PC gaming news and reviews

The latest PC gaming news and reviews of gaming PC hardware, software and accessories.

Latest

Take a look at the 'Portal' prequel that never was
You're probably not going to see a Portal 3 in the near future (Valve seems to have an aversion to third installments), but you're about to get the next best thing: a look at the prequel that never shipped. LunchHouse Software has received permission to produce a documentary series that reveals F-Stop (aka Aperture Camera), a prequel to the Portal series that was cancelled in mid-development. The initial video only shows basic game mechanics, but those already speak volumes.
Jeep is showing off its first three plug-in hybrids at CES this week
This week, CES attendees can check out Jeep's first three plug-in hybrid models: the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, the Jeep Compass 4xe and the Jeep Renegade 4xe. All three are scheduled to debut in 2020, but they aren't quite ready yet, so Jeep is offering a VR-based test drive. The Jeep 4x4 Adventure VR Experience simulates a ride in the Jeep Wrangler 4xe on Hell's Revenge trail in Moab, Utah, and CES attendees can take it for a spin.
Smoke app brings the Steam store to your Apple Watch
If you can't bear to be away from Steam for a moment least you miss one of its famously great sales, then Smoke, a new app for the Apple Watch, has you covered.
'The Witcher 3' is now more popular on Steam than it was at launch
You'd think that a single player game over four years old would be long past its prime, but don't tell that to CD Projekt Red. The studio's community lead Marcin Momot has revealed that the PC version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt broke its record for the most number of concurrent players, with nearly 94,000 people playing on December 29th. Polygon noted that the number has climbed higher since, and that the game was eighth in Steam's top ten games by player count (a position that holds true as we write this). For context, Witcher 3 set its previous record all the way back at launch in May 2015, when 92,268 people fired up the action role-playing title.
The 10-year challenge: Video game edition
The 10-year challenge swept social media in January, with people posting images of themselves from 2009 and 2019, usually accompanied by a cute remark about things being the same yet totally different. It's a fun, heartwarming way to train machine learning algorithms in facial recognition.
2016 indie hit 'Hyper Light Drifter' is free in the Epic Games Store
The Epic Holiday Sale is still going, and today's daily free game is Hyper Light Drifter. The top-down action RPG was crowdfunded a few years ago before it was eventually released in 2016, and now you can try it out yourself for zero dollars. Hyper Light Drifter's 88 Metacritic score and list of awards won indicates it's at least worth your time among the slew of retro 2D games that fill digital store shelves. Plus, now is a great time to try it out before Heart Machine drops its next game, Solar Ash Kingdom, which features "wild high-speed traversal" and massive enemy encounters in a surreal world. Epic's free offer lasts through 11 AM ET on Saturday, although if you miss out or just prefer to fill your Steam library, it's available there for $10, 50 percent off the usual price, until January 2nd.
Teslasuit has a VR glove to go with its full-body haptic suit
For a fully immersive VR experience, one piece of equipment which still hasn't become widely available is a haptic glove which can provide tactile feedback to let users 'feel' virtual environments. Now, the company working on a full-body VR suit has announced a VR-powered glove, the Teslasuit Glove, which can detect movements of the wearer's hand and provide tacticle feedback.
'Dead Cells' update lets you play old versions of the game
If you're the sort of person who thought Dead Cells was better as a beta, then you can now get access to every major iteration of the title through Steam. The Legacy Update will let you roll back the title to any of the key variations, from its Early Access build through to the current edition.
2020 is VR's make-or-break year
In the nearly four years since the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive hit retail shelves, VR has gone from being the most exciting new computing medium around -- something that could be as transformational as the internet itself -- to a niche accessory for gamers with too much money. New headsets have come and gone, cheap mobile VR was briefly popular (before going extinct) and standalone virtual reality devices have finally arrived. It'd be wrong to say there's been no progress in the world of VR, but it still feels as if we're waiting for it to truly take off as a medium. Where's the killer app? Where's the affordable hardware that everyone can buy (that doesn't deliver a dumbed down experience)? How, exactly, will developers make money without releasing yet another zombie game? There's still so much left up in the air for a medium that arrived amid a torrent of hype. Looking ahead to 2020, though, there are signs that things could shape up. Valve's upcoming Half-Life: Alyx is exactly the sort of VR exclusive that could push gamers to pick up a headset. There's already an uproar among Half-Life fans about the game being available only in VR, with no way to play it on a traditional monitor. Clearly, Valve is leaving money on the table by doing that, but it's also a sign that it's dedicated to the new medium. And if it's a success, Half-Life: Alyx will also prove to other developers that it's worth taking a risk on VR.
