It's beyond doubt that LG and Samsung make the best OLED displays and that, by working together, they could make them even better. The problem is that those displays will come at a cost.

After all, this isn't only about having competition, but the usual expensive but with high quality versus cheap but with low quality situation that we've seen countless times. And the winner usually ends up being the cheaper one because more people can afford it.

That I have no doubt. Samsung has been ahead of the game in terms of quality displays and LG when it comes to larger OLED panels.

Cheaper costs, at the expense of a little quality would make sense for the mainstream though. Even a budget OLED is leagues ahead of LCD in image quality. China is still years away from either though. They're still stuck on smaller displays (phones, maybe tablets), once scaled up it will be interested to see how the market will react.

So happy that Monster Hunter Stories is coming out - gonna play that first and then the sequel.

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor sells half a million copies in its first week of early access as developer Funday Games reveals plans for the future
https://www.pcgamer.com/deep-rock-galactic-survivor-sells-half-a-million-copies-in-its-first-week-of-early-access-as-developer-funday-games-reveals-plans-for-the-future/
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor launched into early access last week, taking the bug blasting and space mining of the original cooperative experience and reworking it into a Vampire Survivors-style autoshooter. It's proved to be a winning combination, with the game selling half a million copies in its first week.
These big sales aren't simply down to a canny brand tie-in either. DRG: Survivor already sits with a "Very Positive" rating on Steam out of over 9,000 reviews. Robin was likewise taken with the game when he assessed it last week. "As a big fan of Vampire Survivors-inspired games, I think this is my favourite yet," he wrote, pointing to the way each class alters how the game feels as one of its primary draws.

The Epic Store and changed its plans and, instead of giving away the first three Fallout games, it gives away Super Meat Boy Forever: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/super-meat-boy-forever.
And next week, they'll give away Aerial_Knight's Never Yield.

GOG has launched four new sales:

• The Atari Publisher Sale features up to 86% discounts during 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240222_atari_publisher_sale
• The Weekly Sale has many games up to 92% off during 6 days as well: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240221_weekly_deals_2_february
• There's a Strategy Sale featuring up to 90% discounts during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240222_strategy_sale
• And Nacon is putting its games up to 90% off during 8 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240222_nacon_publisher_sale

Steam has four new deals:

• Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles, that has a demo, will be 20% off until February, the 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1755830/Astrea_SixSided_Oracles/
• Above Snakes features a 30% discount until the 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1589120/Above_Snakes/
• Taiji will be 40% off until the same February, 28: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1141580/Taiji/
• And Crime O'Clock, that also has a demo, is going to have a 50% discount until the 6th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1736290/Crime_OClock/

And Fanatical has a new bundle, the BYO Play on the Go Bundle Premium Edition, with 23 titles to choose from for your 2, 3 or 5 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/play-on-the-go-premium-edition-build-your-own-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 551.61 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-551-61
Highlights
Game Ready for Nightingale This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games supporting DLSS 3 technology including Nightingale. In addition, this driver supports the beta release of NVIDIA App, which unifies GeForce Experience and the NVIDIA Control Panel.

Fixed Issues
Fixed Gaming Bugs

• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege: Stability issues when running Vulkan API [4460050]

Fixed General Bugs

• RTX Video HDR: Tone mapping not working properly with custom HDR brightness values in Windows [4472972]
• Chrome/Edge Browsers: Poor black level quality in SDR video playback with Windows HDR setting enabled [4492243]
• NVIDIA Freestyle: Filter settings are not saved after quitting game [4472656]
• Adobe Substance 3D: Stager unable to initialize the viewport [4403960]
• Adobe Substance 3D: Vulkan version of Substance Painter cannot be launched [4425856]

>> Without a doubt, the biggest part of this new driver is this:

