Thats some crazy pricing.

Tried Overwatch 2 over the weekend now that the server congestion is mostly resolved. The new heroes are nice but it really is just a faster OW1 with super stingy rewards. Your enjoyment hinges once again on the quality of your team and even more on the quality of your only tank, now. A shit tank all but guarantees a shit match now. Think I'll wait for PvE to play any further.

I stopped playing OW PVP like half a year into it's original cycle. Played PVE vs Bots with friends and my god did it feel more fun and less stressful.

I don't think I could even bother with OW2, not unless there is sufficient PVE content, because PVP'ing these days involves either meta strats being enforced by the community, or sweaty tryhards (which I still funnily enough run into on TF2 community servers of all places). 

PVP games would be more fun if they were like the old days, when ppl just did it for the sake of interacting with one another, instead of caring so much about meta/KD ratio or rank.

I largely don't like the 5v5 over 6v6 which is probably my biggest gripe followed by the maps being more open. It doesn't feel as teamworky and more like individual plays. I do like some of the hero changes though. Orisa in ow1 was trash outside of a couple specific maps. Playing her was not fun and as a hero, she was meh compared to the likes of Rein. In ow2, she's a lot more fun. Doomfist as a tank is also a good change as he was a very clunky dps.

Kiriko is pretty fun support. When you have a shit rein that charges in, you can typically teleport and save him to an extent. Junkerqueen is a pretty good dps tank who's ult becomes useless with someone like Kiriko in the team as using her invisibility clears the ult to those that are hit but that special that reloads fairly frequently. But Junkerqueen is otherwise fun. Sojourn is a bit mixed. While her AoE can be pretty good, her main attack is meh but her side attack can be good if it its. Her ult is meh.

Battlepass change over lootbox is a downer cause now you really can't get all the cosmetics without paying and of course, hero is locked until half way through. Also Total Mayhem is shit now. Not only is it less chaotic, Zayra needs to be rebalanced as she has unlimited shield basically. The only way to kill her is to switch to a rein and charge her off the map or off the point so attack can push.

Good news for ow1 users is the points you get transfers over so outside of battlepass specific skins, ow1 users can unlock majority of the cosmetics through in game currency which I have a lot of.

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

Zombie survival classic Unturned hits new highs for no reason other than that it's free and fun
https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-survival-classic-unturned-hits-new-highs-for-no-reason-other-than-that-its-free-and-fun/
2014 zombie survival shooter Unturned is trending right now, shattering eight years of concurrent player records for a whopping 93,161 players on October 4th. It's currently got over 50,000 players on, with a peak this weekend equal to its launch peak of over 60,000. (Thanks for the stats, SteamDB).
Why would this happen, you ask? Some major update? A showcase from a popular Twitch streamer? None of that. It's just free, fun, and has been consistently updated for eight years. You can have fun playing it competitively, cooperatively, or by yourself. That's it. That's the deets.

GOG has two Deals of the Day and two sales:

• The first DotD is Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness, 38% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/black_geyser_couriers_of_darkness
• The other DotD is Broforce, with an 80% discount until Wednesday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/broforce
• The Weekly Sale features RPGs with up to 75% discounts until next Monday: https://www.gog.com/promo/20221010_weekly_sale
• And the Devolver Digital Sale features up to 90% discounts during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2022_devolver_publisher_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• The new daily deal is BLUE REFLECTION: Second Light, 40% off (it's part of a Blue Reflection Sale that was well hidden and will end in 24 hours): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1423600/BLUE_REFLECTION_Second_Light/
• And This War of Mine will be 80% off until October 16: https://store.steampowered.com/app/282070/This_War_of_Mine/

We can find three new sales at Humble:

• At Humble Bundle we find the Warhammer. Vermintide Franchise Bundle, with up to 21 games and DLCs to get during the netx 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/warhammer-vermintide
• The Humble Store has two sales:
  • The Phenomenal Physics Sale features up to 90% discounts during 4 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG, EGS and UPlay: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/phenomenal-physics-sale/
  • The Far Cry franchise Sale brings up to 80% discounts during 6 days. Thereare a couple GOG keys, but the rest are for UPlay: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/far-cry-franchise-sale/

And Fanatical has two new sales and a lot of bundles:

• The new Star Deal is Persona 5 Strikers - Digital Deluxe Edition, 68% off during 48 https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/persona-5-strikers-deluxe-edition"> https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/persona-5-strikers-deluxe-edition
• Paradox Interactive puts its games up to 81% off during 8 more days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/paradox-interactive
• And there are 17 new bundles, way too many to list them all. You can check them out here.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Unreal Engine 5.1 Preview 1 is available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unreal-engine-5-1-preview-1-is-available-for-download/
Epic Games has released the first preview build of Unreal Engine 5.1 to the public. Developers and enthusiasts can download this preview build for free via the Epic Games Launcher.
According to Epic, Unreal Engine 5.1 offers performance improvements with Lumen, Nanite, and Virtual Shadow Maps (VSM), allowing games to run at 60 fps on current-gen consoles and PCs.

