Lincoln Carpenter
Lincoln spent his formative years in World of Warcraft, and hopes to someday recover from the experience. Having earned a Creative Writing degree by convincing professors to accept his papers about Dwarf Fortress, he leverages that expertise in his most important work: judging a video game’s lore purely on the quality of its proper nouns. With writing at Waypoint and Fanbyte, Lincoln started freelancing for PC Gamer in Fall of 2021, and will take any excuse to insist that games are storytelling toolkits—whether we’re shaping those stories for ourselves, or sharing them with others. Or to gush about Monster Hunter.
Latest articles by Lincoln Carpenter
![A horde of horrors crash against the ramparts of a player-built fortress in Cataclismo.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xztcaDcBMivCrgkzBo6LfC-320-80.jpg)
Survival RTS Cataclismo added a sandbox mode, because sometimes we just want to make our silly little castles in peace
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News A magical day for merlon enthusiasts.
![A false-color image of Mercury generated from images taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft to enhance "chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up Mercury's surface."](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4fsuwhzKTLyD5m56K7gz6H-320-80.jpg)
Scientists think there's a 10-mile-thick layer of diamond beneath the surface of Mercury, which would make you around 876 billion Minecraft pickaxes if my math is right
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Finally, that gifted kid math class has paid off.
![A power-armored Fencer leaps over a mass of giant fire ants in Earth Defense Force 6](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DqjK6dgSmoZhwj7NXj9FQ9-320-80.jpg)
Earth Defense Force 6 gets review bombed on Steam over a surprise Epic account requirement when we should all be bombing giant bugs instead
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News The bug game? We're review bombing the big bug game? Are we sure?
![Varric looking serious in The Veilguard](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jZNJ4mARwYJmKfpJhcdtFi-320-80.jpg)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard will launch on Steam without the clutching, hateful tendrils of the EA app
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Perhaps there is a future worth hoping for.
![A Cybertruck in fortnite. It says "Cybertruck" on the side.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/p2n3JXKZ4e3jE8joFfC7LH-320-80.jpg)
Fortnite players declare the Cybertruck public enemy number one: 'You are now in a truce with everyone else in the lobby until they're taken down'
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News God hunt us all, if we do not hunt Cybertruck to its death.
![A screenshot of the listing of most-played games on the Epic Games Store, as of January 2024.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9xBT864XC3j5wcZRPgQapa-320-80.png)
What's free on the Epic Games Store right now?
By Morgan Park last updated
FREE STUFF Stay up to date on what games Epic is giving away each week.
![Celestials](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yTWeSDKgGX578rATqTK2yY-320-80.jpg)
Stormgate developers say they want to lower the RTS skill floor, not the skill ceiling: 'It's okay to be a high-skill game'
By Lincoln Carpenter published
Reforging War In a PC Gaming Show documentary, Frost Giant says it wants "all players, of all skill levels, to be able to enjoy what we love about the RTS genre."
![Helldivers 2 Discord header image - four Helldivers celebrating side by side on a large rock](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VvK79UXJVGgSN8YCEVyhxn-320-80.jpg)
Super Earth grants free mechs to all Helldivers 2 players in celebration of a last-minute Major Order victory
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Never tell me the odds.
![Close up of Messmer the Impaler holding a flame and looking sinister](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4jfPGvendh2wTvU54MZcBf-320-80.jpg)
An Elden Ring streamer killed Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss in one hit and only needed to juggle 5 consumables, 3 weapons, 4 helmets, and 5 talismans to do it
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Git gud (at juggling).
![baldur's gate 3](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7s7FUqviyDdzs4KNBnG5N3-320-80.jpg)
Baldur's Gate 3 dev says it's Larian's philosophy to 'fuel and reward' player creativity: 'They found a way to exploit the game, let them have it, it's awesome'
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Larian followed an "edge-case implementation checklist" to build a game you can beat after breaking it.
