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

[JEMC]

And here comes the third, and last, part of the gaming news:

Space Marine's underwhelming remaster is getting an extended refund window, and a discount for owners of the original
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/space-marines-underwhelming-remaster-is-getting-an-extended-refund-window-and-a-discount-for-owners-of-the-original/
I didn't hate my time with Space Marine: Master Crafted Edition, because it's basically the same stompy action game I loved only with some more polygons so those oversized shoulderpads look a bit rounder. But I didn't love the way the new weapon-select menu blocks the middle of the screen and hangs around just long enough to be annoying, or the black-screen bug, or the crash to desktop that made me realize I should probably wait for some patches before I go back to it.
The other unlovely thing about Space Marine: Master Crafted Edition is its price. A whole $40 for a light-touch remaster with a multiplayer mode hardly anyone is playing seemed a bit much for many players, especially those who already owned the Anniversary Edition, which bundled in all the DLC as well as the artbook, strategy guide, soundtrack, and other goodies back in 2021.
A predictable flood of negative user reviews followed (it's currently at 71% negative reviews on Steam), and the equally predictable apology and walkback has now arrived. "If you've already purchased Space Marine: Master Crafted Edition," the Steam blog post states, "you are eligible for a full refund, regardless of playtime, as long as you request it before 6pm BST/10pm PST July 10 2025 (when the Steam Summer Sale ends)."

Gloomwood's latest research update adds the most scientific thing of all: headshots
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/gloomwoods-latest-research-update-adds-the-most-scientific-thing-of-all-headshots/
Not too long ago, Victorian stealth-em-up Gloomwood received a "research update" that lets players study dissected monsters and then inject their sweet juice directly into your veins for temporary powers. More recently, the early access immsim's latest update has expanded on those research options.

Owlcat is 'redoing everything from scratch' in Dark Heresy, its next Warhammer 40,000 CRPG, which is the best thing I've heard about it so far
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/owlcat-is-redoing-everything-from-scratch-in-dark-heresy-its-next-warhammer-40-000-crpg-which-is-the-best-thing-ive-heard-about-it-so-far/
When Owlcat left behind the bloated Pathfinder system, a numberhead ruleset that held back the otherwise excellent Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous, I rejoiced. Finally, with Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, they'd have the opportunity to focus on their strengths: storytelling and player freedom.
(...)
But for the studio's next 40K game, Dark Heresy, things will apparently be different. "We will be redoing everything from scratch," executive producer Anatoly Shestov told The Gamer. "Even the design things, mechanical things, abilities, options, role-playing systems. There will be changes even in the basic stats."

The brilliant Half-Life-inspired survival game Abiotic Factor cascades into 1.0 this July
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/the-brilliant-half-life-inspired-survival-game-abiotic-factor-cascades-into-1-0-this-july/
Like a bespectacled boffin dangling a piece of cheese over the cage of a two-headed lab rat, Abiotic Factor has been teasing me with its 1.0 release for a while. Developer Deep Field Games initially broached the subject back in April as it detailed its upcoming Cold Fusion update, before confirming Cold Fusion is the 1.0 update earlier this month.
Now, Deep Field has pinned down a specific date upon which the Half-Life-inspired survival game will reach its final tram stop. Expect the G.A.T.E research facility to formally open its doors on July 22.

Wreckfest 2's latest update lets you drive a grotty motorhome that's definitely had meth cooked in it, and ensures that 'realistic damage mode is now more realistic'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/wreckfest-2s-latest-update-lets-you-drive-a-grotty-motorhome-thats-definitely-had-meth-cooked-in-it-and-ensures-that-realistic-damage-mode-is-now-more-realistic/
Wreckfest 2's early access launch may have been smaller than a Fiat 500 after being run over by a monster truck, but developer Bugbear has been hard at work buffing out the sequel's bodywork since it launched back earlier this year. In May, the game received its first content update adding extra cars and tracks. Now, a second major patch folds in yet more of both, while also tuning up the physics powering this chaotic homage to games like Flatout and Destruction Derby.

The dev behind one of my favorite recent FPSes is making a 'horror game about a trainee metro driver trapped in the dampest subway east of anything that matters' set in a real city that doesn't actually have a subway
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-dev-behind-one-of-my-favorite-recent-fpses-is-making-a-horror-game-about-a-trainee-metro-driver-trapped-in-the-dampest-subway-east-of-anything-that-matters-set-in-a-real-city-that-doesnt-actually-have-a-subway/
Spytihněv, the developer behind the excellent 2023 boomer shooter HROT, has finally unveiled his next project: Brno Transit, a gnarly-looking horror game set in a surreal subway system. Specifically that of Brno, a major city in the southeast of Czechia which does not actually have a subway system in real life, only getting a single underground rail line between two stations in 2022.

The best stealth game of the year just released its source code
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-best-stealth-game-of-the-year-just-released-its-source-code/
Blendo Games has publicly released the source code of its latest game, Skin Deep, encouraging other developers to build more stealth games in its footsteps—or at least to take a look at the sick game engine it built. I, for one, am shocked by a specific thing about it: It runs on a core of idTech4, which you may recognize as the engine behind Doom 3.

