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

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And here’s the third part, of course:

Fatshark celebrates 10 years of rat-bashing by adding one of Vermintide's 'most popular' maps into Vermintide 2, but 'things are not as before'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/fatshark-celebrates-10-years-of-rat-bashing-by-adding-one-of-vermintides-most-popular-maps-into-vermintide-2-but-things-are-not-as-before/
Warhammer—End Times: Vermintide celebrated its tenth birthday in October, a fact that makes me painfully aware of how much closer I am to becoming rat fodder myself. The original Vermintide was a decent stab at Left 4 Dead-style cooperative action by developer Fatshark, but much like Valve's pioneering shooter, it has long been eclipsed by its superior sequel.
Consequently, Fatshark has taken an interesting approach to celebrating a decade of rat-squashing, bringing one of Vermintide's "most popular" maps into Vermintide 2. Yet Return to the Reik isn't a straight port of Vermintide's distinctive River Reik, as Fatshark hints in a Steam post that "Things are not as before".

This roguelike take on Geometry Wars is the best game I've played this month, and the latest to become a permanent fixture on my Steam Deck
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/this-roguelike-take-on-geometry-wars-is-the-best-game-ive-played-this-month-and-the-latest-to-become-a-permanent-fixture-on-my-steam-deck/
November has been an absolutely huge month for games, between AAA staples like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, ongoing successes like Arc Raiders and Dispatch (both technically released in October, but have each dominated the conversation this month) and indie triumphs like Demonschool. But the game that has hooked me in more than any other this month isn't likely to come up in conversation.
Sektori is a twin-stick developed by former Housemarque developer Kimmo Lahtinen, most easily described as a roguelike take on Geometry Wars. Yes, it's another game that borrows that three-card upgrade system from Vampire Survivors and slaps it into a familiar experience, but not only does this work extremely well, it's also only a fraction of what makes Sektori great.
>> Believe it or not, the article doesn’t have the link to the game. So, here it is (link).

This absurdly stylish side scroller feels like playing two different genres of retro shooter at the same time, and I love it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/this-absurdly-stylish-side-scroller-feels-like-playing-two-different-genres-of-retro-shooter-at-the-same-time-and-i-love-it/
Neon Inferno looks like a lot of new games that gleefully throw back to the golden age of the run and gun side scroller—delights like Blazing Chrome and Huntdown. Cyberpunk city, dirty cops, laser sword-wielding Yakuza, and just enough slugs to send 'em all to hell; it's all pretty by the numbers on the surface, but don't count it out even if you're worn out on the nostalgic aesthetics. Contra-style platforming is just one dimension on offer here.

Baldur's Gate 3 is 'an inspiration' for CD Projekt, but it's all-in on big open worlds: 'We are definitely not going to make a game like Larian did'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/baldurs-gate-3-is-an-inspiration-for-cd-projekt-but-its-all-in-on-big-open-worlds-we-are-definitely-not-going-to-make-a-game-like-larian-did/
Confirmed best PC game Baldur's Gate 3 brought CRPG stylings back into the spotlight, and more than that, proved the enduring appeal of an exceptionally reactive, player-driven story with emergent narratives and shenanigans aplenty.
But while the game's success was "an inspiration" according to CD Projekt's joint CEO Michał Nowakowski, it's not necessarily the direction development division CD Projekt Red (CDPR)'s games are headed.
>> Meanwhile, Geralt’s voice actor isn’t worried about the new voice of Ciri (link).

Two Point Museum lets you run wild in its biggest (and hairiest) DLC to date and you can sink your claws in for free this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/two-point-museum-lets-you-run-wild-in-its-biggest-and-hairiest-dlc-to-date-and-you-can-sink-your-claws-in-for-free-this-week/
So far we've been thoroughly spoiled in Two Point Museum, treated with an abundance of free updates—from staff memorials to the ever-expanding Digiverse expedition map—and its first major paid DLC Fantasy Finds.
Having recently completed Fantasy Finds, I was impressed at the sheer breadth of content and the incorporation of light RPG mechanics that let me live my best Baldur's Gate life in a museum. But, I was a little dubious when the Zooseum DLC was announced—this could be its own game, no? It felt less exciting, and a shift away from what was unique about Two Point Museum—there's an abundance of Zoo-based management sims out there after all.

The world's busiest toilet temporarily made detective sim Shadows of Doubt a murder-free zone: 'You can't always legislate for the fact that everyone's going to need a wee at midnight'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/the-worlds-busiest-toilet-temporarily-made-detective-sim-shadows-of-doubt-a-murder-free-zone-you-cant-always-legislate-for-the-fact-that-everyones-going-to-need-a-wee-at-midnight/
Since the earliest days of humanity's experiments with legal systems, we've been trying to find a way to make murder less appealing and trickier to pull off. Criminalising weapons, prison time, law enforcement—it turns out all we really needed was an extremely busy toilet.
In a talk on proc-gen narratives at AdventureX, Shadows of Doubt lead writer Stark Holborn shared one of her "favourite pieces of jank" from the detective sim's development, where a toilet accidentally saved lives.

Udo Kier, star of Red Alert 2 and Hideo Kojima's OD, dies aged 81: 'There will never be another like him. Udo, rest in peace'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/udo-kier-star-of-red-alert-2-and-hideo-kojimas-od-dies-aged-81-there-will-never-be-another-like-him-udo-rest-in-peace/
Udo Kier—the impossibly prolific German actor that you and I will readily recognise as Yuri from Red Alert 2, Command and Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, and Hideo Kojima's upcoming OD—has died aged 81. His partner, Delbert McBride, confirmed the news to Variety.

Forgotten gacha game Tower of Fantasy is launching a new server to de-RNG itself into a purer MMO
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/forgotten-gacha-game-tower-of-fantasy-is-launching-a-new-server-to-de-rng-itself-into-a-purer-mmo/
Tower of Fantasy is an interesting one: a mashup of gacha and MMO, all of the random monetisation bullshit, plus expecting you to *shudder* work together with strangers. Despite being a sicko for both genres, I'd never dare put them together in a single experience—like the two friend groups you very carefully plan individual events for, lest the two opposing sides of your personality collide in a fiery blaze of social faux pas.
While marrying two (in my opinion, rather opposing) styles of gameplay is what makes Tower of Fantasy stand out—because it sure is not the incredible Genshin-ness of it all—developer Hotta Studio is trying something new: it's launching what it calls a Warp server on November 25. One that rips the gacha out altogether in favour of bringing it a little closer to a traditional MMO experience.

Rockstar Games co-founder and former Grand Theft Auto scribe reckons there's 'always that danger' that the industry will get 'overly focussed on making money'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rockstar-games-co-founder-and-former-grand-theft-auto-scribe-reckons-theres-always-that-danger-that-the-industry-will-get-overly-focussed-on-making-money/
Dan Houser, Rockstar games co-founder and one of the chief creative forces that transformed Grand Theft Auto into an unstoppable financial juggernaut, reckons that there's "always that danger" that the games industry will become "overly focussed on making money."
>> I’d argue that we’re already in that mindset, at least for the big publishers.