Thursday gaming news, part two:
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake reaches unprecedented levels of leaked, despite Ubisoft's best efforts to stomp on yapping actors
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/assassins-creed-black-flag-remake-reaches-unprecedented-levels-of-leaked-despite-ubisofts-best-efforts-to-stomp-on-yapping-actors/
Black Flag Remake leaks can only be called that if they come from the Montreuil suburb of Paris—otherwise they're just sparkling Assassin's Creed gossip. But good news: the games industry's most open of open secrets (but that Ubi is still willing to threaten to sue its star over) has let a little more info slip ahead of its proper reveal, thanks to anonymous sources who spoke with France's Jeux Vidéo Magazine.
The leaks, all communicated inexplicably in French, suggest that, well, this is very much an AC game, folks. But not an AC game in the old style—as the original Black Flag was—rather, Ubi is crowbarring its new, Witcher-3-by-another-name RPG style onto the classic pirate sim. Anticipate loot and an inventory, and combat that hews closer to a (much easier) soulslike than the choreographed combat of yore.
Subnautica 2 devs reveal the latest horrifying Leviathan to grace the deep sea: 'It has 4 tentacles to grab, crush, swat, and terrify players'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/subnautica-2-devs-reveal-the-latest-horrifying-leviathan-to-grace-the-deep-sea-it-has-4-tentacles-to-grab-crush-swat-and-terrify-players/
Development of Subnautica 2 has taken a bit of a back seat in the minds of players ever since the Unknown Worlds founders' lawsuit began. But a recent dev blog not only reveals that business has been carrying on as usual but also shows players a first look at a new kind of Leviathan coming to Subnautica 2: the Collector Leviathan.
Yakuza fans smell blood in the water as RGG studio accidentally puts the words 'Kiwami 3' on its website
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/yakuza-fans-smell-blood-in-the-water-as-rgg-studio-accidentally-puts-the-words-kiwami-3-on-its-website/
Well, the Yakuza fanbase has finally lost it. The mad lads have somehow gotten the idea that Ryu Ga Gotoku studio is set to announce a prettified, Kiwami re-do of Yakuza 3. Why? Well, uh, because Ryu Ga Gotoku studio went and wrote the words "Kiwami 3" on its website.
Battlefield 6 has done away with Levolution events in favour of 'tactical destruction' because all-out annihilation 'wouldn't be fun'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6-has-done-away-with-levolution-events-in-favour-of-tactical-destruction-because-all-out-annihilation-wouldnt-be-fun/
It's no secret that Battlefield Studios has taken quite a few lessons learnt from past Battlefield games and used them to try and create a Battlefield 6 which is as close as possible to what players want.
Decisions have been made to ditch 128-player matches from Battlefield 2042, and the devs have been listening to players complaining about underpowered vehicles and teeny-tiny maps to improve on what they already have. But the lesson learnt from Battlefield 4 was: sometimes less destruction is more.
Ubisoft's Saudi-funded Assassin's Creed DLC provokes staff unrest, but the publisher insists partnering with the controversial regime is A-OK: 'Talking with partners who do not share our democratic values does not mean abandoning them'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/ubisofts-saudi-funded-assassins-creed-dlc-provokes-staff-unrest-but-the-publisher-insists-partnering-with-the-controversial-regime-is-a-ok-talking-with-partners-who-do-not-share-our-democratic-values-does-not-mean-abandoning-them/
In a surprise announcement last month, Ubisoft revealed that 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage would be receiving a hefty free DLC. A new map and quests for a two year-old game, and no charge? Such largesse is only possible thanks to the involvement of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has made many gaming investments as part of its mission to detoxify the image of the brutal petrol state.
Helldivers 2's new bugs are bugged, so Arrowhead's turning them off for 5 weeks to debug its bugged bugs' bugs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2s-new-bugs-are-bugged-so-arrowheads-turning-them-off-for-5-weeks-to-debug-its-bugged-bugs-bugs/
The Into the Unjust update that hit Helldivers 2 earlier this month sent the tireless forces of Super Earth deep into Terminid territories. There, they were met with the Rupture strain: new varieties of burrowing bug enemies that proved to be an immediate source of controversy by mercilessly kicking people's asses.
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Earlier this week, Arrowhead deployed a patch to spare mission hosts from suffering disproportional Terminid violence. Unfortunately, rather than making Rupture Warriors less threatening for host players, the update made them just as relentless for everyone else.
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Evidently, even with the Rupture Warrior lethality being more evenly distributed, the new bug varieties aren't behaving as Arrowhead hoped. In an announcement posted earlier today, the studio said it would be putting the Rupture strain in prolonged time out so it can retune the behavior of their various bladed extremities and bile sprays.
After disappointing fans with a time-grated grind in beta, Blizzard turned WoW Legion Remix around just in time for its October release
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/after-disappointing-fans-with-a-time-grated-grind-in-beta-blizzard-turned-wow-legion-remix-around-just-in-time-for-its-october-release/
Blizzard struck gold last year by taking an old World of Warcraft expansion and turning it into a Diablo-style action RPG where you become an unkillable god—a level of power not normally possible in the MMO—and earn a bunch of goodies to bring back to the regular game at the end.
Mists of Pandaria Remix had some hiccups early on, but Blizzard was quick to fix them and let players have their fun for the duration of the event. But when it released the PTR for this year's Legion Remix event, which was just given an October 7 release date, fans quickly discovered that the fun had been removed.
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Blizzard quickly issued a response, saying it would make "major improvements with a goal of adding speed, power, and fun to the mode," in another week of PTR testing. Sure enough, the next PTR had a long list of changes that essentially removed all of the gear and stat restrictions that would've made Legion Remix a boring slog.
Disco Elysium successor XXX Nightshift is sick of your jokes about its name, announces it's called Tangerine Antarctic and it's a 3rd-person RPG now
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/disco-elysium-successor-xxx-nightshift-is-sick-of-your-jokes-about-its-name-announces-its-called-tangerine-antarctic-and-its-a-3rd-person-rpg-now/
Hey! Remember XXX Nightshift? That was one of the five (count 'em) Disco Elysium successor games that made headlines last year. It was an isometric game where you play a cop stranded at a luxury Antarctic ski resort when a bunch of murders happen, with dialogue presented in a strip down the side of the screen in a style strongly reminiscent of, well, Disco Elysium.
Remember it? Great. Please forget it. It's not that anymore. In an announcement earlier today, the devs at Dark Math Games announced that they've had some sort of Damascene conversion and have decided to retool the project as a third-person RPG. Oh, and it's called Tangerine Antarctic now, a real shame for all those Vin Diesel jokes I was hoping to make in the review.
The best weapon in Borderlands 4 isn't a legendary—it's some random purple shotgun that wipes out bosses in one shot
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/borderlands-4-quincunx-stellium/
Every time a new Borderlands game comes out, we all frantically farm bosses in search of cool legendary guns and gear, and that's not changed in Borderlands 4. In fact, it's more convenient than ever thanks to Moxxi's Big Encore machines—devices that let you retry bosses as many times as you want.
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But what if I told you that there was another way? Some other shotgun that does brain-breaking damage that won't kill you in the process, and is somehow a random-ass purple item? Well, there is, it's the Quincunx Stellium, a Maliwan shotgun. As showcased by content creator Moxsy, you're looking for one with the energy disc alt-fire that bounces around, and a Jakobs licensed part.