EA's Origin is officially dead
https://www.pcgamer.com/eas-origin-is-officially-dead/
Back in 2020, Electronic Arts announced that its Origin launcher was being updated and rebranded as the EA App. More than two years later, it's finally ready to go: EA announced today that the app is now out of open beta and will soon step over Origin's corpse to take its place as EA's "primary PC platform."
"The EA app is our fastest and lightest PC client to date," EA said. "With the new streamlined design you will easily find the games and content you’re looking for and discover your new favorite games. With automatic game downloads and background updates you can ensure that your games are ready to play when you are."
Along with all the usual launcher stuff, the EA app will also connect to other platforms, including Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox, so users will be able to integrate their friend lists and stay on top of what everyone else is doing.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New Fallout 4: New Vegas screenshots showcase the NCR Ranger Safehouse
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-fallout-4-new-vegas-screenshots-showcase-the-ncr-ranger-safehouse/
The team behind the Fallout 4 New Vegas project has released a new set of screenshots for it. These screenshots showcase the NCR Ranger Safehouse which will be featured in this total conversion mod.
Fallout 4: New Vegas aims to recreate Obsidian Entertainment’s Fallout: New Vegas in Fallout 4’s Creation Engine. This mod will come with all of the original quests, story and content. Furthermore, it will have additional gameplay elements and systems from the new and improved engine.

Half-Life: Enriched announced, graphical overhaul for the original HL game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/half-life-enriched-announced-graphical-overhaul-for-the-original-hl-game/
Modder ‘Hezus’ has announced a complete overhaul mod for the original Half-Life game, called Half-Life: Enriched. In addition, the modder has shared some screenshots that you can find below.
According to its description, Half-Life: Enriched aims to rework all of the original Half-Life maps in the single-player campaign. Since this mod will rework all of the maps, it will cut down on the loading mid-points by merging maps together. This will get rid of many of the issues surrounding the loading points. Additionally, it may open up new possibilities for gameplay.

Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast VR Mod released in Early Access
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/star-wars-jedi-knight-2-jedi-outcast-vr-mod-early-access/
Back in March 2022, we informed you about a VR mod/remake for Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. And today, we are happy to report that this mod is available now in Early Access.
Unfortunately, this first Early Access version is only available to Team Beef’s Patreon members. However, and once it’s out of Early Access, Dr. Beef plans to release this VR mod to the public for free.
>> There's a video (not even 2 min. long).

Duke Nukem Forever: Enhanced Mod 1.1 available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/duke-nukem-forever-enhanced-mod-1-1-available-for-download/
Modder ‘vini1264’ has released a new version of Duke Nukem Forever: Enhanced. Duke Nukem Forever: Enhanced is a mod for the 2011 release of DNF that aims to improve the gameplay of the original game and make it play more like a classic shooter.
Going into more details, this mod removes sprinting and makes the player move faster by default. Additionally, it increases jump height and swimming speed (players can also hold their breath underwater for 45 seconds instead of 15). Furthermore, the mod removes the 2/4 weapon limit, removes the Depth of Field effects, and forces a first-person mode for the game’s driving sections.
All in all, these gameplay tweaks aim to make the game a bit better than its vanilla/original version.
>> There are some screenshots.

My kind of modders are re-building the first Vampire: the Masquerade in Skyrim
https://www.pcgamer.com/my-kind-of-modders-are-re-building-the-first-vampire-the-masquerade-in-skyrim/
A group of ambitious modders is working on recreating the first World of Darkness videogame, Vampire: the Masquerade - Redemption, as a total conversion mod for Skyrim.

GAMING NEWS

A Plague Tale Requiem requires an RTX 3070 for 60fps at 1080p/Ultra
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/a-plague-tale-requiem-requires-an-rtx-3070-for-60fps-at-1080p-ultra/
Focus Entertainment has revealed the official PC system requirements for A Plague Tale Requiem. And, according to the specs, PC gamers will need an NVIDIA GeForce RTX3070 in order to play the game at 1080p with 60fps on Ultra settings.
>> A 3070 or a 6800XT, and a min of 16GB of RAM. That means that this game will be either the most visually challenging game ever, of one of the worst optimized. We'll see which one is.

