The second part of the Friday news. Will there be a third one?
10-series and other old GPUs should be able to run Assassin's Creed Shadows says director, and my RTX 3060 Ti sheds a single hopeful tear
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/10-series-and-other-old-gpus-should-be-able-to-run-assassins-creed-shadows-says-director-and-my-rtx-3060-ti-sheds-a-single-hopeful-tear/
Assassin's Creed Shadows should have been launching around about *checks watch* now, but alas, it was delayed and has a new launch date of March 20. If you're like me and have an older GPU, you might not have cared much either way as you might have assumed decent performance the title would be out of reach. Well if so, fear not, because a recent Q&A with the game's technology director leads us to believe it will run on older hardware.
>> And preorders are going very well.
Ancient MMO Tibia is getting its first new class in 28 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/ancient-mmo-tibia-is-getting-its-first-new-class-in-28-years/
After 28 years, pioneering MMO Tibia will finally have a fifth playable character class. Joining the previous vocations of Knight, Sorcerer, Druid, and Paladin is the Monk, who will become the second melee character type in all of Tibia. It's a pretty wild changeup for a game that launched in 1997 and has had the same four classes ever since—with no hints that the developers ever saw a fifth class as a good option.
Overwatch 2's upcoming hero is a DPS with an explosive crossbow, a bola that pulls enemies together, and a whole bunch of annoying ways to zip around
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2s-newest-hero-is-a-dps-with-an-explosive-crossbow-a-bola-that-pulls-enemies-together-and-a-whole-bunch-of-annoying-ways-to-zip-around/
Overwatch 2 has announced loads of new additions and changes that'll be coming to the game over the next few months and seasons. There's a new Stadium mode that sees teams go best of seven in a third-person brawl, over 160 new hero perks, and loot boxes are making a comeback. But let's not forget that Season 16 is also the time for a new hero to join the roster, and this time, it's not a tank or a support but another DPS.
"Welcome Freja, the newest addition to the Overwatch 2 roster," a Blizzard blog post says. "A former search and rescue operative turned bounty hunter, Freja brings a new dynamic to the game with her explosive crossbow and unique abilities. You can expect a challenging and rewarding experience, as she requires precision and a steady aim to master."
A black hole just annihilated a beloved Helldivers 2 planet, and now it's on a direct course for Super Earth
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/a-black-hole-just-annihilated-a-beloved-helldivers-2-planet-and-now-its-on-a-direct-course-for-super-earth/
It's a dark day for Super Earth. In a completely unexpected, unpredictable turn of events, the black hole that's occupied Helldivers 2's galaxy for the better part of a year has collided with Angel's Venture, a planet in Terminid territory, tearing the planet apart and claiming the lives of over 480,000 super citizens.
Avowed fooled us all into thinking you have to commit to playing in first or third person, but you can actually swap on the fly like in Fallout or The Elder Scrolls
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/avowed-fooled-us-all-into-thinking-you-have-to-commit-to-playing-in-first-or-third-person-but-you-can-actually-swap-on-the-fly-like-in-fallout-or-the-elder-scrolls/
The way Avowed's third person camera option was presented in previews and in the new Obsidian RPG's first time launch options had us all thinking it was a semi-permanent choice, one you'd have to go digging around in a settings menu to adjust. I'm happy to say that's just not the case though: Avowed lets you quickly toggle your camera like most other first person RPGs.
>> If you’re planning on enjoying the game on your handheld PC, it won’t be pretty.
Those mad lads at Obsidian were bluffing us: Avowed does have a tiny bit of companion romance, as a treat
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/those-mad-lads-at-obsidian-were-bluffing-us-avowed-does-have-a-tiny-bit-of-companion-romance-as-a-treat/
At least one of Avowed's companions can be romanced by the player character, flying in the face of multiple pre-launch warnings by Obsidian that we shouldn't expect that from them. We're not talking a full-on Baldur's Gate 3 or Mass Effect multipart courting with premium cable nudity at the end of the rainbow, but the romantic subplot we can confirm so far is an interesting outgrowth of an already standout companion quest. Mild Avowed spoilers, including that companion's identity, below.
