Here are the Thursday gaming news:
SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS
Split Fiction studio Hazelight celebrates selling 50 million games in under 10 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/split-fiction-studio-hazelight-celebrates-selling-50-million-games-in-under-10-years/
Hazelight Studios is known for making one kind of game—co-op action adventures—and for doing them really well: 2021's It Takes Two earned an 80% review score as "a brilliant co-op adventure with a wild amount of variety," while the 2025 follow-up Split Fiction upped the ante to 87% with "an incredibly inventive, rapid-fire co-op adventure that never breaks its stride."
It turns out they're selling pretty well, too: Hazelight said today on X that those two games, plus the 2018 co-op drama A Way Out, have now sold more than 50 million copies between them.
The Epic Store gives away two games:
Next week, the free game will be The Stone of Madness.
GOG has two new promos/sales:
Steam has four new deals and one sale:
Humble Bundle launches the Sovereign Sandox Bundle, with up to 8 games to get during 20 days : https://www.humblebundle.com/games/sovereign-sandbox-bundle
Fanatical has a new Star Deal and also a Bundle:
SOFTWARE & DRIVERS
-Nothing today-
MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS
Mario Party 4 Unofficial Native PC Port Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mario-party-4-unofficial-native-pc-port-released/
Mario fans, here is something for you today. An unofficial native PC version of Mario Party 4 has just been released. This is the first alpha release for this project. In other words, it will have lots and lots of bugs and issues. So, make sure to keep that in mind.
With that being said, I’m certain that some Mario fans will be intrigued to play it. If you are one of them, you can download it from here.
As always, this unofficial native PC port of Mario Party 4 does not contain any game assets. So, to play it, you’ll have to own and use the US version. Right now, the Rev 0 (USA) and Rev 1 (USA) ROM files are compatible with it.
Since this project does not have any game assets, it will be safe from Nintendo’s wrath. In other words, Nintendo won’t be able to shut it down.
>> The article has a roughly 10 minutes video.
First Look at Mortal Kombat Trilogy HD Fan Remake With Online Multiplayer Support
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-look-at-mortal-kombat-trilogy-hd-fan-remake-with-online-multiplayer-support/
Last month, we informed you about an upcoming HD remake of Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Developed by two passionate modders, this fan remake will also support online multiplayer play. And today, we get our first look at it.
As I’ve said before, this appears to be a MUGEN game that tries to replicate the gameplay of Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Moreover, the modders have used AI tools to enhance and overhaul the sprites of numerous kombatants.
The duo plans to overhaul all characters before releasing a beta to the public. Moreover, they plan to enhance at least some backgrounds (if not all of them).
As a big Mortal Kombat fan, I can’t wait to get my hands on it. This is exactly what I’d love to see from NetherRealm Studios. Now I know some will say that this looks like an AI slot. If you truly think so, stay away from it. For everyone else, this will be exactly what they have been asking all these years.
It’s also worth noting that the modders have nailed the gameplay and combat. This feels like Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Personally, I can’t spot any major combat or gameplay differences. Then again, I’m not a hardcore competitive MK Trilogy player. If you are one of them, you should obviously stick to the original MK Trilogy.
The only downside here is the sound effects. At the moment, they do not feel as good as those in the original version. So, here is hoping that the team will overhaul them once they have finished with the sprites and backgrounds. Still, the fact that this fan remake looks and plays as good as it does is a huge achievement.
There is currently no ETA for when Mortal Kombat Trilogy HD Fan Remake will come out. Naturally, though, I’ll be sure to keep you posted.
>> The article has 2 videos.
After years of 'extensive reverse engineering', you can play a janky Mirror's Edge prototype in all its glory
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/after-years-of-extensive-reverse-engineering-you-can-play-a-janky-mirrors-edge-prototype-in-all-its-glory/
There's nothing else quite like Mirror's Edge. Not even its only sequel, Catalyst, is quite like the first Mirror's Edge. Bold colours, slick parkour, and a cheesy story that's trying a tad too hard, Mirror's Edge has gone on to become a cult classic despite EA shoving it to the back of the store room.
But Mirror's Edge fans are dedicated to the cause, whether EA cares or not. And now, 18 years after the game's launch (yes, it really is that old), fans have got a prototype of the game working, a build dated to roughly nine months before launch.
In a 30-minute showcase shared to YouTube (picked up by Eurogamer), Mirror's Edge superfans 'softsoundd' and 'Hekigan' reveal an early PS3 build that was originally released in 2019 but was unable to be launched due to "technical issues".
"After extensive reverse engineering and hundreds of fixes, including repairing the broken EBOOT fSELF format, stubbing 306 corrupted functions, and resolving Unreal Engine package bugs, the build is finally playable," the techwhizz explains. It's worth noting that this build is currently only playable on a "custom RPCS3 build that makes unknown SPU STOP codes non-fatal and features increased memory limits," so not just any old PS3.
