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

[JEMC]

The second part of the Friday gaming news:

Counter-Strike 2 introduces the game's biggest shake-up in years: Now when reloading, you lose all the mag's remaining ammo
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/counter-strike-2-introduces-the-games-biggest-shake-up-in-years-now-when-reloading-you-lose-all-the-mags-remaining-ammo/
Counter-Strike 2 has released an update that makes one of the biggest changes in the game's modern history: and no-one saw this one coming. Valve has changed how reloading works, so that when you reload, any ammo remaining in your current magazine is lost. And players are not happy.

Vampire Crawlers, the 'Turbo Wildcard' Vampire Survivors spinoff, is coming in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/vampire-crawlers-the-turbo-wildcard-vampire-survivors-spinoff-is-coming-in-april/
Just four months after it was announced, Vampire Crawlers, the Vampire Survivors-spinoff card game described by PC Gamer's Wes Fenlon as "Wolverine for your social calendar," has a release date. Developer Poncle announced today that the new high-speed time sink will go live on April 21, and will carry a price tag of $10.

Marathon community crushes Cryo Archive puzzle, unlocks release date, and learns the map is only playable on weekends
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/marathon-community-crushes-cryo-archive-puzzle-unlocks-release-date-and-learns-the-map-is-only-playable-on-weekends/
After weeks of teasers, Marathon's fourth map is right around the corner. No, like, for real this time: the Cryo Archive map option has appeared in Marathon with a countdown ending tomorrow, March 20. That's the same time that its complicated ranked mode arrives.
To commemorate the dogged community solving the Cryo Archive ARG, Bungie unlocked a launch trailer that gives us the closest look at the endgame map yet. What I'm reacting to immediately: extremely close-quarters, a density of UESC bots, and the realization that the only alien in this map might be the S'pht Compiler hiding on the ship.
>> Bungie has admitted that doing it on weekends means that some people may not be able to play it (link). Also, the competitive mode is so complicated that Bungie made a literal maths test to figure it out (link)

Diablo 4 game director believes it's 'normal' for most action RPGs to undergo major reworks: 'Friction points that we could never imagine suddenly rear their heads over the course of 10,000 hours'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4-game-director-believes-its-normal-for-most-action-rpgs-to-undergo-major-reworks-friction-points-that-we-could-never-imagine-suddenly-rear-their-heads-over-the-course-of-10-000-hours/
The story of Diablo 4 for the last three years is one of constant reworks and reinventions of its basic systems. Loot was "reborn" in its second season, then changed yet again last year. Even the max level you could reach was knocked down from 100 to 60 when the first expansion came out.
For anyone not logging into every season, it probably looks like Blizzard can't figure out what it wants Diablo 4 to be. And while I think there might've been some merit to that early on given the reports about its rocky development, it seems like things have settled now that we're three years out from when it was released.
But that doesn't mean major overhauls won't happen again, game director Zaven Haroutunian told PC Gamer in a recent interview. "It's almost like a meme at this point about action RPGs in general [that] go through this transformative arc, and, well, we can't escape it any more than any other action RPG can for the same reasons," he said.

The sequel to the most underrated RPG of 2022 is launching in early access next month, but you can try its massive updated demo right now
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-sequel-to-the-most-underrated-rpg-of-2022-is-launching-in-early-access-next-month-but-you-can-try-its-massive-updated-demo-right-now/
The surreal RPG Moves of the Diamond Hand, sequel to the "realheads know" Betrayal at Club Low, is launching in early access April 13. The dice-em-up got a fittingly vibey trailer and update to its already substantial demo to celebrate the occasion.

This game about running a '90s video rental store is the first job sim to really grab me since Schedule 1
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/this-game-about-running-a-90s-video-rental-store-is-the-first-job-sim-to-really-grab-me-since-schedule-1/
I've played a bunch of retail job simulators, and something you can almost always count on is a bit of a slow start. Your store is empty, you have a limited budget, you have sparse inventory options, and there's a learning curve that means it takes a good half-hour, at least, until you've got your bearings.
But Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator gets rolling immediately. Order some random VHS videos from your old computer and they're delivered instantly. Plop down a couple of shelves and stock them with weird sounding movies like "A Scientist and his Sailor" and "The Dessert that Followed You Home." Open the doors and people begin strolling in immediately to rent some tapes. Within a minute or two of starting the game, you're already up and running.

