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

[JEMC]

And here’s the third part of the Monday gaming news:

Almost a year after launch, Frost Giant's StarCraft wannabe has finally added the feature it's named after: 'We called the game Stormgate, yet we didn't actually have any stormgates'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/almost-a-year-after-launch-frost-giants-starcraft-wannabe-has-finally-added-the-feature-its-named-after-we-called-the-game-stormgate-yet-we-didnt-actually-have-any-stormgates/
Cards on the table, I did not like Stormgate when it launched. I did not like its vibes. I did not like its aesthetic. I did not like its story. I did not like how it felt beneath the fingers. I did not like the paltry number of (bad) singleplayer missions it offered before asking you to pony up cash. It felt like a Blizzard game with none of the polish, satisfaction or clarity of vision that makes the best Blizzard games what they are.
What I do like though, is any developer that makes a concerted effort to improve its game, and Frost Giant certainly appears to be doing that. Back in April, the studio overhauled Stormgate's wayward campaign, rewriting its entire narrative and mission structure. Now, Frost Giant has just added one of the community's most-requested features, the very thing the game was named after—Stormgates.
"We called the game Stormgate, yet we didn't actually have any Stormgates," Frost Giant sheepishly admits in a recent Steam blog. "But that changes now, because we're about to deploy a feature so obvious, so long-requested, so in-your-face fun that we had to name the whole game after it."

Pathologic 3's time travel system will let players 'explore the unknown boldly and without fearing permanent ruin' and that makes me way more inclined to play it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/pathologic-3s-time-travel-system-will-let-players-explore-the-unknown-boldly-and-without-fearing-permanent-ruin-and-that-makes-me-way-more-inclined-to-play-it/
Sorry Pathologic 2 fans, but I am one of those people, the ones who say how much they like the look of Ice-Pick Lodge's pestilent immersive sim, but wish it was more willing to meet them halfway on the challenge front. It's not simply that Pathologic 2 is hard. I don't mind a game kicking my ass so long as it does it quickly. But the idea of playing a game for 40 hours only to spend that whole time slowly losing is just a bit too real for my liking.
But it seems Ice-Pick Lodge's upcoming entry, Pathologic 3, might be made with philistines like me in mind, as it basically flips the entire concept of the second game on its head. Instead of being about trying to find a cure for a plague and failing slowly. It begins from the point of failure, then lets you backtrack through time to try and fix it.

Grim Dawn's next expansion will be honkin' huge, with 54 new bosses and more than 380 new unique items, it takes up 'approximately 3.55sq. km'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/grim-dawns-next-expansion-will-be-honkin-huge-with-54-new-bosses-and-more-than-380-new-unique-items-it-takes-up-approximately-3-55sq-km/
During the Great Britpop Wars of the 1990s someone might have asked you whether you preferred Oasis or Blur. The correct answer was "Pulp, actually." Likewise, if someone asks whether you like Path of Exile 2 or Diablo 4, the correct answer is Grim Dawn, dammit.
Crate Entertainment's mud-and-blood action RPG was thought dead when its third expansion, Fangs of Asterkarn, was announced out of the blue in 2023. As Crate's latest developer blog explains, the expansion was announced earlier in development than the previous two as a way of reminding people there was still life in the old girl yet. That's one reason why it's not out yet. The other is that it's bloody ginormous.
>> Blur, in my case, they had a bigger sense of humor (easier to do, compared to Oasis).

Lies of P: Overture devs actually rewarded for making a solid DLC in rare industry W: Getting a bonus, 2 weeks vacation, and a free Switch 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/lies-of-p-overture-devs-actually-rewarded-for-making-a-solid-dlc-in-rare-industry-w-getting-a-bonus-2-weeks-vacation-and-a-free-switch-2/
It's no lie that the gaming industry in recent years has been crushing. You can do a good job, a bad job, a medium job—it doesn't matter, the sword of Damocles can plunge at any moment. I won't go into my list of examples, partially because I've shared them before, but also because I've got some actual honest-to-god good news. The Lies of P devs not only released a successful expansion, but were then rewarded for it. Imagine!
Per Korean site Thelec (via VGC), Lies of P's recent DLC, Overture, has sold like hotcakes. Three million hotcakes, to be exact—to celebrate, publisher Neowiz has given its employees some solid bonuses.
All staff in developer Round8 Studio—and the publisher's own Lies of P wing—will reportedly get a $7,300 bonus (10 million South Korean won), two weeks' additional paid vacation, and a Switch 2 console.
>> That’s awesome!

'Where did he go?': Blade has gone missing in Marvel Rivals, which has the rumour mill theorising that he'll finally be added to the roster in Season 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/where-did-he-go-blade-has-gone-missing-in-marvel-rivals-which-has-the-rumour-mill-theorising-that-hell-finally-be-added-to-the-roster-in-season-3/
Oh to be left alone, to sleep for three months, it's something I've only ever dreamed of, but it's a feat that Marvel Rivals' mysterious character Blade has managed to pull off. But now, a couple of weeks before Season 3, the sleepy vampire has disappeared—suspicious.
"Mrrrr! Mrrr! Mrr! (Where did he go this time?!)," Marvel Rivals' social media says. Blade's no longer in his resting place, he's nowhere to be found. Now general sentiment is that this means he's one of the two new heroes coming in Season 3, but he could've also just wanted to get up and stretch his legs: he's been asleep for an awfully long time.

