Thursday gaming news, part two:
Metro 2039 devs say the ongoing war in Ukraine has changed how they write morality: 'The franchise's very nature is getting too close to reality'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/metro-2039-devs-say-the-ongoing-war-in-ukraine-has-changed-how-they-write-morality-the-franchises-very-nature-is-getting-too-close-to-reality/
The Metro series has its roots in war-scarred post-apocalyptia, as such, it grapples with a lot of themes: The indescribable cost of nuclear war, the grim, complicated grey at the heart of humanity, and the cost of human life in a world no longer built to support it.
Which, to those developers who founded the studio in Ukraine and have been under similar duress as their contemporaries at GSC, has become all too real of a prospect. The studio even tragically lost one of its animators, Andrii 'Nizrok' Korzinkin, who fought and died in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Speaking to Eurogamer's Dom Peppiatt in an interview concerning the studio's latest game Metro 2039, executive producer Jon Bloch tells the site: "The previous games were about preventing war; the themes and the morals and all that supported this idea that revolved around 'how do we as humans stop the cycle that we keep finding ourselves in'.
God help us, they overclocked Mega Man
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/god-help-us-they-overclocked-mega-man/
Even if Mega Man's been out of Capcom's spotlight for a few years now, there's still been something refreshingly reliable about his presence. Sure, he might get a leaf shield or a throwing saw sometimes depending on which of his machine-kin he's forced to cull, but by and large, his capabilities are easy to wrap your hand around: He has an arm cannon, and you can charge it. It's predictable. It's safe. It's comfortable.
So what the hell is that?
***there’s a screenshot here in the article***
During last night's Gamescom Opening Night Live, Capcom released its first glimpse of gameplay for Mega Man: Dual Override, the first entry in the classic Mega Man lineup since 2018. And it's with the appropriate gravity that I'm forced to report: They've gone and overclocked Mega Man.
HoYoverse's Nodusfall is free to play but isn't a typical gacha game: 'Characters are not obtained through random draws'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/hoyoverses-nodusfall-is-free-to-play-but-isnt-a-typical-gacha-game-characters-are-not-obtained-through-random-draws/
If you watched the Nodusfall trailer during Gamescom's Opening Night Live and, like me, thought the combo of Elden Ring's aesthetic and Monster Hunter's fights sounded awesome, but were worried about selling your soul to the god of gacha, fret not!
Nodusfall isn't just a visual departure for HoYoverse, swapping the vibrant anime aesthetic for something gloomier, it also represents a (partial) change in business model.
Poppy Playtime studio reveals its next survival horror game, and this time it's co-op
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/poppy-playtime-studio-reveals-its-next-survival-horror-game-and-this-time-its-co-op/
As a former employee of Playtime Co., you've explored the depths of its horrifying toy factory and met many of its inhabitants, including Huggy Wuggy, who just wants to hug you (to death).
Today Mob Entertainment, makers of Poppy Playtime, have announced a new game, and it's sending you back to that haunted toy factory once more—but this time you can bring some friends along. Escape from Playtime is a co-op horror game for 1-4 players and it's coming to early access on Steam. Here's the announcement trailer.
Total War: Warhammer 40k will let you stuff your 'almost dead' Space Marine characters into Dreadnoughts so they can keep fighting
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/total-war-warhammer-40k-will-let-you-stuff-your-almost-dead-space-marine-characters-into-dreadnoughts-so-they-can-keep-fighting/
The Total War: Warhammer 40k Gamescom demo is underway, with lots of players getting their hands on the upcoming grimdark strategy game for the first time. Total War's content creators have been giving their impressions, but Creative Assembly also snuck in a new Alpha Strike livestream, and this is one of the biggest information drops we've gotten yet.
Crimson Desert will be slowing down its free updates in preparation for its paid DLC, and I'm just glad Pearl Abyss is finally pacing itself
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/crimson-desert-will-be-slowing-down-its-free-updates-in-preparation-for-its-paid-dlc-and-im-just-glad-pearl-abyss-is-finally-pacing-itself/
You've got to give Crimson Desert kudos—it's been getting hit with free update after free update, including, most recently, an overhaul to the game's story. But that'll be slowing down in coming months, as Pearl Abyss gears up to release the game's first major paid piece of DLC content.
Konami is aiming for a new Silent Hill game every year with producer Motoi Okamoto trying to quell fears by promising fans that they 'will be able to provide positive kinds of surprises'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/konami-is-aiming-for-a-new-silent-hill-game-every-year-with-producer-motoi-okamoto-trying-to-quell-fears-by-promising-fans-that-they-will-be-able-to-provide-positive-kinds-of-surprises/
Too much of a good thing, believe it or not, can be bad, even when that thing is Silent Hill. Especially when faced with the prospect of a new game every year, though franchise producer Motoi Okamoto has tried to reassure us that it's totally a good thing.
"Our aim is to, hopefully, have an annual release of new games," Okamoto says in an interview with GamesRadar at Gamescom 2026. "We would like to let players know that we have more experiences coming up, and many types of games that, we believe, will be able to provide positive kinds of surprises for players waiting for this for the series."