9 minutes of leaked in-engine footage from Star Citizen Squadron 42
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/9-minutes-of-leaked-in-engine-footage-from-star-citizen-squadron-42/
A new video surfaced yesterday, showcasing 9 minutes of brand new in-engine footage from Star Citizen and Squadron 42. This video was from an internal review, and its scenes are rendered on client (these aren’t pre-rendered scenes).

Here are the PC system requirements for Sonic Frontiers
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-pc-system-requirements-for-sonic-frontiers/
SEGA has revealed the official PC system requirements for Sonic Frontiers. Sonic Frontiers will be using the Hedgehog Engine 2 and according to its specs, PC gamers will at least need an Intel Core i5-3470 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 with 8GB of RAM.

Leaked gameplay video for Embark Studios’ THE FINALS surfaces online
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/leaked-gameplay-video-for-embark-studios-the-finals-surface-online/
A video from the closed beta phase of THE FINALS has been leaked, showcasing 7 minutes of gameplay footage from it. THE FINALS will be a free-to-play online fast-paced first-person shooter, created by ex-DICE developers.

Gotham Knights, Sonic Frontiers & Valkyrie Elysium will be using Denuvo
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gotham-knights-sonic-frontiers-valkyrie-elysium-will-be-using-denuvo/
Warner Bros, SEGA and Square Enix have updated the Steam store pages for Gotham Knights, Sonic Frontiers and Valkyrie Elysium, revealing that these three games will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.
>> Shame.

Part two of the news:

Public voting now open in the Golden Joystick's 40th anniversary awards
https://www.pcgamer.com/public-voting-now-open-in-the-golden-joysticks-40th-anniversary-awards/
The 40th Golden Joystick Awards has revealed this year's shortlisted games, and voting is now open worldwide until Friday, November 4 2022. The event is the longest-running public-voted game awards show around, with millions of votes cast every year, and is run by PC Gamer's parent company Future.

Overwatch 2 tier lists are a mess, but most agree that one hero is coming out on top
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2-tier-lists-are-a-mess-but-most-agree-that-one-hero-is-coming-out-on-top/
Overwatch 2 has been online for a few days now and when they've not been queueing, players have been pouring into the now free-to-play shooter. There is a certain amount of Overwatch 2 that hasn't changed since Overwatch, like the core abilities of much of the main cast, so players have already started destroying each other with honed skills from the first game. But who's coming out on top?

Guide a doggo astronaut home in this upcoming indie puzzle-platformer
https://www.pcgamer.com/guide-a-doggo-astronaut-home-in-this-upcoming-indie-puzzle-platformer/
Laika is one of the world's most famous dogs: On November 3, 1957, during the early days of the Soviet Union's space program, she became the first animal to be launched into space. She died not long after launch, but exactly 65 years later, the puzzle platformer Space Tail: Every Journey Leads Home will, with some effort, deliver a happier ending.

Bethesda finally confirms it: Deathloop is a Dishonored game
https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-finally-confirms-it-deathloop-is-a-dishonored-game/
Almost immediately after the release of Deathloop in 2021, fans began theorizing that it might somehow be connected to Dishonored, Arkane's previous game series. The two games are very different in many ways, but there are quite a few shared elements too, some overt and others quite subtle. Today, Deathloop creative director Dinga Bakaba made it official during an Xbox podcast: Deathloop is "one of the futures of the Dishonored world."

Elle Stranding? Death Fanning? Actress Elle Fanning to appear in Kojima Productions project
https://www.pcgamer.com/elle-stranding-death-fanning-actress-elle-fanning-to-appear-in-kojima-productions-project/
After a sequence of classically Kojima Twitter teasers, the developer has revealed that actress Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon, Galveston) will be making an appearance in… something being made by Kojima Productions.

Get instantly hooked on this free fishing puzzle browser game
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-instantly-hooked-on-this-free-fishing-puzzle-browser-game/
I have a great idea! Let's kick off the weekend by getting hooked on Curious Fishing. It's free, it's fun, it's filled with fresh fish, and it runs right in your browser. Play a few levels and I guarantee you won't want to stop until you've solved them all.

