Still running 16gb with Ryzen 3600, never had any problems with memory. I'm sure last of us will run just fine maxed out with 16gb of ram with the right CPU and GPU.

Chances are you'll run into VRAM limitations on the GPU long before hitting the RAM. And 12GB VRAM looking to be be the bare minumum you'd want to go if playing 1440P. 16GB+ for 4K. Can't go wrong with more RAM though.

Pretty hefty requirements otherwise.

Absolutely. I'll be getting a 4090 (Asus TUF version seems like the most balanced choice), most likely, which has 24GB VRAM. Should tide me over for a few years. I might upgrade my GPU 4-5 years down the line, and then keep the rest of the setup as is, more or less. I chose my parts with the future in mind the last time, and it will have served me for 8 years come July. Since I've already been playing at 1440p since 2015, 4K is the only logical option for me going forward. It hasn't really been possible until this gen though, the 30xx cards and AMDs last gen offerings were simply not up to the task (wanting decent frame rates).

The Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Remember Human: Fall Flat? Turns out over 40 million humans paid up
https://www.pcgamer.com/remember-human-fall-flat-turns-out-over-40-million-humans-paid-up/
Wibbly-wobbly platformer Human: Fall Flat came out in 2016, and its blend of funky physics, dreamlike floating worlds, and multiplayer support saw it quickly find an audience. Those that like this game love it, and it's a much more freeform and relaxing experience than some of the obvious comparisons one might make (such as Fall Guys).
I played it years ago and liked it well enough, but a new press release from publisher Curve had my jaw dropping. This game was on my radar as a 'neat indie platformer' but over the seven years since release Human: Fall Flat has shipped more than 40 million copies worldwide. This is a paid game that usually retails at around $20 across various storefronts, and not on any streaming service I can see, so even allowing for regular sale discounts that's a lot of jellybeans. By which I mean cash.

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The Plaion Publisher Sale features up to 90% discounts during the next 6 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/plaion-publisher-sale/" target="_blank"> https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/plaion-publisher-sale/
• And the SEGA Warhammer Sale puts the games of this franchise up to 75% off during the next 13 days. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/sega-warhammer-sale/

Fanatical has two new 24h Flash Deals:

• The first one is Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Complete Edition, 70% off. The key is for UbiConnect: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/assassin-s-creed-valhalla-complete-edition
• The second one is Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, 75% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/wolcen-lords-of-mayhem

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII gets a 4K Texture Pack
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dirge-of-cerberus-final-fantasy-vii-gets-a-4k-texture-pack/
I’m pretty sure that most of you don’t know Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is an action role-playing third-person shooter that came out exclusively on Playstation 2. Thanks to emulators, though, PC gamers can now enjoy an unofficial HD Remaster of it.
YouTube’s ‘1vierock’ has recently shared a 4K Texture Pack for this game, that overhauls all of its textures. This pack uses AI techniques, meaning that the enhanced textures look similar to the original ones.
By using this 4K Texture Pack and running the game at 4K resolutions, PC gamers can enjoy an unofficial HD Remaster of this title.
>> There's a roughly 5 minutes long video of the mod in action.

The same devs who ported A Link to the Past to PC are reverse-engineering another SNES classic
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-same-devs-who-ported-a-link-to-the-past-to-pc-are-reverse-engineering-another-snes-classic/
The developer group going by snesrev on GitHub released an early version of a full port of Super Metroid for PC this week. While you've effectively been able to play Super Metroid on PC via emulation for decades now, this is a full, native port of the Super Nintendo classic, bypassing any need to emulate the original hardware.
In addition to providing further redundancies in the preservation of classic games, full reverse-engineered ports like this open up the doors for further modding, custom content, and quality of life changes. As Super Metroid's PC port matures, we may see developers produce new ROM hacks, or true, stretch-free widescreen support (many classic games are restricted to 4:3 with black bars, or can be hideously stretched to fit 16:9).

GAMING NEWS

RoboCop: Rogue City delayed until September 2023, gets first gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/robocop-rogue-city-delayed-until-september-2023-gets-first-gameplay-trailer/
Nacon has just announced that RoboCop: Rogue City has been delayed until September 2023. The game was originally meant to come out in June 2023. Moreover, the publisher shared the game’s first gameplay trailer which you can find below.
>> I had forgotten about this game.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum gets an in-engine story trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/the-lord-of-the-rings-gollum-gets-an-in-engine-story-trailer/
Nacon has released a story trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. This trailer features in-engine footage, so it can give you an idea of what you can expect, visually, from this upcoming game.

