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

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Monday news, the second part:

Sure, man: The $200 deluxe edition of the Gex Trilogy remaster includes a 3-foot inflatable Gex and box art from legendary illustrator Yoshitaka Amano
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/sure-man-the-usd200-deluxe-edition-of-the-gex-trilogy-remaster-includes-a-3-foot-inflatable-gex-and-box-art-from-legendary-illustrator-yoshitaka-amano/
For better or worse, society must soon reckon with Gex once more. As we reported with no small amount of trepidation in 2023, Limited Run Games is releasing Gex Trilogy, a remaster collection of all three adventures of the anthropoid lizard that Crystal Dynamics first inflicted on the human consciousness in 1995. And yesterday, Limited Run revealed the Gex Trilogy Tail Time Edition, a $200 fever dream of Gex idolatry including not one, but two separate physical instantiations of Gex that you can place in your real, human home.

Quake finally makes it into the World Videogame Hall of Fame
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/quake-finally-makes-it-into-the-world-videogame-hall-of-fame/
My first thought upon learning that Quake had been inducted into the World Videogame Hall of Fame was that it was very weird Quake wasn't already in the World Videogame Hall of Fame. I mean, you've had Halo in there since 2017, and not Quake? What? What are we even doing here? It's the sort of thing that has the potential to start fistfights in sketchy sports bars—or heated arguments on social media, at least. But never mind, it's all water under the bridge now, as Quake was one of four HoF inductees for 2025.

Europa Universalis 5's unusual, year-long reveal was a lesson Paradox learned from Imperator's mixed reception: 'I wanted to do it a little bit earlier, but marketing people tend to get panicky when you start talking'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/europa-universalis-5s-unusual-year-long-reveal-was-a-lesson-paradox-learned-from-imperators-mixed-reception-i-wanted-to-do-it-a-little-bit-earlier-but-marketing-people-tend-to-get-panicky-when-you-start-talking/
It was pretty obvious, right from the first dev diary published on February 24, 2024 that Paradox Tinto was working on Europa Universalis 5. The studio had been set up to maintain 2013's Europa Universalis 4, and was headed by EU director Johan Andersson. Everything it showed us from Project Caesar screamed Europa Universalis 5.

Nearly 200 Overwatch developers at Blizzard form a new union: The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/nearly-200-overwatch-developers-at-blizzard-form-a-new-union-the-overwatch-gamemakers-guild/
Nearly 200 Overwatch developers at Activision Blizzard have formed a new union under the Communications Workers of America called The Overwatch Gamemakers Guild—CWA, "a wall-to-wall unit that includes game developers across all disciplines, including design, production, engineering, art, sound, and quality assurance."

Randy Pitchford asks fans to 'play the game first' before judging Borderlands 4's new minimap-free HUD
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/randy-pitchford-asks-fans-to-play-the-game-first-before-judging-borderlands-4s-new-minimap-free-hud/
Borderlands fans noticed that instead of the minimap introduced in Borderlands 2, the recent Borderlands 4 gameplay deep dive features a compass bar that points toward objectives. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford confirmed that the minimap is gone during a PAX East panel on Friday, and asked fans to hold judgement until they've played the game.

After a decade of development, Roboquest's developer is calling time on its roguelite shooter: 'There's no way we can continue to provide content for players with over 1,000 hours of gameplay'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/after-a-decade-of-development-roboquests-developer-is-calling-time-on-its-roguelite-shooter-theres-no-way-we-can-continue-to-provide-content-for-players-with-over-1-000-hours-of-gameplay/
When I was a kid, post-launch support was a concept reserved mainly for NASA, and rarely the domain of video games. Sure, you might download the odd online patch on your 56k modem to fix particularly gnarly bugs. But that was more or less it. These days, it's expected that games will be supported for months and even years after release. And this support isn't limited to fixing bugs: Developers are expected to add new, often free content to their games if they want to keep those Steam reviews in the blue.
I often wonder about the effect this has upon developers, and if the words of Roboquest's designers are anything to go by, it sounds like it's pretty exhausting. A bright and cheerful rogue-lite FPS about blasting robots through randomly generated environments, Roboquest launched into Steam early access in 2020, before formally releasing in 2023. Developer RyseUp Studio has continued to support the game since. Now though, after what the devs say is 10 years of work on the game, that support is coming to an end.

