Monday gaming news, part two:
'The industry's in a really horrible place,' Brenda Romero says: 'We were there in the '80s for the crash, and this is definitely crashier'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/the-industrys-in-a-really-horrible-place-brenda-romero-says-we-were-there-in-the-80s-for-the-crash-and-this-is-definitely-crashier/
Things are not great in the videogame industry right now. It seems like no matter what you do—make a hit, make a flop, don't make anything at all—there's a good likelihood that you're going to end up out of work. For people who've been around long enough, it brings back memories of the game industry crash of the early 1980s, when the fledgling business suffered a massive contraction driven by oversaturation, external competition, and executive mismanagement. But industry veterans Brenda and John Romero, who were there for that very rough patch, told GamesIndustry that the current situation seems even worse.
>> Great news for a Monday, right?
Street Fighter 6's new DLC character is into incest, and somehow Capcom is making the whole thing even weirder
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/street-fighter-6s-new-dlc-character-is-into-incest-and-somehow-capcom-is-making-the-whole-thing-even-weirder/
Where do I even start? Street Fighter has, historically, featured some pretty weird storylines, but I don't think anyone was prepared for incest. Then Alex came along. This new DLC fighter for Street Fighter 6 (who first appeared in Street Fighter 3: New Generation) arrived on March 17, and let's not beat around the bush here: the dude is incestuous.
(...)
Incredibly, though, Capcom's managed to find a way to make things a lot weirder. Rather than acknowledging the fact that this is creepy as hell or doubling down and defending this bizarre storyline, it's opted for… gaslighting?
PUBG: Blindspot is closing after less than 2 months of early access
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/pubg-blindspot-is-closing-after-less-than-2-months-of-early-access/
PUBG: Blindspot showed real promise when we took it for a spin in 2024: PC Gamer's Jake Tucker said that "with some polish to the controls and a proper onboarding experience, this could be a genuinely fun, highly accessible tac shooter." But it failed to make much of a splash when it launched into early access in February, and less than two months later Krafton has seen enough.
Zero Parades devs knew they didn't want to make another cop game after Disco Elysium: 'How people think of the police these days, it's a bit different'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/zero-parades-devs-knew-they-didnt-want-to-make-another-cop-game-after-disco-elysium-how-people-think-of-the-police-these-days-its-a-bit-different/
While Zero Parades, this year's RPG from ZA/UM, is following in Disco Elysium's footsteps in some obvious ways, the similarities could've been even more pronounced than the spy thriller that the team ultimately settled on. Early in development, principle writer Siim Sinamäe told PC Gamer, the plot of Zero Parades was focused more on the game world's fictional equivalent of the real-life International Money Fund, leading to ideas that "essentially felt like police stories."
They decided they needed to do something different.
Developer of cozy tea shop adventure Wanderstop is shutting down: 'It's a particularly tough time for raising game funds'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/developer-of-cozy-tea-shop-adventure-wanderstop-is-shutting-down-its-a-particularly-tough-time-for-raising-game-funds/
Developer Ivy Road, maker of last year's cozy tea shop adventure Wanderstop, is shutting down, the studio announced today.
Calling the announcement "bittersweet," the developer said that its doors will be closing as of March 31. "It’s hard to put into words how thankful we are to have been able to work together on Wanderstop—this is an incredible group of people!"
Wanderstop (here's our 84% review) was Ivy Road's first and now only game, representing a collaboration between the creative voices of several celebrated creators: it was written by Davey Wrenden of The Stanley Parable and Karla Zimonja of Tacoma, and featured music composed by C418 of Minecraft.
Lawn Mowing Simulator 2 takes to Kickstarter with the lushest virtual grass I've ever seen
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/lawn-mowing-simulator-2-takes-to-kickstarter-with-the-lushest-virtual-grass-ive-ever-seen/
I can't stop staring at the grass in Lawn Mowing Simulator 2. Maybe it's because it's been a long week and I'm tired to the point of practically being in a trance. Maybe it's because the sun came in the UK for the first time all year this week, and my desire to go outside and touch, look at, pick up or other Adventure Game Verb grass has never been stronger. Or maybe it's just because it's really good virtual grass. Whatever it is, I'm totally grass-pilled, as the kids say.