This restored early build gives us a rare glimpse into the early level design, cut content, and, most fun of all, a permanent alert that the 'lightning needs to be rebuilt'. The lighting is nowhere near as bright and bold as the final version, which you'll see in the side-by-side comparisons softsoundd included.
The movement mechanics are also tuned differently. The animations aren't quite so smooth, the dodge jumps give you more height, and bunnyhops don't maintain maximum speed—speedrunners beware. There's also a weird bug where turning right while crouching causes the camera to tilt as if Faith's stumbled.
Combat is also much more gruesome in this prototype, with Faith being able to counter pistol-wielding guards by breaking their arms with her legs. Oddly, enemies could also block Faith's melee attacks, which I can only assume was removed to speed up combat. And just to add some jank on top, there are no ragdolls in this build, so dead enemies awkwardly stand there staring at you. There are also some cut weapons, like a scoped revolver and a Mini Uzi.
>> The article has the mentioned 30 minutes video and several screenshots.
Crimson Desert female character creator mod lets you cook up your own gender-swapped Kliff, and there's a male version in the works
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/crimson-desert-female-character-creator-mod-lets-you-cook-up-your-own-gender-swapped-kliff-and-theres-a-male-version-in-the-works/
Say what you will about Crimson Desert protagonist Kliff, he is—by all accounts—present. Unfortunately, he isn't much else. Guy's got less personality than a tax office cubicle. Our man Kliff's so much of a blank slate that it's hard not to wonder whether Pearl Abyss might have been better off giving players the ability to make their own adventurer.
As is so often the case, a modder has provided where a developer hasn't. On Nexus Mods, modder Khione95 has released their Character Creator - Female mod for Crimson Desert, letting players replace Kliff with a heroine of their own making.
The mod lets players choose from a variety of hairstyles and face presets—amusingly presented as Beards in the UI—while adjusting "most" available armor sets to fit Ms. Kliff's modded feminine frame. As an initial release, it still has some wrinkles to smooth out: Khione95 notes that many of the face presets look "a bit off," as they're not adjusting the player character's facial geometry as intended. Your custom character will also still be using Kliff's default animations, too.
But if you're looking to recast Kliff, you now have the option. And if you'd rather your custom Kliff remain confined to his assigned gender, you're in luck: Khione95 intends to release a male version of the character creator mod soon. Future planned features include more customization options, as well as the ability to choose alternate races like orcs and goblins.
The mod does require the use of Ev3n5taR's Kliff Female Voice mod, which uses "a specialized AI model to process all of Kliff's original dialogue." Whether or not that constitutes an asterisk is up to your discretion. Personally, I think there's something charming about the idea of an adventuring heroine using the voice of a gravelly Scotsman. Maybe a witch did it? I don't know. Play in the space.
If you're looking for a different sort of character customization, Khione95 has previously uploaded the Taller Kliff mod, which lets you play as Kliff, but bigger. When mods have already provided such wild possibilities in so short a time, who knows what other wonders may follow?
>> There’s only one screenshot in the article.
Project Zomboid identifies and bans over a dozen Steam Workshop mods containing 'heavily obfuscated code' that was 'creating malicious files'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/project-zomboid-identifies-and-bans-over-a-dozen-steam-workshop-mods-containing-heavily-obfuscated-code-that-was-creating-malicious-files/
If you're a player of one of the best survival games ever made, Project Zomboid, I've got an important news alert for you. Check the list below to see if you downloaded and installed any of the 14 Steam Workshop mods developer The Indie Stone says contain "heavily obfuscated code" that was "creating malicious files outside of the Project Zomboid directory."
In a post on Steam, the developer says multiple players began reporting yesterday that a mod in the Steam Workshop was "allegedly generating malicious code when run." The Indie Stone investigated the mod and confirmed player reports. Then they found more.
"Further investigation revealed that the same user had uploaded a total of 14 mods, all containing the same exploit," the developer said. "These mods had been installed on between 500 and 2200 devices. The user has since been banned, and all affected mods have been removed from the Steam Workshop."
The exploit only affected Build 42 branches of Project Zomboid (the game's current 'unstable' testing release), so if you're on Build 41, you were "not vulnerable to this specific issue," the dev said. While The Indie Stone hasn't determined what the malicious files were actually doing, "we strongly recommend that anyone who downloaded them take appropriate security measures to ensure their system is safe. Simply uninstalling the mods is not sufficient."
If you use mods in Project Zomboid, check them against the list below to determine if you've downloaded and run any of these mods, which all look to be sound or music-related.
*** Here goes the list of 14 mods ***
GAMING NEWS
Death Stranding 2 Update 1.3 Released – Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/death-stranding-2-update-1-3-released-full-patch-notes/
Nixxes has just released Title Update 1.3 for the PC version of Death Stranding 2 and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.
Currently Online 