Sons Of The Forest Patch 01 released & here are all of its changes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/sons-of-the-forest-patch-01-released-here-are-all-its-changes/
Endnight Games has released the first major update for its open-world survival horror, Sons Of The Forest. According to the release notes, this first patch adds new items to the game, and fixes numerous bugs.

PC requirements for Capcom’s team-based dinosaur game, Exoprimal
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pc-requirements-for-capcoms-team-based-dinosaur-game-exoprimal/
Capcom has updated the Steam store page of Exoprimal, revealing the game’s official PC system requirements. In addition, the company confirmed that the game will release on July 14th.

Resident Evil 4 Remake PC Chainsaw Demo is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/resident-evil-4-remake-pc-chainsaw-demo-is-now-available-for-download/
Capcom has just released a PC demo for Resident Evil 4 Remake on Steam. As such, PC gamers will be able to test the game and see whether their PC systems are able to run it.

First-person survival horror game, Ad Infinitum, gets new gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-person-survival-horror-game-ad-infinitum-gets-new-gameplay-trailer/
Nacon has released a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming first-person survival horror game, Ad Infinitum. Moreover, the publisher revealed that the game will release in September 2023.

Forspoken Update 1.10 brings numerous optimizations, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/forspoken-update-1-10-brings-numerous-optimizations-full-patch-notes/
Square Enix has released a brand new update for Forspoken. According to the release notes, Update 1.10 comes with numerous performance improvements and optimizations.

WILD HEARTS March 10th Update features numerous bug fixes, improvements & balance tweaks
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/wild-hearts-march-10th-update-features-numerous-bug-fixes-improvements-balance-tweaks/
Omega Force has released a new patch for WILD HEARTS that comes with a lot of bug fixes, improvements and balance tweaks. However, according to the release notes, the March 10th Update does not feature any performance optimizations on PC.

Atomic Heart March 10th Update adds FOV & removes mouse acceleration
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/atomic-heart-march-10th-update-adds-fov-removes-mouse-acceleration/
Mundfish has released a brand new update for Atomic Heart. According to the release notes, the March 10th Update adds a FOV setting and removes the mouse acceleration. Furthermore, it packs some performance and stability improvements.

Friday news, part two:

Studio makes its beloved destructible FPS free in bid to keep it alive
https://www.pcgamer.com/studio-makes-its-beloved-destructible-fps-free-in-bid-to-keep-it-alive/
GhostShark Games is best known for 2019's unique spaced-out puzzler Still There, but the studio's first game was 2015's Blockstorm. The game basically smooshed-together a fast Quake-style shooter with a Minecraft-inspired sandbox, the latter part of which allowed extensive customisation of avatars, maps, modes and weapons.

Rune Factory 3 Special has a release date on PC, invites you to fall in love with one of its hyperabundant bachelorettes
https://www.pcgamer.com/rune-factory-3-special-has-a-release-date-on-pc-invites-you-to-fall-in-love-with-one-of-its-hyperabundant-bachelorettes/
Sometimes I say that my tastes in games are too wide and strange to be condensed to a single genre or pithy phrase, but I take it all back. I just finished reading the newly-revealed Steam page for Rune Factory 3 Special, which invites players to "farm, fight, and fall in love," and I now realise those three things are all I've ever wanted from videogames or, indeed, life itself.

Try this story-driven fantasy card-battler for free before it launches in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/try-this-story-driven-fantasy-card-battler-for-free-before-it-launches-in-april/
Ash of Gods looked really good when it was revealed in 2018: "A game about angels and free will that looks like The Banner Saga" is how we described it, and that sounds like an interesting idea to me. It was renamed slightly to Ash of Gods: Redemption when it launched on Steam in March of that year, which was fortuitous because it simplifies the naming process for the follow-up, revealed today as Ash of Gods: The Way.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is reportedly delayed
https://www.pcgamer.com/suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-league-is-reportedly-delayed/
Less than three months before it was due to launch, a Bloomberg report says Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been delayed. An announcement at the 2022 Game Awards had set a release date of May 26, but it has now apparently been pushed back to later in 2023.
>> As unlikely as it gets with each new delay, I hope this game is a success. Otherwise, I fear for the future of Rocksteady.