Elden Ring's upcoming update will add two new starting classes, one of them equipped with a top-tier DLC weapon it used to take dozens of hours to grab
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/elden-rings-upcoming-update-will-add-two-new-starting-classes-one-of-them-equipped-with-a-top-tier-dlc-weapon-it-used-to-take-dozens-of-hours-to-grab/
As reported by Eurogamer, Elden Ring's "Tarnished Edition" GOTY re-release and update won't just come with new weapons out in the world: It'll have two new starting classes added to the lineup, with both harkening back to Souls characters of the past, and one of them coming equipped with the Milady Light Greatsword, a killer weapon that used to be gated by an endgame boss.

One of the most visually stunning roguelikes just overhauled its graphics to look even gnarlier, but you can still toggle back to the OG art style at will
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/one-of-the-most-visually-stunning-roguelikes-just-overhauled-its-graphics-to-look-even-gnarlier-but-you-can-still-toggle-back-to-the-og-art-style-at-will/
The gorgeous first person action-roguelike Mortal Sin recently went live with a surprising new update: A graphical overhaul with an arguably even more stunning riff on its pulp comic book art style. Fans of the original needn't fret, though: You can toggle between the OG palette and new hotness at any time.

Characters from The Witcher and Five Nights at Freddy's are joining Dead by Daylight, with a hint of The Walking Dead to follow
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/characters-from-the-witcher-and-five-nights-at-freddys-are-joining-dead-by-daylight-with-a-hint-of-the-walking-dead-to-follow/
Asymmetric multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight celebrated its ninth anniversary with a chonky livestream broadcast from PAX East where a screaming crowd of Dead-heads reacted to the announcements of upcoming additions and collaborations.

Timberborn's latest update adds ziplines and tubeways for rapid beaver deployment and stops your rodent residents from throwing down in sudden fits of breakdancing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/timberborns-latest-update-adds-ziplines-and-tubeways-for-rapid-beaver-deployment-and-stops-your-rodent-residents-from-throwing-down-in-sudden-fits-of-breakdancing/
Timberborn is yet another example of just how brilliant the city-building genre is right now. Mechanistry's beaver-themed management sim lets you construct a water-powered metropolis for the world's most engineeringly-minded rodent, constructing dams and aqueducts, powering your city with waterwheels. All that, and it's still in early access, with subsequent updates adding mechanised beavers and disgusting polluted water.
Now, a whole new update has arrived, and it folds in some pretty dramatic features to the city builder. Update 7—Ziplines and Tubeways adds two whole new ways to move your beavers around your city, as well as making fundamental changes to how cities can be constructed, as well as a few other goodies.

MechWarrior 5's beefy story expansion is out, and it has the most videogame title I've ever had the pleasure to read
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/mechwarrior-5s-beefy-story-expansion-is-out-and-it-has-the-most-videogame-title-ive-ever-had-the-pleasure-to-read/
I love a clunky-ass videogame title. Some may argue that videogame names should be kept simple and punchy, like Doom or Quake or BioShock. I would counter that your videogame isn't truly a videogame unless the name has at least two punctuation marks in it. I'm talking Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines, or my personal favourite, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution. If you don't have to pause for breath while saying it, it isn't a proper videogame.
MechWarrior 5: Clans is relatively mundane as titles go, but the newly released expansion for Piranha Games' mech shooter elevates it to wondrous new levels of silliness. The DLC is called MechWarrior 5: Clans – Ghost Bear: Flash Storm, which is objectively the greatest name for a game ever. What is a Ghost Bear? Why is there a Flash Storm? I must know the answer to these questions!

The best FPS of 2024 simply cannot stop adding new maps, introducing 37 new arenas, 4 new weapons, and a 'Horrible Smelly Head' in its latest update
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-best-fps-of-2024-simply-cannot-stop-adding-new-maps-introducing-37-new-arenas-4-new-weapons-and-a-horrible-smelly-head-in-its-latest-update/
Rarely have I been so instantly enamoured with a game as Straftat, a gleefully chaotic micro-FPS created by two brothers who couldn't find a decent deathmatch shooter to play. Straftat pitches two players against each other in lightning-paced 1v1 duels. Less of a throwback and more of a distillation of the classic deathmatches of yore—particularly Half-Life with shades of Quake and Unreal in there too—it features dozens of weapons, 150 small yet wildly inventive maps, and a wonderful selection of hats, all for the low, low price of nothing.
Straftat is quite possibly the best deal on Steam, the only paid element being an optional, $5/£4.29 DLC that almost doubles the map count and adds a bunch of other features. That deal got better in February when French developers Sirius and Léonard Lemaitre added a chunk of extra maps, and even better-er in April when they did the same again. Now, barely a month later, they've added another massive update to the game.