Apple Arcade standout ‘Assemble With Care’ is coming to PC next year
Assemble With Care, one of our favorite Apple Arcade games, is making its way to PC. Developer UsTwo (Monument Valley) says it'll be available on Steam sometime in the first quarter of 2020.
Steam's Winter sale includes award-winning games 'Sekiro' and 'Disco Elysium'
Steam is, once again, poised to make a dent on your holiday budget. Valve's gaming platform has launched its Winter sale for the year, and it includes some of the most popular titles for 2019. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which won Game of the Year at the recent Game Awards, is now available for 35 percent less. You can also get detective RPG Disco Elysium, another Game Awards winner for several categories, for 20 percent less than its original price. The other notable titles on sale include Red Dead Redemption 2 (20 percent off) and Star Wards Jedi: Fallen Order (17 percent off) -- there are also a lot of older games on sale with much bigger discounts.
The best games for PC
So how do you categorize a beast like gaming on the PC? With decades of titles to pluck from (and the first port of call for most indie titles, too), there's so much to choose from.
Time Magazine is recreating the 'I Have a Dream' speech in VR
For many people, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington and the famous "I Have a Dream" speech exist as little more than photos and soundbites -- only the 200,000-plus people who were there can give you a sense of what it was really like. Time Magazine, however, hopes to recreate that experience as best it can. It's releasing a virtual reality museum experience, The March, that will recreate King and his speech in VR for the first time. The exhibit will use a mix of photogrammetry (taking measurements from photos), motion capture, AI and 3D rendering to give a sense of what it was like to see King speak in front of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th, 1963.
Green Day is in 'Beat Saber'
Beat Saber is going modern-retro with the addition of the Green Day Music Pack, on sale now for $9. The pack includes six songs: "American Idiot" "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" "Father of All..." "Fire, Ready, Aim" "Holiday" "Minority" Green Day participated in the reveal of the Beat Saber pack at The Game Awards with a live performance.
Build (and destroy) your own levels in ‘Angry Birds VR’
Angry Birds fans can get creative with their pig-destroying shenanigans, as Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs just received an update that adds a stage editor to the game. This is the first-ever level builder for the series, according to developer Resolution Games. Players can place blocks, planks of wood, explosives and pigs in an environment, setting up challenging structural puzzles or cathartic domino-effect demolitions.
Firefox makes it easier to send links between VR and desktop
Firefox is making it a little easier to bounce between VR and real life. In a new update for Reality, Firefox has introduced the ability to send videos and tabs straight to your VR headset from your phone or desktop, and vice versa -- you'll be able to send tabs straight to your phone or desktop to access as soon as you take your headset off.
Oculus is rolling out its expanded social VR features
Along with Quest hand tracking, one of Facebook's big announcements at Oculus Connect 6 in September was a batch of social VR features. You'll get to try them over the coming days, as Oculus is starting to roll them out.
'Angry Birds' turns 10 years old today
If you're already struggling with the idea of entering a whole new decade in a couple weeks' time, here's something that's going to make you feel even older: Angry Birds is 10 years old today. In kid terms, it's on the cusp of middle school and it's probably started answering back.
Co-operative horror shooter ‘GTFO’ hits Steam Early Access
After it was first announced three years ago, co-operative horror shooter GTFO is now available through Steam Early Access. If you haven't heard of this one before, it attempts to scratch the same itch as titles like Left 4 Dead, pitting you and three friends against hordes of monsters inside of an oppressive and dark underground facility. 10 Chambers Collective, a studio that includes several designers who worked on the Payday series, developed GTFO.
Oculus Link beta is ready to turn your Quest into a PC VR headset
At last, your Oculus Quest is ready to double as a PC VR headset. Oculus has released a Link beta that lets you use Rift titles on the Quest when you're physically connected to your PC. You'll want a long, "high quality" USB 3 cable (Oculus suggests 10 feet), and the system requirements are fairly stringent. The beta currently supports only most recent NVIDIA GPUs, and it's recommended that you have the same processor and RAM specs you'd need for a decent Oculus Rift or Rift S experience. GPU support should improve toward the end of the beta.

...