Lawn Mowing Simulator 2 is, you'll be shocked to hear, the sequel to Lawn Mowing Simulator, which is undoubtedly the best game about trimming virtual lawns. You might think I'm being sarcastic, because surely it's also the only game about trimming virtual lawns, right? Wrong! You clearly forgot about Lawn Care Simulator. Welcome to gaming in 2026, where if you can imagine it, you can probably play it. Twice!
Anyhow, developer Skyhook Games revealed Lawn Mowing Simulator 2's fancy new grass tech as part of the launch of its Kickstarter campaign, which is already surpassed its modest (in game budget terms) goal of £15,000. The sequel, which is set in the USA, expands your gardening capabilities through the addition of strimmers and leaf blowers.
Sintopia, the management sim that smashes together Dungeon Keeper and Black & White, will stand before Steam's pearly gates for judgment in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/sintopia-the-management-sim-that-smashes-together-dungeon-keeper-and-black-and-white-will-stand-before-steams-pearly-gates-for-judgment-in-april/
We've been spoiled for city-builders and institutional managements sims in recent years, but successors to the Peter Molyneux-style god game have been considerably thinner on the ground. Molyneux himself has whipped out his giant, disembodied hand for one last grab at glory in Masters of Albion, but PCG writer Joshua Wolen's wasn't convinced by it in our recent preview.
However, there is now another project aiming to rekindle the glory days of Dungeon Keeper and Black & White, and that's Sintopia—a hybrid of management sim and god game published by Team 17. It's arriving around the same time as what is purportedly Molyneux's last game, too, having just settled on a release date for the middle of next month.
Starship Troopers: Extermination's latest update adds a big stompy mech, ideal for squashing the shooter's newly polished bug holes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/starship-troopers-exterminations-latest-update-adds-a-big-stompy-mech-ideal-for-squashing-the-shooters-newly-polished-bug-holes/
I liked Starship Troopers: Extermination when I reviewed it back in 2024, even though it was technically uneven and added a truly awful single player experience that it did not need. Regardless, there's something about Extermination's take on tower defence that felt distinct from anything else I've played.
(...)
The game has also come a long way since then too, well worth revisiting if you haven't checked it out for a while. Developer Offworld has added all manner of features including Helldivers 2-style airstrikes. The latest patch seemingly continues the trend of borrowing from Arrowhead, primarily adding a hulking, stompy mech for you to pilot.
Resident Evil Requiem patch adds photo mode, and apparently 'Character expressions in some cutscenes have been adjusted to better convey emotion'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/resident-evil/resident-evil-requiem-patch-adds-photo-mode-and-apparently-character-expressions-in-some-cutscenes-have-been-adjusted-to-better-convey-emotion/
Mass Effect Legendary Edition's photo mode was a constant temptation, pulling me away from dramatic moments to check how they'd look with vignetting turned off and maybe a filter. So I'm kind of glad I finished Resident Evil Requiem before its photo mode was patched in. Firing it up today, I lost a chunk of my morning to checking out all of Leon and Grace's poses and stickers and how they look kicking like a maniac.
(...)
Photo mode was added as part of a patch that also fixes some bugs, though the patch notes are incredibly vague. "Fixed a bug that caused progress to be impossible under certain conditions." OK, that's good, I guess. "Fixed a bug that caused the game to crash in some circumstances." I would love to know more? "Character expressions in some cutscenes have been adjusted to better convey emotion." I hadn't noticed a lack of expressiveness, but maybe I was too busy being freaked out myself to check if Grace looked properly afraid.
>> I think I only used Photo Mode in one game, and that was many, many years ago.
If you're sick of waiting for Ubisoft to make a new Splinter Cell, this newly announced indie stealth game might fill the Sam Fisher-shaped hole in your life
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/if-youre-sick-of-waiting-for-ubisoft-to-make-a-new-splinter-cell-this-newly-announced-indie-stealth-game-might-fill-the-sam-fisher-shaped-hole-in-your-life/
It's been nearly thirteen years since we last saw a Splinter Cell game, and there's little chance of another one appearing any time soon. A remake of the original Splinter Cell is supposedly in the works, but it's been in development long enough for its original director to leave the project, spend three years doing something else, and then come back.
But as ever, indie gaming aims to deliver where the mainstream fails to provide. Such is the case with Lizard State, a newly announced sneak 'em up that could only be more Splinter Cell if the protagonist had three glowing lights on his head.