The new Nvidia App killing GeForce Experience: new overlay, system monitoring, 120fps capture, and lets you add HDR to any game
https://www.pcgamer.com/nvidia-app-beta-release/
Wave goodbye to GeForce Experience, the new Nvidia App is set to replace it once it's out of beta. The new desktop application for GeForce graphics cards features an updated look and feel, new features, and no login requirement, and it's expected to eventually consume the Nvidia Control Panel, too.
The Nvidia App launches in beta today, February 22, and will replace GeForce Experience. Here's what's new:

• Overhauled UI
• No login requirement
• New in-game overlay
• Shadowplay 120fps support
• Per-game profile settings from the Nvidia Control Panel
• RTX HDR support
• RTX Dynamic Vibrance filter

Open the app up and you'll find five new tabs available to you on the left-hand side of the screen: Home, Drivers, Graphics, Redeem, and Settings.

>> Not having to log in is a welcome change. But I feel sorry for Jizz, given how he criticized AMD's software and praised Nvidia's outdated solution that "worked".

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

After over 14 years, the iOS hit Infinity Blade has been ported to PC and is available now for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/ios-hit-infinity-blade-pc-download/
Remember Infinity Blade? No? Well, Infinity Blade was one of the first iOS games that packed incredible visuals on mobile devices. This game was powered by Unreal Engine and came out on Apple’s devices in 2010. Now, more than 14 years later, it’s been brought to PC and you can download and play it.
All you have to do is download the game from this link. After unzipping it, just double-click on the launcher executable file. And there you have it.
Now what’s cool here is that this PC port features upgraded textures, graphics, and various optimizations for PC. For instance, you can bind your keys. There are also audio sliders and file management.
I’ve already downloaded it and I can confirm that it works. Moreover, this ZIP does not contain any viruses. I’m saying this because Windows Defender will pop up saying it’s an “unrecognized app”. So, rest assured that it’s safe to use it.
>> The article has an over 8 minutes video showing the "port".

GAMING NEWS

Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is officially coming to PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/disney-epic-mickey-rebrushed-is-officially-coming-to-pc/
THQ Nordic has announced that Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed will be officially coming to PC in 2024. To celebrate this announcement, the publisher shared a trailer that you can find below.

Delta Force: Hawk Ops just got a pointless CG trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/delta-force-hawk-ops-just-got-a-pointless-cg-trailer/
Level Infinite and TiMi Studio Group have just released a new CG trailer for Delta Force: Hawk Ops. And, at least in my opinion, this is a completely pointless trailer.
Delta Force: Hawk Ops promises to capture the spirit of the FPS Godfather whilst bringing it right up to date with all the very latest (and near future) technology. Or at least that’s what the developers claim. This will be a free-to-play multiplayer game that will be released on PC, consoles and smartphones.

Thursday news, part two:

Tekken 8 director is looking into a crackdown on rage quitters: 'You know, obviously we want to ban these people from the game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/tekken-8-director-is-looking-into-a-crackdown-on-rage-quitters-you-know-obviously-we-want-to-ban-these-people-from-the-game/
People rage quitting halfway through a match in fighting games is nothing new, but it sure is annoying. It's an issue that has felt especially prevalent in Tekken 8, a game that has practically zero punishment for anyone who decides their internet is no longer working mid-game. That's hopefully looking to change soon, with director Katsuhiro Harada and other members of the development team addressing the issue around pluggers ('cause, y'know, pulling the plug) in a Tekken Talk livestream.

Bohemia Interactive reveals plans for DayZ in 2024, building toward 'a colossal milestone and an exhilarating moment you won't want to miss'
https://www.pcgamer.com/bohemia-interactive-reveals-plans-for-dayz-in-2024-building-toward-a-colossal-milestone-and-an-exhilarating-moment-you-wont-want-to-miss/
Bohemia Interactive released its first stable update of the year for its long-running zombie survival game DayZ yesterday. Update 1.24 brings several new features to the game, including a new weapon, the Vikhr rifle, more camouflage skins for the ballistic helmet, and an array of new sounds and animations to further liven up the game's fictional country of Chernarus.
Alongside this update, Bohemia also unveiled its broader plans for DayZ in 2024, which start with "a significant departure from our typical update delivery model." Bohemia doesn't specify what this departure is, but I assume it means there will be fewer updates that provide more features. Certainly, Bohemia is keen to reassure players that the game will continue to receive "robust" support throughout 2024.

