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

[JEMC]

Monday gaming news, part two:

The AI slop-hose comes to Let It Die as its surprise sequel reveals 'voices, music, and graphics' shaped by the tech
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/the-ai-slop-hose-comes-to-let-it-die-as-its-surprise-sequel-reveals-voices-music-and-graphics-shaped-by-the-tech/
Well, that's a shame. Let It Die: Inferno—the surprise sequel to weirdo 2016 roguelike Let It Die—has a little announcement to make: "AI-generated content has been used and then edited by our team for certain parts of the in-game voices, music, and graphics."
That's per the game's AI-generated content disclosure that recently popped up on Steam (via Eurogamer). The disclosure indicates that AI has seeped into a fair chunk of the game, touching "Background signboard textures, records illustrations, InfoCast videos," as well as "Voices and music."

A new Control trademark filing has Remedy fans hoping for a big reveal at The Game Awards
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-new-control-trademark-filing-has-remedy-fans-hoping-for-a-big-reveal-at-the-game-awards/
CD Projekt won't be bringing The Witcher 4 to The Game Awards this year, but a new trademark filing for something called Control Resonant has some gamers hoping that Remedy will fill the void with something cool of its own.

This interactive Arc Raiders database has become my go-to second-monitor companion
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/this-interactive-arc-raiders-database-has-become-my-go-to-second-monitor-companion/
Arc Raiders has a lot of items, and while guns, shields, and other equipment are relatively self-explanatory, what's not are the various crafting, quest, and trinket items. A handy loot guide can help you keep track of what's actually required for specific upgrades and whatnot, but even then, it's not easy to know what everything is for and how the recycling food chain works.
So, I was very pleased to discover the community-made 'Arc Forge', which is basically an item database that now lives on my second monitor while I'm playing, just like Meta Forge's interactive maps (which you should also use).
>> A couple more articles: 1.5% of Arc Raiders players have turned a Rocketeer into a mobile weapons platform (link) and the game has appeared in South Park (link).

Great news: Yakuza Kiwami 3 will let you improve Kiryu's 'Daddy Rank'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/great-news-yakuza-kiwami-3-will-let-you-improve-kiryus-daddy-rank/
There's been some great news, and I'm here to share it with you. Yakuza Kiwami 3 (and its bonus add-in game, Dark Ties) is prepping for its February release by doling out info about some of the new features RGG Studio is baking into the game. There are new minigames, a new market, something called "Drink Links," and various good deeds for Kazuma Kiryu and Yoshitaka Mine to get involved in.
Absolutely none of which is the great news I mentioned. The great news is that one of the new features is called "Daddy Rank," (...)
What's Daddy Rank? You might think it's something that Kiryu has maxed out just, like, intrinsically, but it is in fact "a rank that represents Kiryu's growth as a caretaker" at the orphanage he runs in Kiwami 3, like the real bastard organised criminal he is.

Helldivers 2 has players excited about the chance of a rogue fourth faction after Super Earth declares a 'War on Dissidence'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/helldivers-2-has-players-excited-about-the-chance-of-a-rogue-fourth-faction-after-super-earth-declares-a-war-on-dissidence/
Helldivers 2's latest Major Order has players in a bit of a tizzy, because it's putting the latent paranoia of Super Earth and High Command front-and-centre of its very own War on Terror. Super Earth has declared a new "War on Dissidence," after declaring that "the expanded Center for Citizen Surveillance and Safety has found dissident activity on every Super Earth planet, save Super Earth itself."

Garry's mod successor s&box goes open source and even opens up the finances, Garry says: 'Valve gave me my chance, I'm already rich, I don't want to f*ck anyone over'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/garrys-mod-successor-s-and-box-goes-open-source-and-even-opens-up-the-finances-garry-says-valve-gave-me-my-chance-im-already-rich-i-dont-want-to-f-ck-anyone-over/
Facepunch Studios has announced that s&box, the long-in-development successor to Garry's mod, is now open source. "We're awesome," says studio founder Garry Newman, which we'll nod through because they kind of are. "S&box code is on GitHub now (Valve's code is still closed source, we're not open sourcing that)."

GOG says it's 'proud to give Horses a home' after the horror game was rejected by Steam, but commenters won't let it forget the time it rejected another horror game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/gog-says-its-proud-to-give-horses-a-home-after-the-horror-game-was-rejected-by-steam-but-commenters-wont-let-it-forget-the-time-it-rejected-another-horror-game/
Horror adventure game Horses was rejected by Steam after it was submitted in 2023 (...)
Horses is still set to release on other storefronts like the Epic Games Store and the Humble Store, with GOG going so far as to say that it's "proud to give Horses a home on GOG" in a post on X—but onlookers are using that pledge of support to shine a light on a different game.
>> Which game? You’ll have to check the article to find out.

Revived survival RPG Hytale already has a release date after springing back to life, but the owner is reminding everyone the game 'isn't good yet'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/revived-survival-rpg-hytale-already-has-a-release-date-after-springing-back-to-life-but-the-owner-is-reminding-everyone-the-game-isnt-good-yet/
Hytale has had a rough go of it, but things are finally looking up. It looked like curtains when Riot canceled the game after seven turbulent years in development, but earlier this month the original owner bought the game back in hopes of realizing the "original vision" that predates Riot's involvement. Developer Hypixel has been moving quickly, showing off new gameplay a single day after the buyback, and now, announcing its early access release date: January 13, 2026.