Major game studios believed this company was providing experienced, well-staffed QA teams—employees say that was a lie
https://www.pcgamer.com/quantic-QA-tester-report/
Testing videogames is a challenging job, and it's only becoming more challenging as games get bigger and more complex. What would make the job even trickier, however, is covering for the work of three other testers⁠ while pretending you have a full team to the developer that contracted the work. That's the kind of thing a number of QA developers say they were directed to do while testing major games at a large third-party testing house.
Two current and eight former workers at prolific Romanian quality assurance outsourcer Quantic Lab spoke to PC Gamer about their jobs on the condition of anonymity, alleging that management not only pressures its testers above and beyond the norm for this vital but too often under-resourced subset of game development, but also misleads clients about the size and competency of its QA teams⁠—and directs employees to keep up the charade.

Elder Scrolls Online will rescue Stadia castaways
https://www.pcgamer.com/elder-scrolls-online-will-rescue-stadia-castaways/
As reported by Massively Overpowered, Bethesda and Zenimax Online have announced that they will allow Google Stadia players to transfer characters and progress to the PC version of the game. The studios join the likes of Bungie and IO Interactive in rescuing players from the streaming platform, which is set to shut down in January.
>> Well done, Bethesda.

Modern Warfare 2 has the same 'no prepaid phone' requirement as Overwatch 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/modern-warfare-2-has-the-same-no-prepaid-phone-requirement-as-overwatch-2/
Blizzard announced last week that all Overwatch 2 players will be required to attach a phone number to their Battle.net accounts in order to play the game. The requirement was added as part of Blizzard's effort to combat toxicity and abuse in the game. But there's one major problem: The new 2FA system, called SMS Protect, will not accept certain types of numbers, "including prepaid and VOIP." This understandably caused a stir, because it effectively meant that if you own a prepaid cellphone, you can't play Overwatch.

Modern Warfare 2 trailer outlines PC features
https://www.pcgamer.com/modern-warfare-2-trailer-outlines-pc-features/
Activision has released a trailer outlining the PC features of the upcoming Modern Warfare 2, releasing on October 28. This game is not to be confused with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which was released on November 12, 2009.
>> You can watch it via the link above or from the article.

PCGamer had a lot of news, and so a third post was needed:

Here's a beautifully animated 2D cat platformer
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-beautifully-animated-2d-cat-platformer/
What is a boss that a house cat might face? If you guessed vacuum cleaner, you are correct.
Such is the journey players will find in Stars in the Trash, a hand-drawn indie platformer from developer Valhalla Cats that's coming in the vague future, but has a demo you can play right now.

Silent Hill director says multiple studios working on new games
https://www.pcgamer.com/silent-hill-director-says-multiple-studios-working-on-new-games/
Christophe Gans, director of the 2006 Silent Hill movie, was recently interviewed by France's Movie and Game. Though Gans was not involved in 2012's Silent Hill: Revelations, he previously claimed to be returning for another Silent Hill movie, and told Movie and Game that it will be part of a larger Silent Hill push by Konami.

A huge text adventure begun by anonymous creators 40 years ago was only completed this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-huge-text-adventure-begun-by-anonymous-creators-40-years-ago-was-only-completed-this-year/
Jason Dyer has a blog called All the Adventures (via RPS) where he plans to play and write about every text adventure ever made, from the beginning. It is of course a gloriously doomed undertaking, just like the CRPG Addict's impossible quest to finish every CRPG in chronological order, which is why it's wonderful. Right now, Dyer is playing and blogging about Ferret, an obscure sci-fi adventure first released in 1982.

Fallout, Homeworld, and more tabletop RPGs go digital native on Role
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-homeworld-and-more-tabletop-rpgs-go-digital-native-on-role/
Up and coming digital roleplaying platform Role is launching a marketplace where people can pick up tabletop roleplaying games from some of the biggest IPs out there, partnering with Modiphius and Magpie Games. That means games like the Fallout, Homeworld, Dune, and Star Trek TTRPGs are on there, with upcoming Avatar Legends on the way.
"Role proudly stands as both the easiest place to play and create for RPG fans today. Every game room is designed for minimal prep, easy navigation, and fast gameplay that focuses on social fun rather than complex cumbersome tabletop simulation tools," said Role's CEO, Elle Dwight.

Hysterical Overwatch 2 bug lets Bastion players paint the world with artillery
https://www.pcgamer.com/hysterical-overwatch-2-bug-lets-bastion-players-paint-the-world-with-artillery/
Okay so any new video game release, especially one that includes lots of unique powers, is going to see bugs. Overwatch 2 isn't free of those, and while some are frustrating, others are mostly funny. This one... is hysterical, even if it's an exploit.