This chill city builder lets you create buildings, farms, and fields simply by drawing shapes
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-chill-city-builder-lets-you-create-buildings-farms-and-fields-simply-by-drawing-shapes/
For fans of chill city builders like Townscaper, Gourdlets, Terra Nil, and the upcoming Tiny Glade, I've got another relaxing building game to add to your wishlist.

Final Fantasy 14 is giving you another chance to nab one of the coolest mounts in the game for the first time in over 2 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14-is-giving-you-another-chance-to-nab-one-of-the-coolest-mounts-in-the-game-for-the-first-time-in-over-2-years/
After 3,000 hours I have my fair share of cool mounts in Final Fantasy 14 and before I managed to nab my beloved Ceberus, the Regalia Type-G was one of my most-used by far. It's a convertible, three of your friends can hop in, and each seat even has its own special pose for every race. Unfortunately, it's locked behind the limited-time collaboration event with Final Fantasy 15.
The event originally ran in December 2018 before returning in September 2021, thanks to huge fan demand. That was pre-Endwalker madness though, and a lot of people came along to the game right after the rerun was over. Thankfully, it's set to come back once more.

Asymmetric horror game Level Zero has been 're-announced' as a 'multiplayer extraction survival horror' shooter
https://www.pcgamer.com/asymmetric-horror-game-level-zero-has-been-re-announced-as-a-multiplayer-extraction-survival-horror-shooter/
Level Zero was announced in 2022 as an asymmetric horror game about a team of big-brained scientists trying to escape a facility that's been overrun by horrific Alien-style murder-monsters. It was supposed to come out in 2023, but that didn't happen—instead, it's now been "re-announced" as Level Zero: Extraction, which is less 'big brains' and more 'big guns.'

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree will be FromSoftware's 'largest expansion to date in terms of overall volume'
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree-will-be-fromsoftwares-largest-expansion-to-date-in-terms-of-overall-volume/
Earlier today, ahead of the release of the big Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree reveal trailer, I told my PC Gamer pals that I really hoped it would be a small expansion because I seriously cannot dedicate another six months of my life to this thing. Alas, it seems that I am getting the opposite of my wish: In an interview with Eurogamer, game director Hidetaka Miyazaki said Shadow of the Erdtree will be FromSoft's biggest expansion ever.

Malenia was only the beginning: Shadow of the Erdtree will have optional bosses 'tuned in a similar way' to Elden Ring's toughest foe
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree-optional-boss-malenia/
Malenia is responsible for claiming countless lives in Elden Ring, largely because of her rapid attacks and regenerating health. She's so difficult that one highly-skilled player rose to hero status by defeating her for others countless times.
In the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, we're probably going to need Let Me Solo Her once again. Speaking to IGN, director Hidetaka Miyazaki said players will "find optional bosses who have been tuned in a similar way to the likes of Malenia."

Shadow of the Erdtree is the only DLC planned for Elden Ring, but 'there might be more ideas in the future,' Miyazaki says
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree-dlc-only-planned-dlc/
It may come as a disappointment to Dark Souls fans, but FromSoftware doesn't currently have plans to release more DLC after Shadow of the Erdtree for Elden Ring. Dark Souls 2 and 3 had a trio of DLC releases before FromSoft moved onto other projects, but the developer is leaving the future of Elden Ring open for now.

Nightingale is off to a strong start but it's also got a 'mixed' user rating on Steam, and once again server problems are largely to blame
https://www.pcgamer.com/nightingale-is-off-to-a-strong-start-but-its-also-got-a-mixed-user-rating-on-steam-and-once-again-server-problems-are-largely-to-blame/
The alt-Victorian survival game Nightingale launched yesterday, and after a full day of release on Steam it's now laboring under a less-than-stellar "mixed" user rating. Reasons for the complaints are varied, but the main culprit seems to be one we're all familiar with by now: the servers.

The Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is coming to Steam in March
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-star-wars-battlefront-classic-collection-is-coming-to-steam-in-march/
The Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection, a package of the original Star Wars: Battlefront games along with bonus maps and heroes, was unveiled during today's Nintendo Direct showcase. But there's good news for nostalgia-loving Star Wars gamers on PC, because it's also coming to Steam.

And yes, today there's also a third part:

Cozy MMO Palia is threatening players with an increasingly enormous stuffed frog if they keep wishlisting it on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/cozy-mmo-palia-is-threatening-players-with-an-increasingly-enormous-stuffed-frog-if-they-keep-wishlisting-it-on-steam/
Cozy life and farming sim MMO Palia launched in open beta last year as a free-to-play game with its own launcher on PC (and also on the Nintendo Switch and Epic Store). After a bit of a wait, it's launching on Steam next month too, and to incentivize players to wishlist it there, Singularity 6 has devised a community campaign with a slightly threatening aura: a frog plushie of yet-to-be-determined size.

Shin Megami Tensei 5 breaks Switch exclusivity for an expanded PC release
https://www.pcgamer.com/shin-megami-tensei-5-breaks-switch-exclusivity-for-an-expanded-pc-release/
The fifth mainline instalment in the gargantuan, offshoot-laden Shin Megami Tensei series released for Nintendo Switch in 2021, marking the series' first dalliance with open world design. In typical Atlus style, SMT 5 is getting a new edition in June called Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance. It has a new main story running parallel with the original, big changes to the core combat, and a comprehensive range of other tweaks. The good news is it's coming to PC too.

Helldivers 2 was built on an obscure Swedish engine discontinued in 2018: 'Our crazy engineers had to do everything with no support'
https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-engine-bitsquid-autodesk-stingray/
You've heard of Unreal Engine and Unity, two engine juggernauts that power most of your Steam library, but you've probably never heard of Bitsquid. It was an obscure game engine used in a handful of notable Swedish indies of the early 2010s. In 2014, Autodesk bought Bitsquid, renamed it Autodesk Stingray, then discontinued it in 2018.
One of the last games released using Stingray was Fatshark's Warhammer 40,000: Darktide in 2022. The newest Stingray game is Helldivers 2.
Responding to an article on game development blog 80 Level, Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt confirmed that their smash hit, PlayStation-published co-op shooter is running on abandonware.

Helldivers 2 finally adds a much-requested AFK kick timer, stopping undemocratic glory hounds from twiddling their thumbs in perpetuity
https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-finally-adds-a-much-requested-afk-kick-timer-stopping-undemocratic-glory-hounds-from-twiddling-their-thumbs-in-perpetuity/
Helldivers 2 continues to slowly grease the wheels on its war against bloated servers (...)
Patch 1.000.11 reads: "Implemented a functionality that will kick players who remain idle for 15 minutes back to the title screen." That's a harsh time limit, though extreme times cause for extreme measures—and it could be something that's lifted when capacity is improved, which is definitely happening. Arrowhead Games' CEO wrote on Twitter earlier this week that the team's engineers were doing the equivalent of "tuning a Vespa to compete in F1".

Deep Rock Galactic auto-battler nixes upsetting 'die like your mother did' voice line so as to not 'remind some players of tragic events in their life'
https://www.pcgamer.com/deep-rock-galactic-auto-battler-nixes-upsetting-die-like-your-mother-did-voice-line-so-as-to-not-remind-some-players-of-tragic-events-in-their-life/
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor—DRG's dwarf-themed Vampire Survivors-like—is yanking out one of its more ah, questionable voice lines. In patch notes for the game's 0.2.146d hotfix, released Tuesday, the gang at Funday Games announced they'd be nixing the "Die like your mother did!" line that dwarves sometimes shout as they mow down enemies.

