys to electronics to clothes, refining the process for each item to make it as smooth as possible. "We have an electric toilet seat," Barth says. "That's one of the puzzles. Like, that's one of my favorites."

Humanity's last hope is a little robot with can-do spirit in The Last Caretaker, coming to early access this summer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/humanitys-last-hope-is-a-little-robot-with-can-do-spirit-in-the-last-caretaker-coming-to-early-access-this-summer/
I'm not really a big fan of survival games, but occasionally one will grab me. Subnautica is probably the best example—I went into it with modest expectations and it quickly became one of the most compelling games I'd played in years. I have my fingers crossed for a similar experience with The Last Caretaker, an upcoming "first-person survival shooter" that sets players off as an android awakened centuries after Earth has been swallowed by climate catastrophes, with one simple goal: Save the human race.

Warner is still talking about Hogwarts Legacy as it commits to basing its future games on 'tentpole franchises that have each generated over $1 billion'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/warner-is-still-talking-about-hogwarts-legacy-as-it-commits-to-basing-its-future-games-on-tentpole-franchises-that-have-each-generated-over-usd1-billion/
In what one might say is a remarkable example of understatement, Warner Bros. Discovery said in a letter to shareholders that 2024 was "a disappointing year" for its games business, which suffered a 53% decrease in revenue compared to 2023. Despite that big hit, Warner has high hopes for 2025 thanks to its recent restructuring, which it says will enable it to "refocus our resources and capital on proven IP and games from proven, world class studios."

You can save rare hunts for later in Monster Hunter Wilds, so you can come back for that Rey Dau gem when it's convenient
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/monster-hunter-wilds-save-hunts-investigations-farming/
Once you progress far enough in Monster Hunter Wilds, you'll be let loose into the world to knock out back-to-back battles with Lala Barinas and Balaharas in seamless hunts served up by shifting monster spawns. Unfortunately, not even ace hunters can be in two places at once: Your friend might need your help with a pesky Ajarakan just as an Uth Duna appears on your map with a guaranteed plate as one of its survey rewards. Luckily, you don't have to miss out on rare monster parts if you can't immediately jump into a choice field survey: In Wilds, you can save hunts from the World Map to tackle later when you've got time.
To bookmark a monster on the world map for later hunting, move your cursor over the monster on the map and hit A on an Xbox controller (F on keyboard) to start creating a quest. Hit A again, and choose "Save as Investigation." Rather than immediately starting a field survey hunt, this will create a quest that you can start later from the Investigations section at the quest counter while talking to Alma.
>> A couple more things: the monsters are “a little” realistic and the alleged performance fix that appeared over the weekend doesn’t work.

As it unveils its roadmap, Eternal Strands' dev defends the 'slippery' feeling of its physics-based player character, saying it 'can't be as snappy or reactive as it is in games that rely on animation'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/as-it-unveils-its-roadmap-eternal-strands-dev-defends-the-slippery-feeling-of-its-physics-based-player-character-saying-it-cant-be-as-snappy-or-reactive-as-it-is-in-games-that-rely-on-animation/
Chaotic physics-based action RPG Eternal Strands just unveiled its roadmap, detailing plans for updates, adjustments and various free DLC packages all the way through to summer. But as noted by RPS, developer Yellow Brick Games also took the opportunity to address various complaints players have with the game. Some of these it is either fixing or has promised to fix, but in others its response has been a touch more defensive.

It turns out you can get Baldur's Gate 3's best assassin armor without killing a baby angel elephant and joining a cult, all you have to do is pickpocket a ghost
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/it-turns-out-you-can-get-baldurs-gate-3s-best-assassin-armor-without-killing-a-baby-angel-elephant-and-joining-a-cult-all-you-have-to-do-is-pickpocket-a-ghost/
Baldur's Gate 3's Bhaalist Armor is hands down one of the best in the game, effectively doubling your damage if you're a classic dual daggers assassin sicko⁠—think the Shrouded Armor from Skyrim or Oblivion for something to compare it to. It's the best choice for rogues, duelists, even something to clad your tank with if you're an archer, since other characters can take advantage of its debuff on enemies.
It also requires you to make a fairly heinous moral choice to acquire, leaving a big conundrum for all the Chaotic Good Gloomstalkers out there. But in classic Baldur's Gate 3 fashion, there's an exploit to make it yours, keep your hands clean, and not even have to touch the many mods that make it available without being evil. Spoilers ahead for Baldur's Gate 3 Act 3.
>> And you may haven’t noticed it, but Geralt’s voice actor is also in BG3.

Runescape is finally wrapping up one of its earliest storylines, 24 years after the first quest debuted
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/runescape-is-finally-wrapping-up-one-of-its-earliest-storylines-24-years-after-the-first-quest-debuted/
Not even two months into Runescape's life, on February 28, 2001, the quest Prince Ali Rescue debuted. It kicked off the Desert quest line... one which, 24 years later, still hasn't actually goddamn finished. Until now, that is.
As revealed during the Runescape Ahead at this weekend's Runefest, the questline will finally come to a conclusion across the Return to the Desert trilogy quests happening in April and July.

Avowed's rarest ending has only been seen by 0.2% of players and demands you make the correct choice at every major quest to not get your head chopped off
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/avoweds-rarest-ending-has-only-been-seen-by-0-2-percent-of-players-and-demands-you-make-the-correct-choice-at-every-major-quest-to-not-get-your-head-chopped-off/
After finishing Avowed, I started digging into the different ending slide possibilities and was shocked at just how many permutations there are. Its most challenging and hidden ending not only demands a game-long commitment, it also leaves the Living Lands in its roughest possible state while all your companions hate your guts. Spoilers ahead for Avowed's endings.