Silksong devs felt they didn't 'have a lot of control' over its release date and sympathize with all the games that were delayed to avoid it: 'To some extent that probably is unfortunate'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/silksong-devs-felt-they-didnt-have-a-lot-of-control-over-its-release-date-and-sympathize-with-all-the-games-that-were-delayed-to-avoid-it-to-some-extent-that-probably-is-unfortunate/
In retrospect, it was probably a good idea for some developers to delay their games as far away from Hollow Knight: Silksong's release date as possible. Steam fell apart the moment it came out, preventing people from buying it for the first few hours. And even if you survived the initial blast, you'd be lucky to pull people away from what ended up being a game that was worth the wait.
(...)
"To some extent that probably is unfortunate," Team Cherry co-founder Ari Gibson told Bloomberg when asked about the flurry of Silksong-induced delays earlier this year. He says it all happened so fast that the date was a surprise to the team working on it, too.
>> They also say that they may not attend the TGA (link)

Tempest Rising's next update will add massive superweapons that'll let you 'unload devastating payloads onto the enemy'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/tempest-risings-next-update-will-add-massive-superweapons-thatll-let-you-unload-devastating-payloads-onto-the-enemy/
Throwback RTS Tempest Rising doesn't exactly skimp on large-scale destruction, but the booms are about to get a whole lot bigger in Slipgate Ironworks' Command & Conquer tribute. Its next patch will introduce two new superweapons to its near-future conflict—one for each faction—each with the potential to reshape the battlefield.

This spiritual successor to Desert Strike has exploded into Steam early access with a 98% positive rating, and its developer plans to represent the whole Strike series in future updates
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/this-spiritual-successor-to-desert-strike-has-exploded-into-steam-early-access-with-a-98-percent-positive-rating-and-its-developer-plans-to-represent-the-whole-strike-series-in-future-updates/
I have fond memories of ye olde helicopter shooter Desert Strike, as it was one of the very few games that caught the attention of my dad. (...) It seems plenty of other people are nostalgic for EA's twin-stick chopper, as a spiritual successor to the Strike series is making waves on Steam (must be the rotor wash). Released last week, Cleared Hot has racked up a 98% 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating out of 1,200 reviews—not bad considering it's an early access title based on a genre that had its heyday more than 30 years ago.
(...)
On that subject, dDeveloper Not Knowing Corporation has big plans going forward. The current version only features the first chapter of the game, which takes place in the Texan desert. Future chapters will add a jungle biome and Arctic and urban environments, with the ultimate goal of representing the entire Strike series in a single game.

The Long Dark's final episode has been pushed back yet again, but at least it has an actual release date now
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/the-long-darks-final-episode-has-been-pushed-back-yet-again-but-at-least-it-has-an-actual-release-date-now/
The end of The Long Dark is nigh. After more than ten years in development and seven years working on its controversial story mode, Wintermute, the climactic episode is in the final stages of production. However, those stages aren't quite as final as developer Hinterland Studio would like, so they've announced the episode won't arrive until next year.

Sektori developer says the response to his Geometry Wars-inspired roguelike has been 'awesome', but the game's sales still leave him 'with zero salary for 4.5 years'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/sektori-developer-says-the-response-to-his-geometry-wars-inspired-roguelike-has-been-awesome-but-the-games-sales-still-leave-him-with-zero-salary-for-4-5-years/
As I discussed in exuberant detail last weekend, Sektori is one of my favourite video games of 2025. The vast majority of people who play this Geometry Wars-inspired roguelike love it too, as its 97% positive Steam rating attests. But Steam's rapidly revolving release tombola means that making a great game is no guarantee of commercial success. And as Sektori's developer recently explained, the kaleidoscopic schmup is still a long way from making him any money.

GTA San Andreas modders tease fully-fledged standalone indie game inspired by Stardew Valley, Graveyard Keeper, Mafia and Schedule I
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/gta-san-andreas-modders-tease-fully-fledged-standalone-indie-game-inspired-by-stardew-valley-graveyard-keeper-mafia-and-schedule-i/
The creators of Blue & Blood—an ambitious total conversion mod reimagining GTA: San Andreas from the perspective of the LSPD’s notorious CRASH unit—have confirmed they’re developing a brand-new indie game inspired by a strange but intriguing mix of multi-genre-spanning titles.

Fallout co-creator Tim Cain says canon is 'whatever the owner of the IP says it is' but that's okay because 'the best part of interpretation is you can't be wrong'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/fallout-co-creator-tim-cain-says-canon-is-whatever-the-owner-of-the-ip-says-it-is-but-thats-okay-because-the-best-part-of-interpretation-is-you-cant-be-wrong/
There's a character in Fallout dating back to the original game called Harold. He's a sorry sight, mutated beyond recognition with a sapling growing out of his exposed cranial innards, but how he got that way isn't clear.
Fans have speculated for years as to whether he's a virus-infected mutant, a radiation-poisoned ghoul, both, or neither, and Fallout co-creator Tim Cain has weighed in on the debate with a larger point: any interpretation is right, so long as it's designated as such.