Just like in the movies, a bunch of calendar pages have abruptly flown off our desks to reveal that yet another week has passed. Here are the biggest stories in PC gaming this week, from the good to the bad to the very, very ugly:
• Multiple men in the games industry accused of sexual abuse or assault (opens in new tab)
Several people have come forward this week with accusations of sexual assault and abuse perpetrated by men in the games industry. These accounts all involve men in positions of power and influence preying on the vulnerable. There's no doubt this story will be ongoing and we'll be covering it further throughout the year.
• Control makes the best use of ray tracing we've seen so far
Control is quite good, sayeth James. It also does good things with ray tracing, according to Jarred, who put together quite a comprehensive presentation on Controls various ray tracing effects and options. Can your PC handle it, though? Again, look to Jarred for guidance.
• Borderlands 3 will bring back True Vault Hunter and add a new Mayhem endgame mode (opens in new tab)
Gearbox confirmed the return of True Vault Hunter for Borderlands 3 at PAX West today. In Borderlands 2, True Vault Hunter was unlocked once the campaign was completed, and served as an extra challenge with tougher and more numerous enemies, plus increased loot and XP. There will also be a new Mayhem Mode that randomizes post-campaign gameplay.
• World of Warcraft Classic has long lines by design (opens in new tab)
You may have noticed WoW Classic arrived this week, attracting swarms of nostalgic players who first had to wait in queues to get onto a server, and then formed orderly lines lines in the game itself to kill bosses. I guess it's a hit. Game director Ion Hazzikostas said the traffic jam was basically intended, because it's better to have too few servers than too many. Still, Blizzard is trying to make more room (opens in new tab) for all of you.
• Cyberpunk won't have male and female character creation choices, just 'body types' (opens in new tab)
This is probably just a matter of CD Projeckt changing a few words in a menu, but it's still a net good. Rather than picking between bodies labeled male and female, you'll just choose between two body types and assign whichever voice type you prefer. It's a small step toward providing a more inclusive experience for players.
We also got a 15-minute gameplay demonstration this week and a few more details (opens in new tab) on customization and combat from a developer Q&A.
• Fortnite and Borderlands, together at last (opens in new tab)
Ah, wormholes. Always opening up and connecting one thing to another thing. The latest rift in Fortnite sucked a chunk of Pandora out of Borderlands and added a bunch of Borderlands-themed challenges and cosmetics. You can even buy Claptrap (opens in new tab), if that's your thing. It's not my thing.
• You can ride Minecraft's bees
Bees arrived in Minecraft last week, and some clever modder created a datapack that lets you can sadddle 'em and ride 'em. Who wouldn't want to ride a big friendly square bee? That's my thing.
• Gearbox announces Homeworld 3 at PAX West (opens in new tab)
It's being developed by Blackbird Interactive, the studio behind Homeworld prequel Deserts of Kharak.
More news
- Yakuza 7 is replacing beat 'em up action with turn-based combat (opens in new tab)
- Blatant Warcraft ripoff goes offline after Blizzard files a lawsuit (opens in new tab)
- Some madman has already hit level 60 in World of Warcraft Classic (opens in new tab)
- Valve will fight European Commission's anti-competition ruling against Steam (opens in new tab)
- Control has a deeply weird cameo from a famous game developer (opens in new tab)
- Hunt: Showdown has officially launched out of Early Access (opens in new tab)
- A modder is remastering Red Dead Redemption on PC (opens in new tab)
- YouTuber ProJared denies soliciting nude photos from minors (opens in new tab)
- The International 2019 was Twitch's most-watched Dota 2 event ever (opens in new tab)
- Six CS:GO players arrested for alleged match-fixing in Australia (opens in new tab)
- Metro 2033 film announced, will premiere in 2022 (opens in new tab)
Tweet of the week
Because @SamuelWRoberts left PCG without writing Blacksad preview captions, I had to improvise. pic.twitter.com/PElhxRfpjvAugust 29, 2019
As you may know, Samuel Roberts left the PC Gamer family recently to become head of content for MCM Comic Con (opens in new tab), because he apparently likes comic books more than he likes us. Sniffle. While we miss him we also couldn't help noticing he didn't quite finish his work before he ditched us. Phil made the most of it.
Around the office
Well, Steven's been busy in WoW Classic most of the week, where he's been reconnecting with old friends (opens in new tab). I suspect lots of WoW players are doing the same.
James, in addition to Control (opens in new tab), reviewed co-op horror game Man of Medan (opens in new tab), and liked it, though when he teamed up with Joanna they had slightly different reactions to an encounter with leeches. James was grossed out but Joanna just laughed. Joanna laughed a lot.
Tyler isn't just playing games, he's streaming them using Discord, and having tested it myself I have to agree with im: Discord's 'Go Live' streaming feature is startlingly great (opens in new tab). It's just so quick and easy and the best way to show friends what you're playing and talk to them while you're doing it.
As for me (I'm Chris, hello), I fell hard into Plunge, a fast and fun turn-based roguelite (opens in new tab) with some devilishly great art and animation. I also feasted my eyes on Vane, an eerily beautiful and surreal adventure (opens in new tab) which unfortunately suffers from some control and camera issues.
We also posted our yearly Top 100 list (opens in new tab) this week, so prepare to agree with our tastes exactly and have no conflicting opinions.
Have a great weekend. Play some games. Ride a bee. Laugh at a leech.
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