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

[JEMC]

The second, and very long, part of the Monday gaming news:

Good news Silent Hill heads, Townfall is bringing firearms back as the devs promise combat and stealth will be on 'equal footing'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/good-news-silent-hill-heads-townfall-is-bringing-firearms-back-as-the-devs-promise-combat-and-stealth-will-be-on-equal-footing/
Silent Hill: Townfall is the next window into Konami's long-standing psychological horror series. But like Silent Hill f, Townfall seeks to do something slightly different, stepping towards full survival horror instead.
The devs over at Screen Burn have been drip-feeding us more information as we draw closer to its release date, and this time lead game designer Graeme McKellan and QA lead Linda Stenback have given us a little insight into Townfall's combat and stealth.

'We don't have to fire 1000 people to keep it working': Facepunch Studios says paying s&box game developers is sustainable, with '$500,000 paid out to date'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/we-dont-have-to-fire-1000-people-to-keep-it-working-facepunch-studios-says-paying-s-and-box-game-developers-is-sustainable-with-usd500-000-paid-out-to-date/
Facepunch Studios' new game creation platform s&box will release next week on April 28 on Steam. Built on Valve's Source Engine 2, s&box is the "spiritual successor to Garry's Mod," a physics sandbox and toolkit users can build their own games in.
Leading up to the launch, Facepunch Studios stated its community-forward vision, highlighting features like payments to game developers and the ability for devs to export their games from s&box and add them to Steam—without Facepunch taking a percentage.

The release date for Path of Exile 2's next expansion couldn't be better for action RPG fans planning to play Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred first
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-release-date-for-path-of-exile-2s-next-expansion-couldnt-be-better-for-action-rpg-fans-planning-to-play-diablo-4-lord-of-hatred-first/
Sometimes I think I would be better off if I was one of those people who only likes one action RPG. But, sadly, I'm cursed to enjoy both Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4, which means I'm forced to juggle both when they drop new stuff in the same month.
Diablo 4's shadow-drop of paladins last December came within 24 hours of PoE 2's new class (druid) and expansion, which, given their similar release schedules, was bad news for anyone who enjoys experiencing one action RPG season at a time.
This week, we learned that won't be the case for their upcoming major updates, as PoE's next expansion has been pushed almost a month later than it was expected to release. According to a recent post on X by lead community manager Kelly, the expansion is "shaping up to be one of the biggest ones we've ever released; it just needs a little longer to cook!"

Developers of Steam Next Fest's wildly popular robot wizard cowboy shooter say its cowboy robots are also wizards because 'magic is always cool'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/developers-of-steam-next-fests-wildly-popular-robot-wizard-cowboy-shooter-say-its-cowboy-robots-are-also-wizards-because-magic-is-always-cool/
One of the biggest surprises of Steam's most recent Next Fest was Far Far West, a robot wizard cowboy co-op FPS with some yeehaw-worthy gunslinging and spellcasting that earned it a place among the event's top five most-played demos. Far Far West is now days away from its early access launch after its demo earned an Overwhelmingly Positive rating from over 6,000 reviews by Next Fest's end.

I don't understand how Final Fantasy 14 can do a crossover with acclaimed anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and I'm scared to find out
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/i-dont-understand-how-final-fantasy-14-can-do-a-crossover-with-acclaimed-anime-neon-genesis-evangelion-and-im-scared-to-find-out/
I last played now-beloved MMO Final Fantasy 14 in 2014, when it was only a few months old—not counting those first few aborted years prior to its relaunch as A Realm Reborn. I thought it was okay at the time, but it cemented itself as one of the genre's all-time greats with its next few expansions (or so insist several members of the PC Gamer team who still play).
(...)
Today what I'm feeling is not FOMO, but rather fear of the inexplicable. Trepidation in the face of the profound. A flickering terror deep in my gut that the weirdest and perhaps dopest shit to happen in videogames in 2026 might somehow be a raid in Final Fantasy 14, because the game is doing a crossover with Neon Genesis Evangelion.
>> The director is, half-jokingly, asking ideas for a single player FF14 spin-off (link).