Final Fantasy 14 is doing what it should have done 6 years ago and fulfilling its promise to let every race wear hats
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-is-doing-what-it-should-have-done-6-years-ago-and-fulfilling-its-promise-to-let-every-race-wear-hats/
When MMOs are populated by races of all shapes and sizes, it's inevitable that some of them—let's face it, usually the less humanoid folk—are going to get the short end of the stick when it comes to nice-looking gear. (…)
As revealed during a recent livestream, a whole heap and hats and headgear will finally show up on Hrothgar and Viera starting in August's Patch 7.3. According to translations from the Final Fantasy 14 community Discord, Yoshida said the team "managed most of them, except for metal pieces like helmets," which should be added in future updates.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's VA for Gustave jokes that he feels 'like a total fraud' since he spent just 4 hours in the booth—and while 'fraud' is way too harsh, Gustave's mocap actor does deserve laurels, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/clair-obscur-expedition-33s-va-for-gustave-jokes-that-he-feels-like-a-total-fraud-since-he-spent-just-4-hours-in-the-booth-and-while-fraud-is-way-too-harsh-gustaves-mocap-actor-does-deserve-laurels-too/
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is getting—rightfully, in my opinion—lauded for its heartfelt performances and deeply emotional story, which paints a deep and effective canvas of grief for its players. As part of those celebrations, the actors behind its characters are also getting their kudos, too. A smidge too much kudos for Charlie Cox, apparently.

Cyberpunk 2077's surprise 2.3 patch gets a surprise delay as CDPR needs some time to aim 'for a scope similar to Update 2.2'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/cyberpunk-2077s-surprise-2-3-patch-gets-a-surprise-delay-as-cdpr-needs-some-time-to-aim-for-a-scope-similar-to-update-2-2/
You're gonna be waiting a little while longer before you return to the neon-slick streets of Cyberpunk 2077, I'm afraid. CD Projekt Red has come out on social media to announce that—though it had hoped to put out the surprise patch for the game on June 26—it's proving a bigger task than it first thought, so it's being delayed to some as-yet-unspecified post-June-26 date while the devs get everything ship-shape. "Need a little more time in the oven, my chooms," says Cyberpunk 2 associate game director Paweł Sasko on Bluesky.
>> After the big comeback this game has had, it would be a shame if the last big update were a turd. So yeah, makes sense to delay it to get it right.

REPO devs are planning something diabolical for the upcoming museum map: 'Get ready to Mission: Impossible your way past laser security modules'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/repo-devs-are-planning-something-diabolical-for-the-upcoming-museum-map-get-ready-to-mission-impossible-your-way-past-laser-security-modules/
REPO's big update has been in the works for a few months now. As well as providing a new way to deal with one of the most annoying monsters—the duck—this update will add a whole new and massive map.

Final Fantasy 14 director Yoshi-P admits 'our quality of service has declined recently' and 'we got used to things a bit too much and got comfortable'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-director-yoshi-p-admits-our-quality-of-service-has-declined-recently-and-we-got-used-to-things-a-bit-too-much-and-got-comfortable/
As I wrote earlier this year, Final Fantasy 14 is in a bit of a weird spot. The highs of the Endwalker's narrative conclusion and the WoW exodus have officially tapered off, leaving players with a fairly middling introduction to its new story and frustrations around patch cadence.
(...)
Director and producer Naoki Yoshida is pretty aware of the disruption it's all been causing, as he briefly discussed at the beginning of a livestream last week. "I've been feeling that our quality of service has declined recently, I am very for that," Yoshida told viewers (thanks to the Final Fantasy 14 community Discord for the translations), adding that there have been "too many bugs that we need to have an emergency maintenance or a hotfix for."
Yoshida claims he's had chats across both the community and development team, before saying: "It feels like we got used to things a bit too much and got comfortable."
>> Admitting the existence of a problem is the first step. Now comes the hard part: do something to fix it.

Phasmophobia devs 'don't want to walk into the live service area' with seasonal events, but still have plans to keep the community engaged
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/phasmophobia-devs-dont-want-to-walk-into-the-live-service-area-with-seasonal-events-but-still-have-plans-to-keep-the-community-engaged/
Some brave souls play Phasmophobia all on their lonesome, but that could never be me. I'm more in it for the shared, community-driven haunts, so when I noticed the new Twitch Drop section of the ghost hunting game's UI during a Summer Game Fest demo, I asked the team if they had plans to expand on other community activities, like seasonal events.
"I think one of the key things is we don't want to walk into the live service area," said lead social and community manager Tom Dent. "We're very much like, the game is the game, and we have those events to sort of bring our year together. We want to steer clear of that kind of vibe. But also our community is so active, so excited. So to continue to engage them is super important."