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

[JEMC]

Thursday news, part two:

As layoffs and studio closures continue to deathroll the western AAA industry, analyst points out 5 of 8 major Japanese companies hit all-time share prices this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/as-layoffs-and-studio-closures-continue-to-deathroll-the-western-aaa-industry-analyst-points-out-5-of-8-major-japanese-companies-hit-all-time-share-prices-this-year/
It feels like every other day I'm writing some article about AI carving through people's livelihoods and studios closing. I say that not to convey desensitisation, but exhaustion—it's been an absolute nose-dive of a couple of years for AAA games, to the point where industry figures are having to repeatedly speak out against a slow and vicious deathroll that doesn't seem to be stopping as much as it is varying in tempo.
Unless you're a Japanese AAA publisher, in which case you're—um, actually doing quite well. That's as pointed out by Japanese analyst Dr. Serkan Toto on his blog, KantanGames: "The mass layoffs and studio closures in North America and Europe really have not spilled over to Japan, apart from isolated exceptions that are a drop in the ocean compared to the storm the industry is seeing in the West currently."

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide adds a psychic horde murderzone mode and makes Ogryns even smashier
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/warhammer-40-000-darktide-adds-a-psychic-horde-murderzone-mode-and-makes-ogryns-even-smashier/
There’s more to Warhammer 40k: Darktide than smashing cultists and chaos mutants into a fine paste. As of today’s ‘Nightmares and Visions’ update you can also squish imaginary enemies of the Emperor, too. Although this being 40k (and thus casually cruel), even imaginary monsters and maniacs can still hurt you. The centerpiece of this week’s update adds a new arcade game mode to the mix; the Mortis Trials, along with a boatload of tweaks and improvements, including big upgrades across the board for Ogryns.

By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/by-the-time-bethesda-was-on-starfield-youd-basically-get-in-trouble-for-breaking-schedule-says-former-dev-a-lot-of-the-great-stuff-within-skyrim-came-from-having-the-freedom-to-do-what-you-want/
Starfield sort of came and went, huh? With a lukewarm reception on release, a DLC that didn't quite summon that bygone Bethesda magic, and a dedicated fanbase starting to gnaw on their own tails due to a lack of communication, an RPG we were anticipating to be a landmark has gone quiet as the vacuum of space, with nary so much as a bit of raging against the dying of the night.
Many attribute Starfield's muted response to the idea that Bethesda has grown a bit, well, sterile and rigid. It's a sentiment backed up by former Bethesda dev Nate Purkeypile, who quit over a deluge of meetings and a more restrictive corporate structure that had worn him down over time: "While I enjoyed working at Bethesda a lot when we were about 65 to 110 people on Fallout 3 and Skyrim, I enjoyed it a lot less as it grew and grew."

Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/old-armor-continues-to-fall-victim-to-final-fantasy-14s-bizarre-two-channel-dye-system-unless-youre-super-into-changing-the-colour-of-teeny-tiny-eyelets-why-even-bother-at-this-point/
It only took a decade, but Final Fantasy 14 finally added an extra dye channel to a multitude of armour when Dawntrail released last year. It's, unfortunately, been rather hit-or-miss, with that second dye channel ranging from changing actual important things like overcoats or stitching, to ridiculous details like a tiny belt buckle.
Older gear seems to have bore the brunt when it comes to ridiculous secondary dye channel choices, a trend that's continued after Square Enix gave double dyes to a handful more gear with this week's Patch 7.2.

The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/the-outlast-trials-puts-its-already-paranoid-players-under-surveillance-for-a-time-limited-story-event/
There are only so many times a horrible naked screaming man can scare you before it becomes a little rote. Just yesterday, our own Kara Phillips took a deep dive on the difficulties faced by horror games in keeping players engaged and susceptible to a good scare. And with the release of yesterday's big new update for stealthy co-op frightfest The Outlast Trials, the studio's solution isn't doubling down on the jumpscares, but more to get players hooked on the growing tension of the game's ongoing live story.

A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-new-game-of-thrones-rpg-is-coming-to-steam-today-with-a-cast-of-familiar-faces-which-is-good-because-its-really-the-only-way-to-tell-its-a-got-game-at-all/
I didn't watch HBO's Game of Thrones series—I get my fill of political intrigue and badly-behaved dimwits from the real world, thanks—and so when the whole thing fizzled out like a wet tissue tossed into a burn pit, it was a bit of a non-event for me: I was mostly just surprised at how quickly the once-reverent fanbase turned on the whole thing.
But maybe hunger for the continuing (or, I suppose, repeated) adventures of Jon Snow, Peter Dinklage, and the huge dude with the face (look, I told you I didn't watch it) persists, because a new game based on the series called Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is set to launch into early access today on Steam.

Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/todays-rpg-fans-are-very-sensitive-to-feeling-like-they-wasted-time-when-they-die-says-metaphor-refantazio-battle-planner-but-atlus-still-made-combat-hard-anyway/
According to HowLongToBeat, Atlus's 2024 RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio is a mere 65-and-a-half hours long—if you stick to the critical path. Go for the mad completionist playthrough and you're looking at 105 hours of turn-based battles, cutscenes and life simmy chats with your party members, which is objectively a lot of game.
But imagine how much higher that average completion time would be if Metaphor: ReFantazio didn't include generous autosaving, an option to repeat battles immediately, and other features expressly designed to avoid wasting players' time. According to lead battle planner Kenichi Goto, one of the core principles of Metaphor's design was appealing to today's RPG players in Japan, who are "very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time" when they die in a game.

It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/it-doesnt-really-make-sense-that-soccer-star-ronaldo-is-now-a-fatal-fury-character-but-if-you-follow-the-money-you-can-see-how-it-happened/
Soccer players aren't generally known for their fighting prowess, but that's not stopping SNK from adding famed footballer Cristiano Ronaldo to the lineup of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, the latest addition to the long-running Fatal Fury series of fighting games.
>> I can think of so many football players that would have been a better fit. Cantona, Vinnie Jones, Zidane, ...

Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pillars-of-eternity-is-getting-turn-based-combat-to-mark-its-10th-anniversary-and-that-means-pc-gamer-editors-will-soon-be-arguing-about-combat-mechanics-again/
To mark the 10th anniversary of its old-school isometric RPG Pillars of Eternity, the game that (in a very roundabout way) gave us Avowed, Obsidian has rolled out a big new patch and an even bigger piece of news: It took a full decade to happen, but turn-based combat is finally on the way.

'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/youre-a-very-long-arm-you-steal-things-its-a-comedy-game-explains-developer-of-comedy-game-where-you-steal-things-with-a-very-long-arm/
Stop me if you've heard this one: A grizzled detective one week away from retirement sits at his desk in a dimly lit office, clearly frustrated by a criminal mastermind who continues to elude him. Strewn across his desk and pinned to the bulletin board behind him are photos of the perp he's been pursuing but cannot clap the cuffs on.
But wait: the photos are all of a long, weird, bendy arm that's been stealing things. That part you definitely haven't heard before.
That arm is you. In My Arms Are Longer Now, "You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game," explained Matthew Jackson of Toot Games, the small Australian studio behind the surreal heist game.