Amidst dire industry layoffs, FromSoftware's Miyazaki says his studio is 'very blessed' to have long-term hires now taking director roles: 'games can be directed by others, not only myself'
https://www.pcgamer.com/amidst-dire-industry-layoffs-fromsoftwares-miyazaki-says-his-studio-is-very-blessed-to-have-long-term-hires-now-taking-director-roles-games-can-be-directed-by-others-not-only-myself/
(...)
In a recent interview with IGN (thanks, GamesRadar), Elden Ring's director Hidetaka Miyazaki touched on how dire things have been for game developers in 2023—a trend that is mercilessly continuing into early 2024.
"I'm aware of the situation in the games industry, [it's] quite harrowing," Miyazaki says—though despite some murmurings of underpay, FromSoftware appears to have kept cold-blooded layoffs at arm's length. "I think it's difficult for me to understand the exact circumstances there. I won't speak to those in specifics," he says.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is over double the price of previous FromSoft DLCs, and is it weird that excites me?
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree-is-over-double-the-price-of-previous-fromsoft-dlcs-and-is-it-weird-that-excites-me/
Shadow of the Erdtree is dazzlingly, blisteringly real in the wake of yesterday's three-minute reveal trailer, and we now have more info about the expansion to 2022's game of the year than ever before. Its price, for instance. Unlike previous add-ons for FromSoft games, Erdtree is a whopping $40 (£35) over on Steam right now, $20 off the price of Elden Ring itself.
>> The answer to the headline is an obvious yes. And it's not only weird, but also wrong.

This co-op looter shooter where you scavenge from corpses 'under the shadow of terrifying and gargantuan war machines' looks rad as heck
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-co-op-looter-shooter-where-you-scavenge-from-corpses-under-the-shadow-of-terrifying-and-gargantuan-war-machines-looks-rad-as-heck/
Helldivers 2 has really given me a taste for relentless wars and hordes of killer machines, and it looks like Fun Dog Studios' The Forever Winter is going to help me keep scratching that itch—albeit in a very different way.

*Edited to fix the link*

But it's not just about picture quality, it's also about things like the well known burn-in. Those chinese panels may not be as good as the newer Samsung/LG ones.

In any case, there's nothing we can do about it.

Woo! Can't wait to finally jump into PCVR!

^For some reason the link doesn't work.

On Topic: If memory serves me right, Sony said that PS VR2 sales hadn't met the expectation or something like that (not surprising given how much more they cost compared to the PS4 units), so it makes sense for Sony to look at PC where most VR sales happen and try to boost their sales.

Good news for us if Sony decides to bring it here.

Let's make the Friday news, shall we?

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Last Epoch director admits his optimistic launch expectations 'aged like milk' as its servers struggle under the weight of 160K players
https://www.pcgamer.com/last-epoch-director-admits-his-optimistic-launch-expectations-aged-like-milk-as-its-servers-struggle-under-the-weight-of-160k-players/
Server issues continue to plague Diablo-like action RPG Last Epoch a day after its full release on Steam, but its offline mode seems to have kept many players fed.
Last Epoch had its full 1.0 release yesterday and immediately started suffering from its success. "Within 20 minutes of launch 150,000 people had joined us," game director and founder of Eleventh Hour Games Judd Cobler wrote on Reddit yesterday. "This did mean that all of our scale testing efforts were immediately put to the test, and unfortunately a service failed in a way that we didn’t suspect, and we immediately went to work to investigate and resolve it."