![The party led by a qunari](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uRv4Szf7zGx4yZ9uSAi3DC-320-80.jpg)
Your Dragon Age: The Veilguard character can be voiced by the guy who did all the Baldur's Gate 3 sex noises
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News No confirmation whether they also got the bear, though.
![Free Multiversus characters for the next two weeks](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/K56D2bwf4PYXr8sNMWxTi7-320-80.jpg)
Warner Bros acquires MultiVersus devs as it shifts focus to free-to-play
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Player First Games enters the Warner Bros. umbrella after three years on MultiVersus.
![Divinity: Original Sin 2](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/inbLf4eCkxXGwojKMNJQq4-320-80.jpg)
The best co-op games for PC
By Lauren Morton last updated
Updated! The best co-op PC games around whether you want a co-op campaign or a hang space for your group chat.
![It's a cybertruck in Fortnite.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ma6TYmq4q7seiLzYT6SkQP-320-80.jpg)
Epic's bringing the joy of mocking a passing Cybertruck to Fortnite
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News They know this season's called "Wrecked," right?
![Excalibur and Arthur clash swords in Warframe: 1999.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LGKXDtNr3cwsMGNsuxbrw4-320-80.jpg)
TennoCon's Warframe: 1999 demo reveals '90s instant messenger clients, motorcycle stunts, and an Infested space mutant boy band
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Alongside Y2K nostalgia, Warframe's next chapter brings its first romance system.
![Soulframe's customizable mom cradles the infant player character.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nXk46kbhdEFHV8avrDriTM-320-80.jpg)
Great news: Soulframe will have customizable moms
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News TennoCon 2024 reveals a motherly intro for Warframe's sister game
![In Throne and Liberty, an armored knight swings a sword at a real orc lookin' guy. Just a profoundly orcish dude.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5ntLo7wtcLcmm7wEAFYVwE-320-80.jpg)
The open beta for Throne and Liberty, Amazon's latest MMO import, is available now
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Beware: Here be cutscenes with sand worm.
![In Forestrike, the player sends an enemy thug flying with a heavy kick](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Q4Zad4nEebkKAKopzHAC3e-320-80.jpg)
Devolver announces Forestrike, a kung fu roguelike where you can plan your moves in advance
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Precognitive punching lets you master your brawls before they begin.
![Apex Legends Valkyrie abilities](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rz5K925j2qmQXThR2n5qAA-320-80.jpg)
Apex Legends suffers close to 30,000 negative Steam reviews in one week as the battle pass bombing campaign continues
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?
![A man prepares to swing a fire axe at a zombie in the 2011 reveal trailer for Dead Island.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vfrYw467BAGqQkCsncsW6S-320-80.jpg)
The VFX company behind that Dead Island reveal trailer we all obsessed over in 2011 is shutting down
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News Axis Studios produced cinematics for Bungie, Blizzard, Riot, and more.
![Acer Nitro XV271U 1440p monitor](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gjMahzQr7pfcmAe3eBEeqF-320-80.jpg)
I love my aging 1080p panels, but the $170 Prime Day deal on this 1440p, 180Hz monitor might mean it's time to say goodbye
By Lincoln Carpenter published
Prime Day By god, that's less than a dollar per Hz.
![Minecraft skins header - Anya Forger, Abigail, Venti](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Egqms6YdDBDVZUAivHvLha-320-80.jpeg)
The 31 best Minecraft skins to give your avatar a cool new look
By Lauren Morton last updated
Dress sense Check out the 31 best Minecraft skins based on video games, anime, and even a few memes.
![Key art for Sonic X Shadow Generations](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PLURZzs9ZRQNTgFUwtRtyD-320-80.jpg)
Iizuka says Shadow the Hedgehog wasn't inspired by Vegeta, but fans have receipts that say otherwise
By Lincoln Carpenter published
News I don't care if the scouter says otherwise, I know a Vegeta when I see one.