Crimson Desert deluxe and pre-order special items are inaccessible for some, but Pearl Abyss is working on a fix
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/crimson-desert-deluxe-and-pre-order-special-items-are-inaccessible-for-some-but-pearl-abyss-is-working-on-a-fix/
Crimson Desert launched today and has so far reached a peak of 239,045 concurrent players on Steam, which is pretty respectable for a game no one seemed to care much about two months ago. The launch hasn't been without its problems though, and chief among these is a bug preventing players from claiming their pre-order and deluxe pack bonuses.
Players have reported that accessing the in-game supply box where the pre-order and deluxe spoils are meant to be stored is showing nothing. If that's you, rest assured that Pearl Abyss is on the case.
"We are currently investigating an issue where Steam pre-order purchasers are unable to claim their pre-order bonus and deluxe pack items," the studio posted on X. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and will get back to you as quickly as possible with an update."
>> More Crimson Desert articles: 1- Do this one thing in each new city to make your life much easier (link); 2- It has a has a diabolical lock and key system (link); 3- The controls are frustrating players (link);

Hoarder is what happens when a Darkwood co-creator makes a cleaning simulator: Your job is to clean the abyss and 'no one is coming to save you'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/hoarder-is-what-happens-when-a-darkwood-co-creator-makes-a-cleaning-simulator-your-job-is-to-clean-the-abyss-and-no-one-is-coming-to-save-you/
The 2017 survival horror game Darkwood is really good and creepy as hell, an accomplishment that's doubly impressive because it's played from a fairly distant top-down perspective: There's no up-close gore or monsters jump-scaring into your face, but hoobie-doobie is it intense. A sequel is in development, but it's not being made by original developer Acid Wizard Studio, which went on hiatus in 2023; instead, it's being developed by Pathologic squad Ice-Pick Lodge, which is honestly great—it's a perfect matchup.
But one of the co-creators of Darkwood is up to something new, which also looks like it might be great: Brought to my attention by RPS, it's called Hoarder, and it's a cleaning sim, a bit like the Powerwash Simulator games.

Marvel Rivals puts the wrong hero under the balance microscope, with some huge changes to Captain America's combat while only dealing out a painfully small nerf for Gambit
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvel-rivals-puts-the-wrong-hero-under-the-balance-microscope-with-some-huge-changes-to-captain-americas-combat-while-only-dealing-out-a-painfully-small-nerf-for-gambit/
Marvel Rivals brings a ton of new systems and heroes to the table. But what I'm interested in the most are the individual hero balance changes and the tweaks to the competitive placement match system.
(...)
Captain America has undergone some huge changes to his combat mechanics. "Captain America's normal attack (Sentinel Strike) chain consists of a six-hit combo," the patch notes explain. "Hits one and two remain completely unchanged in this update. However, we know the community has been actively discussing the remaining four hits, his ranged shield tosses."

Controversial Space Marine 2 DLC has been made free: 'It's obvious this DLC has failed to meet your expectations'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/controversial-space-marine-2-dlc-has-been-made-free-its-obvious-this-dlc-has-failed-to-meet-your-expectations/
Space Marine 2 has achieved a surprising amount of longevity for what you'd have imagined was a one-and-done campaign with tacked-on multiplayer and co-op modes. But I found myself really enjoying the co-op mode, and have been glad to see Saber Interactive stick with it while also working on a sequel, adding more missions, weapons, and classes. It's been less than a month since the free Techmarine class was added.
It was all going great until the Chapter Voice Pack 1 (which was supposed to be the first of many, I assume) was released. As the name suggests, it added a bunch of new voice lines (shouting and grunts, really), alongside some new face options, for $5. That alone was a tough sell but it also had a few issues, like the default voice creeping back in for mission-critical conversations. Unsurprisingly, it's sitting at overwhelmingly negative reviews on Steam.
In response to the fallout, the developers have done a much-needed reversal, saying, "We heard your feedback regarding the Chapter Voice Pack DLC and wanted to address it. It's obvious this DLC has failed to meet your expectations and we are sorry about that. Delivering quality content—free or not—is a priority for us."
So what's the solution? Refunds for those who forked out a fiver for it, and it's now free for all players: "We are currently setting up the refund with platforms owners and will come back soon with more info." Sometimes complaining really does work.

'We're honoured to share the same name': Two indie devs accidentally released games with the same name only days apart and it ended in the most wholesome way possible
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/were-honoured-to-share-the-same-name-two-indie-devs-accidentally-released-games-with-the-same-name-only-days-apart-and-it-ended-in-the-most-wholesome-way-possible/
Over 19,000 new games were released on Steam last year, almost an unimaginable amount. So it doesn't really come as a surprise that a few of all the new releases would share some similarities and even possibly the same name. But there's Piece by Piece and Piece by Piece, two games from indie devs that share the same name and released within a few days of each other.
It all came to light in a one-off Reddit post where someone pointed out the uncanny situation (via Polygon). You see Piece by Piece from developer Neon Polygons is a puzzle platformer with 100 levels to get through which was released on March 13, and Piece by Piece from Gamkat is a cosy repair shop sim which released on March 11. It's quite the coincidence.
Some fans thought that this close likeness could end badly for one of the devs, but after reaching out to one another, both sides realised that there was actually nothing to worry about.
>> They’ve even launched a bundle with both games (Steam). By the way, the first one has a demo, in case you want to try it.