Rick Lane

Contributor

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.

Latest articles by Rick Lane

Mark Darrah in front of a Factorio backdrop
Mark Darrah, co-director of Dragon Age: Origins, has played Riven for 3 minutes and Factorio for 832 hours: 'If you want to know what kind of programmer someone would be, have them play Factorio'

By Rick Lane Published

Origin story The BioWare veteran guides us through the games on his PC.

Origin story
An image showing Hideo Kojima, key art for Physint, and the Xbox logo
Hideo Kojima says he was 'shocked' after Sony cut ties with Physint over a Zoom call: 'Nothing could’ve prepared me for their decision to step away from the project'

By Rick Lane Published

News My first thought was, "What am I going to do with my studio?"

News
Through a sniper's scope, the player views two women staring at each other through binoculars at point-blank range.
I urge you to check out this hidden object game where you play as the world's most helpful sniper

By Rick Lane Published

News Sniper Dan does whatever a sniper can.

News
The player character inspects her pistol as she approaches a checkpoint inside Tokyo Walled City.
Tokyo Walled City looks set to fill the Deus Ex-shaped hole in my life

By Rick Lane Published

News I am definitely asking for this.

News
Sex Vixens from Space
I played the adventure game so scandalous that it was physically destroyed by UK customs

By Rick Lane Published

Rare sexports What vile debauchery could lie within Sex Vixens from Space?

12 Comments
Rare sexports
A zombie rounds a corner in Thief: The Dark project, projecting a shadow across the ground.
This unofficial engine patch for Thief: The Dark Project adds a huge new feature that won't be in Nightdive's upcoming remaster

By Rick Lane Published

News NewDark 1.29 lets Garrett hide in shadows created by doors and guards spot the master' thief's silhouette.

News
Ciri smiling in the Witcher 4 tech demo.
CD Projekt says abandoning its in-house engine for The Witcher 4 had nothing to do with Cyberpunk 2077's technical woes: 'The dream of the company was actually never to make technology'

By Rick Lane Published

News "The issue with Cyberpunk was not really REDengine itself."

16 Comments
News
A Dune character in hood and mask
Dune Awakening now has a solo mode for players put off by its MMO leanings, while Funcom has adjusted progression so 'you don't have to lose things anymore'

By Rick Lane Published

News Friction? Who needs it?

News
Inzoi - Three Zois stand together talking outside a house
Inzoi's director says he is 'very much focused on our core goals' as he announces a multiplayer roleplaying mode designed to be like Ready Player One

By Rick Lane Published

News "The main goal of Canvastown is to get away from mundane daily life."

News
Ashly Burch in front of a Slay the Spire backdrop
Ashly Burch, voice of Horizon's Aloy and star of Mythic Quest, is currently obsessed with Slay the Spire 2 and thinks videogames have too many stoic characters: 'I want more sh*tty little b*tches'

By Rick Lane Published

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? The actress behind Tiny Tina and Life is Strange's Chloe guides us through the games on her Steam Deck.

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?
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Upcoming vampire RPG Nighthawks has been removed from Steam search and delisted in certain countries as Valve classifies it Adults Only: 'It's very bad news for us'

By Rick Lane Published

News The label "immediately makes the game persona non grata in several important countries like Germany".

28 Comments
News
A glittering Mirror's Edge-style skyline, as seen in Amnesia: The Bunker mod Bunker's Edge.
This remarkable mod transforms the most frightening horror game of the decade into Mirror's Edge

By Rick Lane Published

News Have faith in Bunker's Edge.

News
Geralt's silver chain, partially wrapped around his arm, lashes out at a trio of undead enemies as they approach him on a gloomy night.
CD Projekt wanted to put a chain weapon in The Witcher 3 years ago, but it's taken until Songs of the Past because it was 'impossible to do at the time'

By Rick Lane Published

News "A few things had to click together."

7 Comments
News
Wardogs
Wardogs sold over 1 million copies in its first 24 hours, making its launch a bright spot in an otherwise tough year for multiplayer shooters

By Rick Lane Published

News Hard cash.

News
A cute mouse wearing a red sash stands on a short jetty at the edge of a pond.
Polyarc, developer of the excellent VR platforming series Moss, is shutting down after 12 years: 'We are saying our farewells to each other'

By Rick Lane Published

News "Our work is now finished."

7 Comments
News
The player character punches a guard right in the kisser in Deficit, as other guards approach and sentry drones fly overhead.
Blending Deus Ex with Escape from Butcher Bay, Deficit is one of the best-feeling indie immersive sims I've played—even if the stealth system needs serious work

By Rick Lane Published

News Playing the demo for Deficit was far from a net loss.

News
A man with stuff plugged into his head
Here's 10 more minutes of the most interesting game shown at this year's Opening Night Live

By Rick Lane Published

News Rat's entertainment.

News
Civilization 7 screenshot
Civilization 7 will finally enter the atomic age in 2027, via a free update Firaxis says will be 'even bigger in scope' than last year's Test of Time

By Rick Lane Published

News First expansion "Earthrise" also announced.

News
A screenshot showing a tumbler puzzle, above which is a representation of a guard running to catch a burglar attempting to open a locked vault door.
This free lockpicking puzzler you can play in your browser is unexpectedly one of the most thrilling games I've encountered this year

By Rick Lane Published

News Lockpicks-11 is a fiendish delight.

News
GTA 6 character Brian Heder
Grand Theft Auto 6's controversial refuelling action reportedly takes about 10 seconds to perform, which Rockstar's co-studio head says is 'pretty fast for a fill-up'

By Rick Lane Published

News "You can't complain about that".

45 Comments
News
Nick shines the flashlight attached to his rifle toward the camera in Left 4 Dead 2.
Left 4 Dead 2 writer says Valve intentionally 'leaked' its cinematic trailer to get around ESRB rules: 'I think we can't get trouble for that now'

By Rick Lane Published

News Chet Faliszek says the ESRB "wouldn't let" Valve release the trailer.

News
Doom: The Dark Ages best weapons - Slayer
Former id Software producer says the team faced the 'worst crunch' in the series' history on Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations: 'There were days where I didn't see my son'

By Rick Lane Published

News "There were two months where I was working something like at least 12 hours every day."

18 Comments
News
Fable reboot
Fable's story will be '15-20 hours' long, according to its game director, although the game's life systems are 'limitless'

By Rick Lane Published

News "You can literally play it forever if that's what you want to do."

23 Comments
News
The player character fights a centaur in The Battle of Olympus.
A 38-year-old NES platformer is getting a Steam remake by its original husband-and-wife team, as the pair's 'final major game product'

By Rick Lane Published

News The Battle of Olympus will arrive on Steam in 2027.

7 Comments
News
Half-Life: Alyx G-Man
The Steam 'teraleak' extends far beyond Valve games, including prototypes of third-party titles like Mafia 2 and Grand Theft Auto 3: 'This may be one of if not the biggest leaks to occur'

By Rick Lane Published

News Hundreds of Steam file groups were included in the leak relating to game builds, trailers, soundtracks and more.

12 Comments
News
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