Josef Fares doesn't care what EA thinks, he'll never make a live service game: 'It will not happen with a Hazelight game, ever'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/josef-fares-doesnt-care-what-ea-thinks-hell-never-make-a-live-service-game-it-will-not-happen-with-a-hazelight-game-ever/
Hazelight founder Josef Fares, known for his work on games including Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, A Way Out, It Takes Two, and the upcoming Split Fiction (plus that whole Oscars moment at The Game Awards a few years back) doesn't care what Electronic Arts thinks: He's not a fan of live service games, and says he'll never make one.
Neil Druckmann wasn't going to cast Laura Bailey in The Last of Us Part 2 because 'she's in everything,' but changed his mind after studying her audition 'frame-by-frame'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/neil-druckmann-wasnt-going-to-cast-laura-bailey-in-the-last-of-us-part-2-because-shes-in-everything-but-changed-his-mind-after-studying-her-audition-frame-by-frame/
Laura Bailey is one of those prolific videogame actors whose voice you've probably heard whether or not you've heard her name. A few of Bailey's recent credits include Marvel Rivals, World of Warcraft: The War Within, and Spider-Man 2. For that reason, Naughty Dog studio head Neil Druckmann says the developer almost didn't cast Bailey as Abby in The Last of Us Part 2, but a single moment from her audition changed his mind
Elden Ring Nightreign's Steam page lets slip it'll have DLC bosses and player characters
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/elden-ring-nightreigns-steam-page-lets-slip-itll-have-dlc-bosses-and-player-characters/
Elden Ring Nightreign, FromSoftware's upcoming boss rush-slash-roguelike multiplayer title, recently got a May 30 release date alongside the chance for some hands-on previews. (…)
It ain't Elden Ring 2, that's for sure, but a much simpler and more streamlined experience: And as a spinoff, the asking price is an unexpectedly reasonable $40 (you know Bandai Namco could've charged whatever it wanted for this). But that may not be the only price you end up paying. Elden Ring Neightreign's release date came with a Steam page, which initially contained the following at the bottom of the game's description:
"Additional DLC—Additional playable characters and bosses."
Elden Ring Nightreign director didn't want to 'encroach too much' on the lore fans hold sacred by including Dark Souls bosses, but admits 'I thought it'd be kind of fun'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/elden-ring-nightreign-director-didnt-want-to-encroach-too-much-on-the-lore-fans-hold-sacred-by-including-dark-souls-bosses-but-admits-i-thought-itd-be-kind-of-fun/
There's no end to the lore-driven theorizing that the most devoted FromSoftware fans can spin out of the characters, item descriptions, and cut content of Dark Souls and Elden Ring, and the developers know it. As I detailed in my big Elden Ring Nightreign explainer after playing the game in December, the new roguelike spin-off of Elden Ring is not connected to that game's story—it's an "alternate universe" take, with that justifying FromSoftware's decision to play fast and loose with its established lore… and even the lore of the Souls series, too. As spotted in Nightreign's reveal trailer, somewhere in this roguelike awaits The Nameless King, a boss from Dark Souls 3.
(...)
"The primary reason for these existing bosses in Nightreign is from a gameplay perspective," Nighteign director Junya Ishizaki told Gamespot in a recent interview. "Of course, with this new structure and with this new style of game, we needed a lot of different bosses… so we wanted to leverage what we deemed appropriate from our previous titles. We obviously understand that our players have a lot of affection for these characters and they have a lot of fond memories of battling them in these games, so we didn't want to encroach too much on that lore aspect. We wanted them to make sense within the atmosphere and vibe of Elden Ring Nightreign."
Currently Online 
Essay Pro