THE TOP STORY
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the PC Gamer Weekender
Saturday was my big chance to investigate the Weekender show floor. First up was Candleman: The Complete Journey. I’m a sucker for a pretty 3D platformer, so I spent a pleasing chunk of time igniting my little avatar sparingly to give bursts of visibility, looking for fellow candles to light and objects to interact with. Biomutant was also on the must-play list. I’ll admit that in retrospect this was because I’d conflated it with a different game, but I was surprised by my own competence with this curious action RPG. I set my furry avatar to be a hench pink and green monstrosity, then set about using my sword and gun to rampage through the world, exploiting an intimidating array of combos.
I also dropped by the Omen by HP Bootcamp section to see Marcus ‘Realzx’ Vining. I met him frequently when he was a professional Smite player. More recently he represented the UK at the Overwatch World Cup, hence offering words of wisdom to esports hopefuls as part of the Bootcamp. I found myself trying to strike that balance between learning useful things to help me play better and trying to remain ignorant of how bad my current playstyle is.
Real Farm was another game that caught my eye. I’m not usually one for simulator games, but apparently the appeal of hitching a big old plough to a vehicle was too strong to resist. You really do learn something new about yourself when you go to these events.
I set my furry avatar to be a hench pink and green monstrosity
After a disastrous start where I couldn’t work out how to use the plough and then accidentally ploughed part of the road, I managed to furrow that field like a total boss. Sort of. Look, I made enough ridges that the tutorial was happy with me, okay?
Thermal Paste facts
Sunday morning had a more relaxed vibe, as I wasn’t chugging game demos like they were red cups at a party (I have never been to a party), so I headed over to the PC Workshop to watch the basic PC building session. It was like watching a synchronized swimming display except with PC components (I have never been to a swimming pool). I particularly enjoyed the stern warnings about where thermal paste should and shouldn’t go.
Then it was time for my panel hosting duties. I had Cobalt WASD (2D Counter-Strike with grappling hooks) and Minecraft (which attracted every child in a creeper hoodie from miles around), plus a visitor from an adjacent stage—Matt Syrett—who used our screen for a talk on being a game artist for hire. Capping it all off was a live PC Gamer UK podcast recording where we just chatted about nice things which had happened. And adding permadeath to Football Manager. See you next year! Philippa Warr