Palworld has achieved more players in 2 months than Elden Ring and Hogwarts Legacy managed in a year
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-has-achieved-more-players-in-2-months-than-elden-ring-and-hogwarts-legacy-managed-in-a-year/
Just one month after launch, Pocketpair says Palworld (or, as we've called it, "the Pokémon this sinful world deserves") has now surpassed 25 million players across Steam and Xbox.
(...)
To put that number in perspective, Hogwarts Legacy—one of the biggest games of 2023—took roughly three months to achieve 15 million sales across all platforms, a number that eventually grew to 22 million by the end of 2023, while Elden Ring—one of the biggest games of 2022—moved more than 20 million copies in just under a year. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison and the math is admittedly rough, but it really illustrates that Palworld is absolutely massive by any measure.
>> And let's not forget that it's still in Early Access.

'We love you, we hate money': Ultrakill and Gloomwood developer New Blood is offering discounts on all its games (and some body pillows) for its 10 year anniversary
https://www.pcgamer.com/we-love-you-we-hate-money-ultrakill-and-gloomwood-developer-new-blood-is-offering-discounts-on-all-its-games-and-some-body-pillows-for-its-10-year-anniversary/
New Blood is getting pretty old, huh? The developer (which is behind several indie hits of the past decade) is having a 10 year anniversary sale to celebrate the occasion, aptly titled "We love you, we hate money".
As announced on the studio's Twitter yesterday, New Blood is offering discounts on its catalogue of games—which includes frenetic first-person shooter Ultrakill, slightly-less-frenetic first-person stealth game Gloomwood, and Faith: A haunting little pixelated horror title with a game-over sound that's been burned into my brain by sheer meme osmosis, despite never having played it.
>> You'll find the rest of the Steam deals at the end of the news, like every Friday.

The Humble Store has three new sales:

• The Paradox Spotlight Sale comes with up to 75% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/paradox-spotlight-sale/
• The Techland Publisher Sale brings up to 90% deals during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/techland-publisher-sale/
• And the Give Me Shelter Sale has games up to 95% off during 6 days as well: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/give-me-shelter-sale/

Fanatical has three new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Dead Island Definitive Collection, 91% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dead-island-definitive-collection
• The DRM-free Bethesda Games Sale features games for GOG with up to 91% discounts during 9 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/collections/drm-free-bethesda-games
• And the Prestige Collection BYOB for February features 21 titles for your 2, 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/prestige-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Remastered 3.3 Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/star-wars-jedi-knight-dark-forces-ii-remastered-3-3-mod-released/
Modder ‘GeneralTantor’ has released a new version of the Remastered Mod for Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Among other things, Version 3.3 adds the HD textures we shared a while ago.
As we’ve reported, vurt’s HD Texture Pack added 720 new textures for the game, basically overhauling almost the entire game. And now, we can enjoy these HD textures in the Remastered Mod. This is great news for everyone who wants to replay this classic Star Wars FPS game.
Jedi Knight Remastered 3.3 also has a new HD 3D model for Kyle. Not only that but it introduces HD textures for switches. Oh, and it will also update OpenJKDF2 to version 0.9.1.
>> The article has some screenshots and a 40 minutes video.

You Won’t Believe How Insanely Good Cyberpunk 2077 Looks With This “Unrecord” Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/cyberpunk-2077-unrecord-mod/
YouTube’s ‘NextGen Dreams’ has shared a video, showcasing Cyberpunk 2077 with a Reshade Mod that is heavily inspired by the upcoming Unreal Engine 5-powered game, Unrecord. And, as you will see, Cyberpunk 2077 can look like a next-gen game. Hell, this could be the most photorealistic gameplay footage we’ve seen to date.
To make CP2077 look this good, NextGen Dreams used their own Unrecord Bodycam Reshade Mod, alongside Nova LUT and Cyberpunk 2077 HD Reworked Project. They have also used the Immersive First Person and Unlocked FOV Mods. Moreover, they’ve removed all the HUD elements in order to provide a more realistic look.
The end result is truly spectacular. This is what you’d expect to see in a next-gen console PS6 or Xbox Next game. Yet here we are on PC enjoying this kind of graphics, today. And, to be honest, I’ll be really impressed if the next-gen consoles manage to provide this kind of graphics.
You see, NextGen Dreams used an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 to run the game. That was with Path Tracing and with DLSS 3.5 Frame Generation. So, to make CP2077 look this good, you’ll need a top-of-the-line PC system. Still, the results speak for themselves.
>> I think he's exaggerating, but it does look very good.