Rebuild society after a climate apocalypse in city builder Floodland
https://www.pcgamer.com/rebuild-society-after-a-climate-apocalypse-in-city-builder-floodland/
A promising demo out of Steam Next Fest is Floodland, a city and society builder set in a world ravaged by rampant, apocalyptic climate change. It has the distinction of not being just a colony-style city builder, but a society builder ala Frostpunk, where your decisions shape laws: How people behave and what they can do.

EA canceled a singleplayer Plants vs. Zombies spin-off to back a Star Wars game, which it also canceled
https://www.pcgamer.com/ea-canceled-a-singleplayer-plants-vs-zombies-spin-off-to-back-a-star-wars-game-which-it-also-canceled/
Seven years ago, a team of roughly 30 developers at EA Vancouver began working on a Plants vs. Zombies spin-off. Popcap's original tower defense game had already been successfully transformed into an online shooter with Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare in 2014, and apparently EA was open to more new ideas—in this case, a singleplayer action-adventure with Arkham-style combat in which a teenager partners with plants to fight undead while traveling through time.
As IGN reports, this intriguingly strange project was canceled through no fault of its own so the developers could be moved to the singleplayer Star Wars action-adventure begun by Visceral, which was itself canceled in 2017.

Blizzard has quietly fixed Overwatch 2 'auto-purchase' glitch but refunds are yet to come
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-has-quietly-fixed-the-overwatch-2-auto-purchase-glitch-but-refunds-are-yet-to-come/
The embattled launch of Overwatch 2 appears to have solved at least one of its issues, with Blizzard's latest hotfix putting an end to a bug that was causing players using the in-game chat to make accidental purchases in the game's store. The bug was brought to public attention by Dracyoshi, a Reddit user who found themselves inexplicably buying Junker Queen's Plutonium Skin while using chat in the game's hero gallery.

'We're not very happy'—Platinum CEO apologises for Babylon's Fall, hints at troubled development
https://www.pcgamer.com/were-not-very-happyplatinum-ceo-apologises-for-babylons-fall-hints-at-troubled-development/
September saw the unsurprising news that Babylon's Fall, a live service game developed by Platinum Games and published by Square Enix, was to be shuttered after less than a year. The game is no longer available for sale, and has stopped sales of premium currency, though the servers remain live until February 27, 2023.
(...)
It's been another misfire for Platinum Games and any fan of blistering action experiences must hope that the studio can get back to the glory days. The studio's CEO Atsushi Inaba, a developer of the highest pedigree with an incredible track record, knows things didn't go well with this one. Due to the nature of the deal between Platinum and Square Enix, however, he can only say so much.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 PCB shows minor changes from RTX 3090 Ti

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4090-pcb-shows-minor-changes-from-rtx-3090-ti

Intel Arc A770 Limited Edition is now listed in Germany for 431 EUR

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-arc-a770-limited-edition-is-now-listed-in-germany-for-431-eur

Too expensive

AMD Radeon RX 6900XT price drops below 700 USD/740 EUR

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-rx-6900xt-price-drops-below-700-usd-740-eur

Not bad

AMD B650E & B650 Motherboards Launched, Starting at $159.99 US With No Board At The Promised $125 US MSRP In Sight

https://wccftech.com/amd-b650e-b650-motherboards-launched-starting-at-159-us-no-board-at-promised-125-us-msrp/

Upgrading to boards without PCI-E Gen 5 for GPU feels pointless from AM4 but all these B650E boards also feel too expensive compared to the Z690s that are on sale for around $200 as many of them have components well above their price range. All in all, wait until these things get discounted if you want to make the AM5 jump. The low sales most likely will see discounts coming sooner than later.

Got my hopes up that they were abandoning their own launcher altogether and were just going back to Steam...

No surprise on the PCB one as it was rumored from the beginning.

Also, I agree with the price of that card, more so given the drivers situation.
By the way, if you're interested, watch the Gamersnexus video tearing down the card. His frustration with the "screwless design" is a bit funny.

The price is a bit higher than expected, over here the cheapest I've seen are the MSI PRO B650M-A WIFI at 179.95€ (149 + VAT) or the ASRock B650E PG Riptide WIFI at 278.95€ (230.5 + VAT) for those that want the B650E package. Not great, not terrible.

But, as we said, if you're looking for a platform to jump in now that gives you the option to upgrade your CPU in a couple of gens or so, then it's not too bad. PCIe 4.0 won't be a problem because that's enough for a 4090 and the fact that if you're buying a B650 mobo means that you're not in that segment of the market, so a 4060, 5060 or even 6060 should run fine. Otherwise, there are cheaper options.

I know what you mean, It's a one step forward, two steps back situation.