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

[JEMC]

The news, the sequel:

Team Ninja says 'we sincerely apologize' for Rise of the Ronin's PC version being a mess, promises imminent fixes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/team-ninja-says-we-sincerely-apologize-for-rise-of-the-ronins-pc-version-being-a-mess-promises-imminent-fixes/
The ambitious ARPG Rise of the Ronin released on Steam a few weeks ago and, from the get-go, proved to be yet another terrible PC port from Team Ninja. The game has undeniable qualities but they're buried beneath a myriad of performance issues, and user reviews are "Mixed" with every negative relating in some way to how it's running.
(...)
Team Ninja has now issued an apology to players, and announced that a patch will be released on 10 April addressing performance issues.

Diablo 4's roadmap reveals this year our console brothers and sisters will finally get keyboard-and-mouse support
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4s-roadmap-reveals-this-year-our-console-brothers-and-sisters-will-finally-get-keyboard-and-mouse-support/
(...)
Their anguish will end during Diablo 4's July–September season, as revealed by the newly published roadmap for 2025. This roadmap details the year's four seasonal updates, as well as the permanent additions that will be released alongside each one.
>> I almost skipped this article from the news because of the headline. This is about PC, after all. In any case, the new roadmap has been shared.

Half-Life 2's 2003 beta reveals the mystery behind a City 17 river that once led players to the foot of the Citadel
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/half-life-2s-2003-beta-reveals-the-mystery-behind-a-city-17-river-that-once-led-players-to-the-foot-of-the-citadel/
There are various unfinished versions of Half-Life 2 that have come to light over the years, all of which reveal interesting things about how Valve's plans changed over time as it painstakingly refined and pruned one of the PC gaming greats.
A new video by YouTuber and Half-Life 2 obsessive CMDR RileySV delves into the 2003 beta, and specifically one of the finished game's little mysteries: "The elusive City 17 river." This is a river that can be seen at a couple of points in the final game, but the player never travels to it. Yet at one point it was intended to play a much greater role in the lead-up to the game's climax.

YouTube is conducting a 'platform-wide review' after mistakenly hitting Balatro videos with an age restriction for gambling content
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/youtube-is-conducting-a-platform-wide-review-after-mistakenly-hitting-balatro-videos-with-an-age-restriction-for-gambling-content/
YouTube is conducting a "platform-wide review" of videos and channels on its platform to ensure age restrictions are being properly applied—and, for the record, says Balatro gameplay videos should not be rated 18+ unless they actually violate its gambling policy or other community guidelines.
The problem came up over the weekend when Balatro creator LocalThunk took to social media to say that Balatro videos "are being rated 18+ on YouTube now for gambling."

Blue Prince is currently the best-reviewed game of 2025
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/blue-prince-is-currently-the-best-reviewed-game-of-2025/
In our Blue Prince review, Chris Livingston called the run-based room drafter one of the best puzzle games in years—a work of "incredible craftsmanship and elegance" that's worthy of all the fevered notebook scribbling required to unravel the mystery of its shifting mansionscape. And by the looks of things, Chris isn't alone.
So far, Blue Prince is the best-reviewed game of 2025.
>> Even Balatro’s creator LocalThunk praises it.

Battle royale interest is shrinking but Fortnite has a larger slice of the pie than ever, according to new industry report
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/battle-royale-interest-is-shrinking-but-fortnite-has-a-larger-slice-of-the-pie-than-ever-according-to-new-industry-report/
According to a new report from game industry research firm Newzoo, interest in the battle royale genre is on a downward slope.
That might seem like a counterintuitive observation when Fortnite, Warzone, PUBG, and Apex Legends are still huge games, but it probably has more to do with their competitors calling it quits. According to Newzoo's Game Performance Monitor (which includes official and estimated data from 37 markets excluding China and India), battle royales ate up 19% of total hours played in 2021 but just 12% in 2023 and 2024.
People aren't playing battle royales as much as they did a few years ago, but interestingly, Fortnite's share of that playtime has exploded from 43% in 2021 to 77% in 2024. That makes sense when you consider that Fortnite got a big player boost from its Fortnite OG event in 2023 and quickly followed that up by expanding into non-battle royale spinoffs played inside Fortnite, like Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival. Presumably, Newzoo is lumping all of Fortnite's audience into its share of the battle royale genre, not just those actually playing the battle royale modes.

'There is no lawsuit' against Schedule I: As negative Steam reviews pile up, Drug Dealer Simulator publisher makes a public plea for peace
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/there-is-no-lawsuit-against-schedule-i-as-negative-steam-reviews-pile-up-drug-dealer-simulator-publisher-makes-a-public-plea-for-peace/
As the negative Steam reviews continue to pile up, Drug Dealer Simulator publisher Movie Games SA has addressed the controversy surrounding its investigation into the indie hit Schedule I with a simple, straightforward message on the DDS 2 Steam page: "There is no lawsuit."
>> There is no lawsuit… yet. In any case, Schedule I players are now busy breaking the physics of the game and exploring the sky.

Big Rigs, a strong contender for any 'worst games of all time' list, currently has a Mostly Positive user rating on Steam because democracy is broken
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/big-rigs-a-strong-contender-for-any-worst-games-of-all-time-list-currently-has-a-mostly-positive-user-rating-on-steam-because-democracy-is-broken/
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing was misnamed. It should have been called Big Rigs: Through the Road Racing, or possibly Through the Nearby Buildings and Also Bridges. The 2003 truck racing game infamously lacked collision, meaning you could drive through anything, including your competitor.
I say competitor, but in the launch version of the game your rival wouldn't actually move, remaining stationary while you complete the race, at which point a cheap trophy would appear on the screen along with the now-legendary text "YOU'RE WINNER !"
This semi-trailer-themed semi-game was recently released on Steam, where the irony-poisoned have already given it a flood of glowing reviews. One references the fact that in Big Rigs you go faster backwards than you do forwards by writing, "Got addicted to driving backwards, did it for roughly an hour straight just to listen to the literal ear-piercing engine of the truck revving." Another simply states, "At least someone finally tells me that I'm winner once in my life".

'Rocket Raccoon is now the goat healer': Marvel Rivals devs have finally caved and given Rocket Raccoon's ultimate the ability to heal
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/rocket-raccoon-is-now-the-goat-healer-marvel-rivals-devs-have-finally-caved-and-given-rocket-raccoons-ultimate-the-ability-to-heal/
Marvel Rivals Season 2 is introducing a lot of new features, including new heroes, Emma Frost and Ultron, new maps, new Team-up abilities, and, as per usual, a ton of hero changes. Most of these are pretty straightforward and expected, like a nerf for Winter Soldier and a small buff for Loki. But the best change, by far, has to be the fact that Rocket Raccoon's ultimate now heals teammates.