GAMING NEWS

Karlach teams up with Baldur's Gate 3's sex noise man to raise money for a good cause: SpecialEffect, which helps create kit and software for physically disabled gamers
https://www.pcgamer.com/karlach-teams-up-with-baldurs-gate-3s-sex-noise-man-to-raise-money-for-a-good-cause-specialeffect-which-helps-create-kit-and-software-for-physically-disabled-gamers/
As announced earlier this month, SpecialEffect—a charity we're proud to have teamed up with before—is running a special stream to help raise money for physically disabled gamers.
Samantha Béart is the voice of Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3, an exceptional talent who lent their voice to a beloved big tiefling lady (who just so happens to be our favourite to date). Then there's Alex Jordan, a storied voice actor in his own right who, uh, also made all the sex noises in Larian's groundbreaking RPG. Béart announced a concrete time for the event on Twitter today—and the whole video's definitely worth a watch.

Riot's Project L fighting game finally gets a proper title, will hopefully be out sometime in 2025
https://www.pcgamer.com/riots-project-l-fighting-game-finally-gets-a-proper-title-will-hopefully-be-out-sometime-in-2025/
More than four years after it was first announced to the world, Riot's League of Legends fighting game (previously known as Project L) has a proper title. It's called 2XKO, and Riot aims to have it out in 2025.
>> And it looks like nobody likes the name.

Old School RuneScape players revolt after new big money owners say bots are fine, actually, devs furiously walk it back and say they banned 7 million bots last year
https://www.pcgamer.com/old-school-runescape-players-revolt-after-new-big-money-owners-say-bots-are-fine-actually-devs-furiously-walk-it-back-and-say-they-banned-7-million-bots-last-year/
Old School RuneScape developer Jagex is trying to quell player discontent after a strongly negative reaction to comments about the proliferation of bot accounts seemingly made by the company's new owner: CVC Capital Partners.
CVC bought Jagex earlier this month for £900 million, a splashy acquisition that, naturally, caught the eye of the Financial Times. A source close to CVC told the paper that "bots are part of the RuneScape ecosystem, they just are," and went on to say that the goal was "a sort of equilibrium of players and bots" in the game. "If a player is sufficiently committed to pay for three accounts, and have an account and two bots as part of its ecosystem, then so be it," said the FT's source.
>> More money is good, no matter where it comes from. That's what investment business think, right?

I didn't have System Shock Pinball on my 2024 list but I'll take it
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-didnt-have-system-shock-pinball-on-my-2024-list-but-ill-take-it/
Zen Studios will not be a familiar name unless you're a fan of videogame pinball, but if you are then you know that this lot are the best. The studio specialises in pinball games and has made countless digital tables over the years, and I simply could not tell you how much hard-earned money I've spent on their themed tables in Zen Pinball and its sequel: worth it every time.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying that I was very surprised by the announcement of System Shock Pinball but, as soon as I saw it was Zen alongside Nightdive (developer of the recent and excellent remake) I knew it was in very good hands indeed.

Paragon can't catch a break: Less than two years after being brought back to life, it's closing again
https://www.pcgamer.com/paragon-cant-catch-a-break-less-than-two-years-after-being-brought-back-to-life-its-closing-again/
Paragon: The Overprime, the game that launched from the rubble of Epic's ill-fated MOBA Paragon, has suffered the same fate as its predecessor. Developer Netmarble announced today that the game will be shuttered for good in April.

