INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As we say goodbye to this past year (and decade) of PC gaming, it’s time to take a look in the rearview mirror and reflect on what our
beloved platform has been through in 2019. It’s been a year refreshingly free of big controversies and studio closures, while
subscription services and streaming have begun offering intriguing new ways for us to play some of the best PC games ever made.Here are the
highs and lows of PC gaming in 2019.(Image credit: Shutterstock)The GPU drought is over In 2018, surging demand for cryptocurrency caused
investors to buy out GPUs on an unprecedented scale. Crypto-miners would buy multiple copies of the same GPU, before installing them in
gritty unloved rigs designed for the sole purpose of mining cryptocurrency (pretty much the PC hardware equivalent of a battery chicken
GPU stocks ran dry, prices skyrocketed, and PC gamers lost out.Thankfully, with the demand for crypto subsiding in 2019, we can once again
get the latest gaming hardware at sensible prices, and you’d hope that Nvidia and AMD will be better prepared should there be another GPU
sales spike in the future.(Image credit: Epic Games)Epic Game Store plays rough to attract gamersThe reception to Epic’s new game store
has been as tumultuous and unpredictable as recent general elections in the UK
People swing one way on it when it dishes out high-quality free games, then the other way when Epic poaches major titles initially slated
for a Steam launch right from under our noses.No one is arguing that a bit of competition for Steam is a bad thing, but beyond throwing bags
of money at developers Epic hasn’t added any features to make its platform a pleasing service to use. Store and search features are
threadbare, there’s no family sharing, or streaming, or any of the other features that make Steam the dominant force in PC gaming. It’s
not yet a platform that feels worthy of the big-name games it hosts, yet PC gamers are forced to settle for it if they want to play
them.(Image credit: Microsoft)Xbox Game Pass is exceptionalThis year, Ubisoft and Microsoft joined the fray of subscription-based PC gaming
services, following on from EA’s solid Origin Access offering that’s been around for a few years now
But of those two, Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass for PC has stolen the show with its bargain introductory subscription and games
collection.What makes Game Pass stand out is the element of pleasant surprise
Yes, you get Microsoft’s top first-party games, but also a wonderfully curated mix of indie and mainstream games from recent years. Top
games of 2019 like Metro: Exodus, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Outer Worlds are here, as well as indie hits like Hollow Knight,
Slay the Spire and Void Bastards.Xbox Game Pass has emerged from nowhere to become the best-value game subscription service on PC. (Image
credit: Google)Google Stadia not ready for the big-timeIt happened with Amazon before and now it looks like it’s happening to Google
You can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t understand the business of gaming then it’s not going to help you.Google
Stadia is a great concept, and perhaps it should have had more time in the oven before launching with a weak games catalog, confusing (and
not cheap) pricing, and performance issues
It’s an awkward, multilayered service that shows the streaming revolution isn’t ready yet
Or maybe that Google isn’t the company to lead it.Of course, it’s early days for the service, and there are more than likely better days
to come as Google finds its feet, But in its current half-baked state it just doesn’t justify the price tag.(Image credit: ZA/UM)Weird
alternative games find success2019 hasn’t seen the same splurge of big-name IPs and obligatory open-world RPGs we’re used to seeing
It’s been a strangely quiet year, but that’s allowed for more experimental games to step up and rank among the year’s finest.Dour
detective RPG Disco Elysium is arguably the best of them, while Outer Wilds proves that you don’t need an endless cosmos and huge budgets
to make a beautiful space exploration game
The most mainstream RPG out this year was Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, and even that retains a certain personal, low-key charm reflective
of its not-quite triple-A budget.Other notable titles in this year of refreshing oddities are the likes of Untitled Goose Game, Sunless
Skies and the inimitably weird Hypnospace Outlaw, which sees you doing detective work on a trippy 90s-style interwebs.(Image credit:
Blizzard)Loot boxes continue to plague PC gamingIn 2017, the EU and other governments around the world cracked down on loot boxes, with
EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II at the crux of the debate around the randomised bundles of in-game items that players (often children) spend
real-world money on. Belgium outright banned loot boxes, the Netherlands brought in heavy restrictions, while other countries - including
the UK - continue to debate whether it’s in fact a form of gambling.While the practice has died down in mainstream premium games since
then, a recent study by the University of York found that the presence of loot boxes continues to rise
In 2019, 71% of the 463 most played Steam games studied contained loot boxes, up from 4% back in 2010.They may not be garnering the
headlines like before, but loot boxes continue to be common practice in 2019, which leaves a lot of young people at the mercy of this
morally dubious monetisation system.(Image credit: oculus)Oculus Link makes the Quest a PC headset Virtual Reality is the most
technologically mind-blowing niche in gaming
Anyone who dons the headset comes away impressed, and yet uptake continues to remain fairly low.Enter the Oculus Quest, a deceptively
powerful headset that plays many of the best VR games using its internal hardware
The Quest recently received an ‘Oculus Link’ update that lets you use it to also play PC VR games using a USB 3.0 cable
The update is still in beta, but already makes the Quest work largely like a PC headset, making it the most versatile VR headset
around.Quest sales figures have been impressive, and in the last quarter were “nearly double the combined sales figures of the Oculus Rift
S and Oculus Go”, according to research company SuperData
The wireless Quest seems to be just what people have been waiting for, but its PC compatibility makes it hands-down the best value VR
proposition to date. (Image credit: Rockstar)Red Dead Redemption 2 launch problemsEasily the most anticipated game release making its way
over from consoles in 2019, Rockstar’s formidable western epic has been an absolute disaster on PC. From the time-limited exclusivity on
the Epic Game Store reminding us that PC is now an open corporate battleground over consumers, to a buggy launcher that’s prevented
countless people from playing the game, Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC is one of the worst triple-A game launches in recent memory.Yes, the
inherent diversity of hardware and software between different PCs is a major consideration developers don’t need to deal with on consoles,
but the shambolic launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 shows that PC still too often remains an afterthought for publishers.(Image credit: Valve
Corporation)Half-life: Alyx could be a watershed moment in VROK, so it may not quite be the unconditional Half-life 3 confirmation we’ve
all been meming about, but given that the development team is bigger than has worked on any previous Valve title, Half-life: Alyx is clearly
a game that the studio is taking seriously.It will be a fully VR game, and prequel to Half-life 2, casting you as freedom fighter Alyx Vance
as she tries to survive the streets of City 17, an eastern European city taken over by an intergalactic empire called the Combine
This is no tech demo either, but a full game that’s set to be longer than Half-life 2.While VR has been relying on semi-successful
conversions of games like Skyrim as its landmark titles until now, this is set to be among the first truly dedicated VR titles from a
It could be a watershed moment for VR, and the PC gets the privilege of hosting itwwDizyaS2fRMUpEpe827Ke.jpg?#