Helldivers 2 is getting a mech-themed Warbond that adds two new exosuits—one of which carries a shield and a flak cannon
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/helldivers-2-is-getting-a-mech-themed-warbond-that-adds-two-new-exosuits-one-of-which-carries-a-shield-and-a-flak-cannon/
While I've always found Helldivers 2's mechs to be more style over substance, it is undeniably fun to call in a hulking exosuit and spend a few minutes going ham on the enemies of freedom. If you're the kind of Helldivers player who likes to go all Armored Core on your foes, I have good news. The next warbond for Arrowhead's sci-fi action game will let you bring not one but two new exosuits into the game.

Menace's first major early access update overhauls its least interesting faction and jettisons its reviled promotion tax system: 'We have done away with it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/menaces-first-major-early-access-update-overhauls-its-least-interesting-faction-and-jettisons-its-reviled-promotion-tax-system-we-have-done-away-with-it/
While still very much at the 'early' stage of early access, Menace is by all accounts an excellent take on turn-based tactics. Wannabe space mercenary Jonathan Bolding was effusive in his praise of its approach to the genre when he deployed into its sci-fi universe in March. "I can't stress enough how much fun Menace's core strategy play is, even with a few early access quibbles," he wrote. "The basic rules simplify the kind of ultra-crunchy stuff you find in dense wargames into a faster-playing game without sacrificing any cool simulation."
Such player quibbles are also the focus of Menace's first major early access update. Released earlier this week, Menace's 'Redacted' update goes significantly further than the bugs and balance patches the game has received so far, reshaping several core features and mechanics in big ways.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer release date leaked on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/star-wars-galactic-racer-release-date-leaked-on-steam/
It's hard enough to keep up with every big game coming out these days, and I imagine that remains true even if you're mostly invested in licensed Star Wars games. There's a shedload of them at this point, and two especially promising newbies are en route: podrace 'em up Galactic Racer, and tactics RPG Zero Company. Both are slated for 2026, and the former's release date just reportedly leaked: Oct. 6, 2026.

Assassin's Creed producer assures fans 'there WILL be blood' in the Black Flag remake, and it won't be DLC
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/assassins-creed-producer-assures-fans-there-will-be-blood-in-the-black-flag-remake-and-it-wont-be-dlc/
If you're a vampire, you know the two most beautiful words in the English language: free blood. And if you caught the recent Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced reveal and were left uneasy by the lack of cherry syrup, you'll be extra pleased to know that blood is coming, and it will be free.

Bloodlines 2's first DLC arrives next week, and it'll let you wield guns and melee weapons properly, unlike the base game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/bloodlines-2s-first-dlc-arrives-next-week-and-itll-let-you-wield-guns-and-melee-weapons-properly-unlike-the-base-game/
Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines 2 offered an intriguing story when it finally released last year, but mechanically The Chinese Room's vampire RPG felt a little anaemic compared to the wild kitchen-sink design of Troika's original. Its combat, for example, revolved almost entirely around vampire-based fisticuffs, with guns and melee weapons reduced to disposable items wielded through telekinesis. Combined with the flat progression of your vampire powers, it meant fighting felt a little one note.
It's an issue The Chinese Room addresses directly in Bloodlines 2's first DLC. Loose Cannon sees you ditch the main game's protagonist Phyre, instead playing as Benny, a side character from the sequel who is far less fussy about getting hands-on in a fight.
>> The article is from yesterday and the DLC will launch today, Monday.

Shapez 2 leaves early access with a new game mode all about building massive factories: 'This isn't just a game is finished release'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/shapez-2-leaves-early-access-with-a-new-game-mode-all-about-building-massive-factories-this-isnt-just-a-game-is-finished-release/
For much of its early access development, Shapez 2 was an interesting alternative to the tentpole automation sims like Factorio and Satisfactory. A more streamlined affair that dispensed with many of the supplementary systems seen in those aforementioned games, Shapez 2 adopted a more puzzle-centric approach to assembly-line construction.
That's still very much the case. But with Shapez 2's recent departure from Steam early access, developer tobspr games has also aligned the game more closely to those factory building titans. This isn't just a 'game is finished' release," writes tobspr. "With this update, we're introducing a huge amount of new content and improvements on top, for new and existing players."

