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

[JEMC]

The Thursday gaming news, the long part two:

Resident Evil Requiem isn't a first-person or third-person horror game—it's both
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/resident-evil/resident-evil-requiem-isnt-a-first-person-or-third-person-horror-game-its-both/
Resident Evil Requiem was the standout surprise of the Summer Game Fest showcase this year, taking the series back to Raccoon City in the aftermath of its destruction. Requiem is Resident Evil's sharpest zag since RE7, starring a new character in Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of a character from 2003's Resident Evil Outbreak.
Grace's trip to Raccoon City isn't the only thing bridging the old and the new in Requiem—for the first time in Resident Evil, you can swap between third- and first-person at any time. Capcom debuted the feature in a behind-closed-doors, hands-off demo at Summer Game Fest as a "one more thing" surprise.
>> And the director has confirmed that Grace Ashcroft will be the main character.

Dispatch is the first Telltale-style game I've played that's delivering on the promise of playing a TV show, and it's even got a compelling management sim tucked inside, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/dispatch-is-the-first-telltale-style-game-ive-played-thats-delivering-on-the-promise-of-playing-a-tv-show-and-its-even-got-a-compelling-management-sim-tucked-inside-too/
Dispatch is the first game out of AdHoc—a studio that contains several directors and developers from Telltale Games' height of popularity. Featured in our own PC Gaming Show, Dispatch also has a demo out for Steam Next Fest, and after playing it, my only complaint is that I want to see more.

Anonymous employee accuses RuneScape of kowtowing to Trump as it puts the kibosh on new Pride events: 'The content… is now controversial in a way it didn't used to be'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/anonymous-employee-accuses-runescape-of-kowtowing-to-trump-as-it-puts-the-kibosh-on-new-pride-events-the-content-is-now-controversial-in-a-way-it-didnt-used-to-be/
Players are in an uproar after an anonymous Jagex employee, speaking to Pink News, accused the RuneScape and Old School RuneScape (OSRS) dev of deliberately curtailing its Pride Month celebrations in response to the American government's assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Grounded 2 will have an arachnophobia mode, even for its rideable spiders
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/grounded-2-will-have-an-arachnophobia-mode-even-for-its-rideable-spiders/
I used to think arachnophobia was overblown. Okay, you're scared of spiders, whatever, get over it. Then one day, many years ago, I saw what happened when my boss at the time—a genuine arachnophobe—came within inches of touching a small spider as he was walking through a doorway. It was as if someone had mashed up an Olympic 100 meter dash, John Travolta's most frenetic disco moves, and the inhuman noises of a mutant demon from the fifth dimension tearing through the fabric of reality as it crawled into our own world, and then stuffed it all down the throat of my very surprised, very distressed pal—all of it over a spider you could barely see without squinting. And on that day, I was convinced: Okay, maybe there is something to this arachnophobia thing.
Respect for arachnophobia has also taken on greater importance in videogames in recent years, as a growing number of games either launch with or add arachnophobia modes, accommodating players who simply cannot tolerate being in the presence of spiders. Grounded was one of them, and speaking to Polygon, game director Chris Parker confirmed that Grounded 2 will have an arachnophobia mode as well.

New report details Dragon Age: The Veilguard's ugly failure through live service flip-flops, rewrites, and conflicts with Mass Effect
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/new-report-details-dragon-age-the-veilguards-ugly-failure-through-live-service-flip-flops-rewrites-and-conflicts-with-mass-effect/
The failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the toll it took on BioWare, has been well documented, but a new report by Jason Schreier at Bloomberg dives deep into what went wrong leading up to the game's release in October 2024—and the short answer is, just about everything.

This absurd trolley conductor simulator gave me 3 separate Steam achievements for throwing grandmas from a moving public transportation vehicle
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/this-absurd-trolley-conductor-simulator-gave-me-3-separate-steam-achievements-for-throwing-grandmas-from-a-moving-public-transportation-vehicle/
Troleu is perhaps the most specific job simulator game I've played. Inspired (loosely, I assume, but who can say) by developer andrground's experience of Moldovan public transit, it's a frenzy of change-counting, validating trolley passes, and hurling passengers at a demonic ticket inspector so you don't lose your day's wages.
In my time with the Troleu demo, my basic task as a trolleybus conductor was taking ticket fare. Sometimes, passengers would pay with card. Some would insist that "credit is for weaklings with internet" and hand me fistfuls of cash, forcing me to dig through the many zippered pouches of my conductor satchel for appropriate change. And others would present their trolley passes, telling me not to "look too closely."

