PC Gamer (US Edition)

ROBERT JONES Twitter @rnicholasj This month Slew demonic hordes within the walls of PC Gamer Towers. Oh, and also played Diablo IV. Arguably, Diablo as a series lost its edge in its third incarnation. Yes, the elite loot cycle that propelled us through the previous two titles was there still, but the lighter art style, tone and atmosphere felt as if Blizzard had lost its faith in what made Diablo a PC gaming mega hit. Diablo IV, though, sees Blizzard not just return to the series’ roots tonally, but also delivers a radical expansion to what Diablo offers as a game. We’ve played it, got exclusive dev access, and you can read why we’re worshipping at the altar of Diablo once more on page 30. TALK TO PC GAMER Have your say! Email us at letters@pcgamer.com The PC Gamer…

After weeks of teasing Valve has announced Counter-Strike 2, the newest iteration of what some consider the greatest and most popular competitive FPS in history. Yes, it’s technically not the second Counter-Strike game, but the number feels like a statement of intent: this is the foundation for the next decade of Counter-Strike players and the esports scene). And on first sight you may well wonder what the big deal is. Valve says, “Counter-Strike 2 is an overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the CS experience,” but it looks, and plays, an awful lot like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The big changes are technological, with the most eye-catching being the new smoke grenades: the billowing smoke they create now reacts to things like bullets and grenades. Once…

No longer must those of us who love FromSoftware’s build-your-own-mecha series languish in purgatory, stuck playing the last Armored Core’s merely OK (and now decade-old) multiplayer on modded PlayStation 3s. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is blazing its way onto PC. If you’ve been a dedicated PC player for your whole life and the whole ‘mecha anime’ thing passed you by in the ’90s and ’00s, the hype from fans of FromSoftware probably seems odd. What you need to understand is that there are other games with mechs, but they are not Armored Core. In the same way that Elden Ring is an all-encompassing experience, Armored Core has long striven for that same ideal with giant robots. This sequel is a promise to fans that’s been decades in the making. WAR…

Dragonbaby is a localization company based in Osaka, Japan, which was co-founded by Jeremy Blaustein and Sam Burton. If you recognize Blaustein’s name, it may be from his freelance work on games including Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill. Burton has been translating for all his working life. “I’m probably more of an exception than the rule,” Burton says, explaining that he’s been in localization since graduating from the University of Manchester in 2015. This was because his first role, with a large localization company in London, was “very low paid, very long commute. But they accepted people with no experience”. Today, he’s head of localization. “I also think that I’m an exception,” says Blaustein, “but then again, I come from two generations earlier than Sam. I studied Japanese and I didn’t…

For nearly a decade, developer Airship Syndicate has felt like it’s building up to something. Formed out of the ashes of THQ and Vigil Games—the creators of the Darksiders series—it’s been quietly releasing very good games ever since, such as Darksiders Genesis and Ruined King. Its projects have been modest, but full of whip-smart RPG mechanics and progression systems, each feeling like a testing ground for bigger ideas. Wayfinder feels like the culmination of that work. The game is an MMO action-RPG—it’s published by Digital Extremes, and that’s appropriate, because really if you think of this as Warframe’s structure combined with the style and combat of Darksiders, you won’t be far off. Brought to life by Joe Madureira’s distinctive chunky, colorful art style, it’s an immediately pleasing fantasy world to escape…

When you get right down to it, is there really any difference between Warhammer 40,000 and Doom? Permanently angry space marines, giant guns, sci-fi installations being invaded by demons from literal Hell… basically all the same, innit? Really, it’s a wonder no one’s made a Warhammer boomer shooter before now. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun keeps things gloriously simple. After a charmingly unsettling opening cutscene, the preview build just drops me on a planet full of Chaos cultists with a chainsword and a dream, and tells me to have at it. Immediately I’m racing around the map sending up pixelated sprays of blood, finding guns that would be banned under the Geneva Conventions, and slotting comically large keys into control panels to open doors to places full of even more enemies. It’s an absolute…