Last Flag, the multiplayer shooter from the Imagine Dragons guy, is free to play for every weekend until its first update comes out
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/last-flag-the-multiplayer-shooter-from-the-imagine-dragons-guy-is-free-to-play-for-every-weekend-until-its-first-update-comes-out/
Last Flag, the new multiplayer shooter from the studio founded by Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds, released onto Steam earlier this month. While it's hard to glean precisely from the outside, the response to it seems to have been muted, despite developer Night Street games doing everything they could to raise its profile. The studio premiered Last Flag at Summer Game Fest, used Imagine Dragons' social channels to market it, and released it at a very reasonable price ($15/£12).
It shows yet again how hard it is to stand out in Steam's crowded market. But Night Street isn't throwing in the towel yet. From now until the game's first update coming in the summer, Last Flag can be played for free all weekend, every weekend.
>> The devs have acknowledged that you “can’t become the next big hit just by ticking boxes” (link).

Zenless Zone Zero coming to Steam later this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/zenless-zone-zero-coming-to-steam-later-this-year/
Zenless Zone Zero, a game I primarily associate with the neologism "gooner 9/11," is finally en route to PC's biggest digital storefront. This game produced a headline on this very website containing the phrases "divine domain," "jiggle physics," and "cat balls" all one right after the other. It got a glamorous 55% from reviewer Kerry Brunskill, who called it a "shallow, polished front for a relentless online store." In other words, it'll fit right in.

A Japanese visual novel where you're a pet hamster doted on by three sisters is back on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/visual-novel/a-japanese-visual-novel-where-youre-a-pet-hamster-doted-on-by-three-sisters-is-back-on-steam/
I never expected to see "I got reincarnated… as a hamster!" as the opening words of a game's description on Steam. After crossing that dread threshold, I certainly didn't expect to see a banner on the same page warning me about "frequent nudity or sexual content." But here we are: grass grows, sun shines, and Sweet Hamster Days is planned to release in Q3 of this year.
This is the second time the game has announced a release date, however, as things went south the first time around (thanks, Automaton). As the developer posted on X in late 2025, Sweet Hamster Days was pulled from Steam "due to various circumstances" before its original release window of winter 2025. It will release on Epic Games Store and DLsite as well.

Assassin's Creed Hexe loses 2nd director-level developer in as many months
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/assassins-creed-hexe-loses-2nd-director-level-developer-in-as-many-months/
As reported by IGN, Assassin's Creed Hexe game director Benoit Richer has left the project. Richer is the second director-level developer to leave the team this year, with creative director Clint Hocking having departed in February.

Arc Raiders is finally overhauling its competitive Trials, starting with making them more fun and less frustrating
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-is-finally-overhauling-its-competitive-trials-starting-with-making-them-more-fun-and-less-frustrating/
Embark has announced in a dedicated blog post that it's finally addressing Arc Raiders' largely maligned (or ignored) Trials system. Trials are a rotating set of weekly challenges which task you with nabbing high scores to rank up, all in the pursuit of a unique outfit. But with bland objectives and strict schedules, it's long felt like a chore.

The secret to Supermassive Games casting two Oscar winners is its focus on human-made art: 'They know that their performance is going to come across really well'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/the-secret-to-supermassive-games-casting-two-oscar-winners-is-its-focus-on-human-made-art-they-know-that-their-performance-is-going-to-come-across-really-well/
Directive 8020 is Supermassive Games' next cinematic horror game set in the cold void of space aboard the Cassiopeia, a ship full of scientists voyaging towards humanity's next home. But like most Supermassive Games' it's more than just your typical horror experience, as it treads the line between games and cinema.