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

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The second part of the Thursday gaming news:

Stalker 2's 1.5 mega-patch just dropped and GSC says A-Life is back, baby
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/stalker-2s-1-5-mega-patch-just-dropped-and-gsc-says-a-life-is-back-baby/
As you may have discovered earlier while reading about its modkit requiring almost a full terabyte of space, Stalker 2 got a pretty gargantuan patch today. GSC is calling it the "Guns and Looting update," which I feel undersells it a little, and the rest of us are calling it patch 1.5. It's a doozy, folks.
The headline item is, uh, the item in the headline: GSC claims that Stalker's A-Life system is more-or-less back in action with this update. If you're not familiar, that's the system that's been the Stalker series' secret sauce since the very first game, Shadow of Chornobyl. It's the name GSC gives to the fact that the Zone's NPCs have lives of their own: they wander around, pursue goals, get in fights, die messily, and it's often you who stumbles across the aftermath or gets swept up in the carnage.

Larian jumped to improve Karlach's ending in Baldur's Gate 3 right away, with voice actor Samantha Béart saying it was nigh-on immediate: 'As soon as it was out, I got a call'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/the-fans-had-no-influence-on-karlachs-improved-baldurs-gate-3-ending-says-voice-actor-samantha-beart-larian-had-to-dodge-starfield-but-it-was-very-much-planned/
Baldur's Gate 3 was one of the best RPGs of the decade when it came out—and that accolade was only polished and shined in the ensuing months as Larian added patches to stitch up its wobbly ending. The biggest of these is, naturally, the epilogue—but there were a couple of minor additions before Patch 5, too. Update - 25/06/2025: Larian's reached out to confirm that Karlach's ending was, in fact, made in response to the game's playerbase, with Michael Douse additionally clarifying on X that "Karlach's final ending was indeed in response to fan feedback, with conversations starting around August 2023." Presumably late August, given the game's initial release date of August 3.

Hearthstone's first in-game pet is only available via a gacha mechanic that will cost most players a whopping 158 bucks
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/hearthstones-first-in-game-pet-is-only-available-via-a-gacha-mechanic-that-will-cost-most-players-a-whopping-158-bucks/
One of my favorite and most-used memes is an image of William Hurt, taken from the film A History of Violence, expressing disbelief that a simple, straightforward task could be utterly botched by someone who is presumably a professional in his field. The facial expression is so clear and definitive that I often like to share it without any accompanying text, because it conveys the message so well entirely on its own.
(...)
It comes to mind in this moment because Blizzard unleashed the first "interactive pet" for Hearthstone yesterday, and hoo boy, it is not going well. The problem isn't the pet itself: King Krush chomps and roars, he reacts to actions and emotes, and he's just all around cute. Aesthetically, I have no notes. The trouble is with how he's acquired, and more specifically the cost involved.
>> The article has the William Hurt image, in case you’re curious.

That was quick! Funcom is already testing a version of Dune: Awakening where the Deep Desert is only 50% PvP
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/that-was-quick-funcom-is-already-testing-a-version-of-dune-awakening-where-the-deep-desert-is-only-50-percent-pvp/
PvP is the most controversial part of survival MMO Dune: Awakening, and players haven't been shy about airing their grievances. The massive endgame zone, the Deep Desert, is the only place to find spice in large quantities and endgame-tier resources, and some players aren't happy that it's dominated by PvP combat that mostly takes place via ornithopters armed with rockets.
Earlier this week, in response to negative player feedback about the PvP-dominated endgame, Funcom creative director Joel Bylos announced that changes were being made, saying "some areas of the Deep Desert will now be flagged as 'Partial Warfare (PvE)' areas"—which would allow players to harvest spice and tier 6 resources without fear of other players ganking them via chopper.
By "some areas," Bylos may have undersold it. On Dune: Awakening's new public test client, which Funcom announced today, the Deep Desert has been heavily overhauled: the endgame zone has gone from being about 90% PvP to a mere 50%.

Bullying works once again: Jurassic World Evolution 3 is ditching its AI-generated scientist portraits after receiving backlash for sparing the wrong expense
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/bullying-works-once-again-jurassic-world-evolution-3-is-ditching-its-ai-generated-scientist-portraits-after-receiving-backlash-for-sparing-the-wrong-expense/
Jurassic Park was a story about the dangers of using technology to manufacture the beauty and majesty of life so it can be turned around for a profit. Frontier Developments, publisher and developer of the upcoming Jurassic World Evolution 3, seems to have relearned that lesson, announcing earlier this week that it would remove AI-generated art assets before the game's October launch after finding itself on the receiving end of public outcry.

FTC issues $126 million in Fortnite refunds, gives eligible players an extra 2 weeks to apply for their money back
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/ftc-issues-usd126-million-in-fortnite-refunds-gives-eligible-players-an-extra-2-weeks-to-apply-for-their-money-back/
The US Federal Trade Commission has issued a new wave of refunds totalling $126 million to Fortnite players who were charged for unintentional purposes, and reopened the claims process to allow people who missed it the first time around another chance to get their money back.

10 years after it launched, one of the best roguelikes of all time gets a surprise update on Steam with quality of life improvements and a new controls menu
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/10-years-after-it-launched-one-of-the-best-roguelikes-of-all-time-gets-a-surprise-update-on-steam-with-quality-of-life-improvements-and-a-new-controls-menu/
It was 2015—10 years ago—that we called Nuclear Throne "a crowning achievement for Vlambeer, and one of the finest action-roguelikes ever made" in our 90% review. Seven years later, in 2022, we said it was still the best roguelike around. And now, in 2025, eight years after its last update, Nuclear Throne has suddenly sprung back to life.
"Good news for (future) Nuclear Throne fans: there's an updated beta build on Steam with many quality of life improvements like 120fps support, different aspect ratios, and a new controls menu!" Vlambeer wrote in a surprise announcement on Bluesky. "Oh, and a new melting loading screen tip.

Rematch players are flopping about like schools of flying fish because—and I tested this—it's actually faster
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/rematch-players-are-flopping-about-like-schools-of-flying-fish-because-and-i-tested-this-its-actually-faster/
Rematch is doing great for Sloclap, and with good reason. It's a gorgeous-looking footie game that blends the studio's penchant for fighting game glory with some proper tekkers. Minor issues with lag and netcode aside, I've been having a good time.
However, if you've been playing, you might start to notice some strange natural phenomena. Schools of players flopping about like schools of majestic flying fish, a hivemind of spaghetti-limbed madlads that turn Sloclap's lovely presentation into something altogether sillier. Here's an example from the game's subreddit.
While this might look like a meme at first, it turns out that it's actually significantly more efficient. No, really, I tested it. Booting up Rematch and heading into freeplay, I went ahead and did some runs—horizontally, across the field, using the halfway line as a guide. I recorded five times with a stopwatch, then snagged the average. Here are my findings.

Jagex CEO breaks glass, hits PR emergency button by promising an end to a 'tainted RuneScape 3' via microtransaction overhaul
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/jagex-ceo-breaks-glass-hits-pr-emergency-button-by-promising-an-end-to-a-tainted-runescape-3-via-microtransaction-overhaul/
RuneScape hasn't had the best month—but Jagex seems keen to start walking some of that bad PR back in a bombshell video, one that promises to completely overhaul RuneScape 3's microtransactions (MTX).