Solo survival players, rejoice: Nightingale is 'prioritizing and developing an offline mode'
https://www.pcgamer.com/solo-survival-players-rejoice-nightingale-is-prioritizing-and-developing-an-offline-mode/
Survival game Nightingale launched into early access this week and the gaslamp fantasy is enjoying a strong start thanks to a rewarding tutorial, lots of interesting worldbuilding and RPG trappings, and a novel realm-creation system.
Unfortunately it's stumbled a bit when it comes to technical problems, which appear to be the main reason its Steam reviews are currently mixed. There's also another big issue for a lot of players (myself included), and it's one we've seen plenty of times in the past: Even when you're playing Nightingale solo, you have to play online.
(...)
Developer Inflexion Games has heard the anguished cries of solo players everywhere, and today announced there are plans to add offline play. Yay! Wait, how did they say "yay" in the Victorian era? Ticketyboo?

Yes, Team Fortress 2 players recently did a big trade involving an IRL dog and, no, they're not monsters and it's quite above-board and sweet actually
https://www.pcgamer.com/yes-team-fortress-2-players-recently-did-a-big-trade-involving-an-irl-dog-and-no-theyre-not-monsters-and-its-quite-above-board-and-sweet-actually/
You know how sometimes you read an online post, in this case a semi-viral tweet relating to a Team Fortress 2 trade, think "hell no that didn't happen", then read it again? I've seen some corkers in my time but get a load of this:
"Allegedly a TF2 trade occurred that included a family dog as part of the trade," says X user SirDapper. "The LIVING dog was valued at 450 keys, about $740. They traded their 'best friend of 10 years' away for some burning pixels. You cannot make this stuff up."
>> I'd advise to read the article before jumping to conclusions.

Larian is working on official mod support for Baldur's Gate 3 and it'll be cross-platform: 'We love our modding community and we want to support them'
https://www.pcgamer.com/larian-is-working-on-official-mod-support-for-baldurs-gate-3-and-itll-be-cross-platform-we-love-our-modding-community-and-we-want-to-support-them/
One of the best things about Baldur's Gate 3 are the mods. Another great thing is Larian's diligent pace of major updates and smaller hotfixes. But they unfortunately sometimes come into conflict: Larian releases a patch, some internal bits and bobs are changed, and suddenly blammo, a whole bunch of mods stop working. But hopefully that will soon be a thing of the past.
Baldur's Gate 3 patch 6—the smoochie one—arrived last week, and better lip-locks notwithstanding, there were problems. Players reported lockups, crashes, and glitches of various sorts, and a lot of mods were apparently left broken, too.
Larian's rolled out a couple hotfixes since then to smooth things out, and with the release of the latest one earlier today, Michael Dowse, the studio's director of publishing, revealed that new and improved mod support is on the way—and it'll be cross-platform, too.

Sons of the Forest 1.0 launches with creative mode, a new ending, and an answer to one of the game's biggest mysteries
https://www.pcgamer.com/sons-of-the-forest-10-launches-with-creative-mode-a-new-ending-and-an-answer-to-one-of-the-games-biggest-mysteries/
It's another busy week for survival games. Nightingale entered early access on Tuesday, survival driving game Pacific Drive launched today, and last year's survival horror smash Sons of the Forest is back because it just hit version 1.0.
Yep. After a year in early access, you can now grab your loyal buddy Kelvin and jump back in to play the full release of Sons of the Forest. If you're wondering what's new in the 1.0 version of the terrifying survival game… well, there's kind of a lot.

Helldivers 2 maximum player cap has been increased, but Arrowhead still expects queues
https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-maximum-player-cap-has-been-increased-but-arrowhead-still-expects-queues/
For those of us planning to spend the weekend spreading (managed) democracy in Helldivers 2, there's a looming threat the game's buckling servers won't allow it. Earlier this week, Arrowhead Studios capped the CCU (concurrent users) at 450,000 in the name of stability, which basically means that if that cap is reached—and it almost always is —you'll need to wait in queue.
There's a silver lining: Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt has confirmed on X that as of now, the max CCU cap has been raised from 450,000 to 700,000. "Unfortunately, we expect the CCU to reach that level," Pilestedt added, though "we believe that the wait times will be much more bearable."
>> He also made another tweet about login issues that then deleted.