D&D RPG Solasta is getting gnomes, tieflings, and a high-level campaign
https://www.pcgamer.com/dandd-rpg-solasta-is-getting-gnomes-tieflings-and-a-high-level-campaign/
Solasta: Crown of the Magister, the RPG that let me finally make the weird D&D party of my dreams, is about to get even weirder. The newly announced Palace of Ice DLC will add two more playable ancestries—gnomes and tieflings—as well as a new campaign for characters level 10–16.

This physics-heavy, melee-focused immersive sim reminds me of Deus Ex: Invisible War in all the right ways
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-physics-heavy-melee-focused-immersive-sim-reminds-me-of-deus-ex-invisible-war-in-all-the-right-ways/
Is it finally happening? Are we, as a community, as a people, ready to accept that maybe Deus Ex: Invisible War kind of ruled? I think we might be, and as evidence I present the demo for Corpus Edax, an "immersive first-person-melee RPG" created by a developer named Luis Bento.

Time to check the weekend deals at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The first Deal of the Day is Flat Eye, 10% off during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/flat_eye https://www.gog.com/en/game/flat_eye
• The second DotD is Steelrising, with a 50% discount until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/steelrising
• The third, and last DotD is Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition, with a 75% discount until March 13th: https://www.gog.com/en/game/batman_arkham_asylum_goty
• And publisher Nacon Connect puts its games up to 90% off during the next 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230309_nacon_connect

+Steam

• The first Weekend Deal revolves around the 2023 Pégases Awards, with up to 75% discounts until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/pegases
• The Total War: WARHAMMER III franchise is free to try during the weekend and the game is 33% off until March 16: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/warhammerIIIFreeWeekend
• Dungeon Defenders: Awakened is also free to try during 3 days and 50% off until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1101190/Dungeon_Defenders_Awakened/
• Halo Infinite's campaign will be 50% off until the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1240440/Halo_Infinite/
• Transport Fever 2 also gets a 50% discount until the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1066780/Transport_Fever_2/
• Another game that's free to try during the weekend is Dead by Daylight, that will also get a 60% discount until Thursday, 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/381210/Dead_by_Daylight/
• Frostpunk is yet another game that we'll be able to try for free this weekend, and will also be 80% off until the 16th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/323190/Frostpunk/
• The Playism Publisher Sale comes with up to 80% discounts until the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Playism/sale/pubsale23
• INSIDE, that has a demo, will be 90% off until Thursday, 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/304430/INSIDE/
• And the last one, the Capcom Publisher Sale, comes with up to 87% discounts, but I don't know how long it will last: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/capcom/sale/CapcomPubSale

Enough with these news. Go! Go and have a happy and gaming weekend.

I've read a wild, but not too ridiculous, theory about those specs. On one hand, it's possible that Sony and the studios that handle the ports of its exclusive games simply suck when it comes to optimizing for PC, resulting in games with ridiculously high demands.

On the other hand, the theory is that Sony is pressuring its studios and partners to put up these stupidly high PC requirements to make the PS5 looks more powerful than it really is (the old look what kind of PC you need to play this game that runs perfectly fine on our cheaper console), with the secondaly intention of trying to attrack PC gamers to its console.

It's wild, I know, but so are those requirements.

I thought the theory was that RAM is being used as a replacement for the NVMe driver in these PS5 ports.

Yeah we see games already going high on VRAM and we're just scratching the surface for graphically demanding games this generation. With more engines using RT, we're going to need as much as we can get.

And true, Nvidia skimped on VRAM across the stack for Ampere and even Ada in the lower stacks. Outside their flagship end and refreshes (plus the 3060 12GB lol) and it didn't last long until people had to eventualy start lowering settings to play them. Definately worth getting as much VRAM as you can for longevity. A 4090 will definately last you long long time. With the latest DLSS tech and frame generation, even better.

I'm half tempted to get the 7900XT, with the recent price drop and free game. 20GB VRAM will last a while, one should hope. Since AMD and Nvidia have been playing games with the market and drawing out the mid ranged launches, I really need an upgrade that's not old gen hardware lol.

The 7900XT cards at £799 with TLoU as a freebie are starting to look like decent value and are currently cheaper than the 4070Ti and I've been a little tempted myself I think Nvidia completely dropped the ball on vram and it's looking like my next GPU will be AMD and my first Radeon card since the HD 6870.

That makes more sense, but it's also less fun .