Splitgate 2 boss blames a former Call of Duty developer for $80 bundle, says he 'didn't intend for it to come off as shifting blame'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/splitgate-2-boss-blames-a-former-call-of-duty-developer-for-usd80-bundle-says-he-didnt-intend-for-it-to-come-off-as-shifting-blame/
Squeezed in between his controversial appearance at the Summer Game Fest wearing a MAGA-style "Make FPS Great Again" hat and his subsequent apology for it, Splitgate 2 boss Ian Proulx couldn't help himself from slipping a quick knock against a former Call of Duty developer—and former Splitgate 2 developer—in a video on X.
It was posted on June 8 to explain how the $80 store bundle—which was halved in price after fans criticized it—had happened in the first place. Proulx recalled what happened after his SGF appearance: "The second I got off that stage, I called Darek [Jones], our lead game designer, and I said, 'Darek, did you know we had an $80 bundle? This is news to me. What the heck? That makes no sense.'
>> The boss didn’t know how they were going to price the game? It’s hard to believe.

Videogame voice actors strike 'suspended' following agreement with game companies: 'All SAG-AFTRA members are instructed to return to work'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/videogame-voice-actors-strike-suspended-following-agreement-with-game-companies-all-sag-aftra-members-are-instructed-to-return-to-work/
A day after reaching a tentative agreement with major game companies over "critical AI protections" for voice actors, the SAG-AFTRA union has suspended the strike that's been ongoing since July 2024 and given its members the green light to return to work.

An Elden Ring Nightreign dataminer dove into the numbers to prove that reaching max level isn't as strong as it seems
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/an-elden-ring-nightreign-dataminer-dove-into-the-numbers-to-prove-that-reaching-max-level-isnt-as-strong-as-it-seems/
As if Elden Ring character stats weren't confusing enough, FromSoftware further obfuscated their purpose in Elden Ring Nightreign. Each Nightfarer has letter ratings instead of numbers to denote their relative proficiency with each stat, but the real values are hidden. You just have to trust they're going up a meaningful amount each time you level up.
Dataminer and YouTuber Zullie the Witch went under the hood to figure out how stats actually work in Nightreign and found that, while they're similar to Elden Ring, there are a few caveats that might make you rethink your approach to each run.

Solasta 2 is switching to D&D 5th edition's 2024 rules update
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/solasta-2-is-switching-to-d-and-d-5th-editions-2024-rules-update/
A whole decade is a solid run for an RPG ruleset, but the success of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, released in 2014, was such that replacing it would be an obviously terrible idea. Instead, Wizards of the Coast did something more akin to 4th edition's Essentials line—a refresh that's compatible with the previous rules, but makes changes to address criticisms that have emerged over the rules' lifespan.
The 2024 update is basically a patch then, and one that's been fairly well-received. The usual complainers have decided it's "woke" for reasons too tedious to mention, but looking at the actual changes it's a straight upgrade that formalizes many of the house rules players were already using.
Which is why it's good news the sequel to Solasta: Crown of the Magister, the CRPG that used the Open Gaming Licence to give players an authentic-feeling D&D experience with the serial numbers filed off, will be using the 2024 update. This wasn't a sure thing: the demo I played back in February was still using the 2014 rules, and the updated Systems Reference Document explaining what rules are in the creative commons didn't come out until April. But now, the developers at Tactical Adventures have announced they're officially making the switch.

Jurassic World Evolution 3's system requirements are graciously breezy and don't require a dino-sized SSD
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/jurassic-world-evolution-3s-system-requirements-are-graciously-breezy-and-dont-require-a-dino-sized-ssd/
Looking at system requirements in 2025 has become somewhat of a 'grit your teeth and cross your fingers' affair—are we requiring a behemoth system sporting an RTX 4090, or will your bargain bin third-hand rig scrape by? Well, if you're into all things prehistoric, there's some good news because it doesn't look like Jurassic World Evolution 3 will require a whole lot from your gaming PC.

'The game should speak for itself': MindsEye's publisher denies developer claims of a conspiratorial 'effort to trash' it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-game-should-speak-for-itself-mindseyes-publisher-denies-developer-claims-of-a-conspiratorial-effort-to-trash-it/
MindsEye, a game that feels a smidge underwhelming—given it was from one of the brains behind Grand Theft Auto—is out, and public reception is not doing so hot. With "mostly negative" Steam reviews and some poor first impressions by PCG's own Tyler Wilde, who didn't find much to be charmed with, MindsEye is not doing much to capture anyone's imagination.
But if you listened to Build a Rocket Boy co-CEO Mark Gerhard back in May? It was all a conspiracy by a fleet of paid-for bots, or something. You can read the full statements in the story I just linked, but Gerhard claimed there was "a concerted effort to trash the game and the studio", and implied he believed "100%" that the incoming negative reception was financed by someone with some disposable income and a fleet of "bot farms".
(...)
The CEO of IO Interactive, publishers of MindsEye, certainly doesn't seem to think they do. In a recent IGN interview that surfaced during release day, Hakan Abrak replied to the line of questioning with a flat denial: "I don't know. I don't believe that. I don't believe that. I just think the game should speak for itself on June 10."

And a bonus article:

Summer Game Fest no-shows: 9 big games that were absent from 2025's showcases
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/summer-game-fest-2025-no-shows/