I'm unsure how much of a detective game Artificial Detective will be, but I enjoyed the bit in the trailer when your character attacks a robot with a massive drill
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/im-unsure-how-much-of-a-detective-game-artificial-detective-will-be-but-i-enjoyed-the-bit-in-the-trailer-when-your-character-attacks-a-robot-with-a-massive-drill/
Move over, Nick Valentine, there's another synthetic sleuth in town. Revealed at this week's Xbox Partner Preview, Artificial Detective is a new action adventure game from neophyte studio Vivix, composed of former developers of games like Dead Space, Control, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
XCOM meets Rashomon in Vaunted, a tactical RPG where your characters can rewrite history from their perspective
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/xcom-meets-rashomon-in-vaunted-a-tactical-rpg-where-your-characters-can-rewrite-history-from-their-perspective/
I'm not sure I've entirely got my head around Vaunted, the latest game to emerge from the stable of Hooded Horse, PC gaming's hottest publisher. Revealed at last week's Xbox Partner Preview, Vaunted is a sci-fi tactical RPG where you control a motley crew of thieves and mercenaries forced to do the bidding of a criminal syndicate after an ambitious expedition goes horribly awry.
Altera is a hardcore, realistic, unforgiving military survival sandbox, so of course it features penguin soldiers with reflex sights on their heads
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/altera-is-a-hardcore-realistic-unforgiving-military-survival-sandbox-so-of-course-it-features-penguin-soldiers-with-reflex-sights-on-their-heads/
On the face of it, Altera looks like a typical military survival sandbox. It's a game about wandering through a massive, vaguely central European landscape in military camo, building a base, crafting useful items, and taking on missions from dead-eyed NPCs to shoot other dead-eyed NPCs in authentic ranged combat. It's basically DayZ without the zombies, PUBG without the competition, ArmA without the sensation that you're piloting your character like a mech.
In short, Altera couldn't be more down to Earth if it had fallen into the Kola superdeep borehole, which is of course why it features penguin soldiers. What's that? Your country doesn't have penguin soldiers? Well, we know who's going to be conquering who, don't we?
Star Wars Zero Company director has 'an axe to grind' with turn-based tactics, says fans don't have to settle for no story, crummy graphics, and clunky controls: 'Depth doesn't cost you elegance'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/star-wars-zero-company-director-has-an-axe-to-grind-with-turn-based-tactics-says-fans-dont-have-to-settle-for-no-story-crummy-graphics-and-clunky-controls-depth-doesnt-cost-you-elegance/
Does a tactics game need a story? Does it even need to look good? Greg Foertsch, creative director on the upcoming XCOM-like Star Wars: Zero Company, certainly thinks so. The former XCOM dev dove into his thoughts on the genre in a recent conversation with PC Gamer associate editor Ted Litchfield.
WoW to get an official pride event, based on a community run that's raised money for 12 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wow-to-get-an-official-pride-event-based-on-a-community-run-thats-raised-money-for-12-years/
World of Warcraft is getting its first official, proper pride event (via WoWhead)—and the neatest part? It's based on a community-run event that's been raising money for LGBT charities for years.
Disney Dreamlight Valley's next free update releases next month, and it'll add Pocahontas and yet another new realm to the Dream Castle
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/disney-dreamlight-valleys-next-free-update-releases-next-month-and-itll-add-pocahontas-and-yet-another-new-realm-to-the-dream-castle/
Disney Dreamlight Valley has announced that its next update, Whispers of the Wind, is set to roll out next month and will add another Dream Castle alongside a new character to unlock, Pocahontas. Unusually though, the new update wasn't revealed in a trailer like they traditionally have been. Instead, a post shared to the Disney Dreamlight Valley social media pages announced that Pocahontas will be added to the game on April 8, and not much else.
Pearl Abyss says to roll back your GPU driver if you're struggling to get Crimson Desert working on your ROG Xbox Ally X
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/pearl-abyss-says-to-roll-back-your-gpu-driver-if-youre-struggling-to-get-crimson-desert-working-on-your-rog-xbox-ally-x/
Crimson Desert is one of those games that seems to be able to wrangle together all kinds of disparate gamers to attempt to master the bizarre behemoth of a multi-tool RPG. So it's a little unfortunate that it has had far from perfect hardware support. We witnessed the game's lack of Intel Arc support ourselves, and now Pearl Abyss and Asus are saying ROG Xbox Ally X devices might need to roll back their drivers to launch the game.