A rising Peak lifts all boats as climbing sim Cairn breaks 500k demo downloads after endorsement from mountaineering megahit Peak's devs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/a-rising-peak-lifts-all-boats-as-climbing-sim-cairn-breaks-500k-demo-downloads-after-endorsement-from-mountaineering-megahit-peaks-devs/
Time for some good news for a change: After blowing past two million copies sold in just two days, the devs of climbing game Peak have shown some love to fellow mountaineering sim Cairn, and it seems to have paid off big time.

Deltarune's Tenna was first envisioned in 3D almost a decade ago in a delightfully janky prototype
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/deltarunes-tenna-was-first-envisioned-in-3d-almost-a-decade-ago-in-a-delightfully-janky-prototype/
Tenna, the CRT-headed game show host antagonist of Deltarune chapter 3, first showed up in a videogame this year—but Deltarune creator Toby Fox first started working on the character all the way back in 2016. Fox recently said so in a social media post where he quoted himself of nearly a decade ago trying to learn 3D animation.

If you're curious about the crazy-ambitious space survival game from the makers of EVE Online, it's got a free trial running through the next week and change
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/if-youre-curious-about-the-crazy-ambitious-space-survival-game-from-the-makers-of-eve-online-its-got-a-free-trial-running-through-the-next-week-and-change/
CCP Games' space survival MMO, EVE Frontier, is having another free trial for curious players. The trial period started on June 27 and will run through July 7, and you can get in on the action by making an account through EVE Frontier's website. EVE Frontier is a weird one: CCP has described it as its laboratory for experimenting with features and ideas too disruptive or risky to attempt in O.G. EVE Online, which has been running for 23 years and counting now.

Ubisoft can't button its yap about the not-so-secret Black Flag remake—now Edward Kenway's voice actor is telling AC4 fans 'You might have to beat it again'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/ubisoft-cant-button-its-yap-about-the-not-so-secret-black-flag-remake-now-edward-kenways-voice-actor-is-telling-ac4-fans-you-might-have-to-beat-it-again/
Benjamin Franklin once remarked—of his time starring in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 3—that three may keep a secret if two of them are dead. He was right, because the almost-certainly-upcoming remake of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is probably the worst-kept secret in videogames right now. People just cannot button their yaps about it.

Crisis averted—Blizzard quickly axes busted Diablo 4 build that turned players into teleporting gods of destruction on the PTR, because it was 'basically eclipsing everything else'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/crisis-averted-blizzard-quickly-axes-busted-diablo-4-build-that-turned-players-into-teleporting-gods-of-destruction-on-the-ptr-because-it-was-basically-eclipsing-everything-else/
The latest Diablo 4 season'll be introducing Horadric Spellcrafting—a seasonal power that lets players kitbash their own spells together which, as you might imagine, is being tested on the public test realms (PTR). Anyone who's played Oblivion before will be able to tell you that custom spell creation systems are notoriously hard to balance, and that truth has borne out here to spectacular effect.

'What's the most chaotic evil thing we can make?': Overwatch 2 devs are seeing just how far they can push Stadium's fights, but will reign it in for the sake of player sanity
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/whats-the-most-chaotic-evil-thing-we-can-make-overwatch-2-devs-are-seeing-just-how-far-they-can-push-stadiums-fights-but-will-reign-it-in-for-the-sake-of-player-sanity/
It can be hard to find order in the chaos of an Overwatch 2 Stadium game. The ability to distinguish between what brightly coloured mess of colours is good and bad at a moment's notice can be a hard one to master. And now you have to deal with all the various hero Powers and item abilities—it's one hell of a ride.
>> And they were super confident in the swap to third person perspective with this mode.

'Spitting in the face of your international audience': The Alters caught using generative AI for background text and translations, despite not disclosing such on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/spitting-in-the-face-of-your-international-audience-the-alters-caught-using-generative-ai-for-background-text-and-translations-despite-not-disclosing-such-on-steam/
The Alters has been enjoying a solid reception from fans and critics alike—we even gave it a sterling 90% in our The Alters review—unfortunately, that shine's been tarnished by some recent player discoveries: The Alters almost definitely used AI to generate its background text and translations.

'The censorship is a step too far': Ready or Not is getting review bombed after developers sanitise the game to adhere to stricter console standards
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-censorship-is-a-step-too-far-ready-or-not-is-getting-review-bombed-after-developers-sanitise-the-game-to-adhere-to-stricter-console-standards/
Ready or Not, the SWAT sim shooter, is known for its brutality. You can blow the head off an enemy combatant, dismember bodies, or just hit them in the back of the head with your gun. It's certainly not to everyone's taste but, for those who like it, the gore seems to really matter.
But Ready or Not's devs are dialling the gore and violence down, just a tad. "Player-induced dismemberment still has a large presence in the game, but is a little more limited as to when it occurs," a dev blog post says.
(...)
The discontent with the recent changes has manifested itself in a review bombing campaign. Recent reviews on Steam are currently down from Very Positive to Mixed over the last couple of days.
Some players are willing to look past buggy DLCs and a lack of content but agree that "the censorship is a step too far". Others feel as if this is the final straw, a change in direction for Ready or Not that they don't buy into, with the poor performance whittling their enthusiasm down for a while before these changes.
>> It always amazes me how some developers fails to know their audience and how they might react to any changes in the game.