The Community Spotlight 2024.05.18 - General Discussion - Giant Bomb (2024)

Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the biggest site-related news and best community creations from the previous week.

Dan certainly made the rounds last week! First, Dan was on AEW Games' All Elite Arcade podcast with Adam Cole and Evil Uno! If you enjoy wrestle talk mixed with gaming talk, this is a fun listen. Likewise, Dan waltzed into The MinnMax Show podcast while they were recording and the results were hilarious. Also, Kai Cenat dropped 50 gift subs on Dan's chat while he was streaming Elden Ring.

Also fun, it has been a whole year since Shawn McDowell aka @turboshawn joined the team! If you have not done so already, please, consider sending him your thanks and congratulations over on Twitter! Here's to another enjoyable year.

Do you want to hear a story that is bound to put a smile on your face? Over on Twitter, a Quan-Chi fan account found animated .gifs of Mike Minotti's Quan Chi cosplay. To say that they fell in love with Mike-Chi would be an understatement.

Finally, we have some pretty important news about the state of the on-site video player. Dylan has indicated that a major update is coming for the video player and the people in charge of this update are fairly confident about this update. While it is definitely frustrating to need to wait, Dylan did say they would let everyone know when this update happens.

Giant Bomb's NOT-E3 2024 Information

E3 is dead and buried, but that doesn't mean that Giant Bomb @ Nite is also dead. In fact, this year Giant Bomb may have the most ambitious GamingEventInJune plans it has ever had, which you can learn all about here!

• The Not-E3 2024 Time Zone Chart - Many thanks to @marino for once again making a handy timezone chart for all of the big conferences and streaming events during Not-E3 2024. The chart has been updated TODAY to include two more showcases!
• Giant Bomb @ Nite LIVE! - Right after Summer Game Fest on Sunday June 9th at 8 PM (PDT), Giant Bomb will be doing GB@Nite live in-person at The Bellwether in Los Angeles. Regular tickets are $40.
• Special Note For Premium Members! - For those of you with an active Premium Subscription, you have the option to get a "VIP Package." The benefits of this package include being guaranteed to sit in the first three rows, early entry into the theater, and being able to watch an exclusive Q&A panel. To get the details on how to nab this premium package, head on over to the Giant Bomb Discord and find the "Q-and-A-Questions" section of the Premium field

Tweets

Video

Shotgun Superfly - An Animated Giant Bomb Blight Club Series (S.3 Ep.2) (By: Pickle Giraffe)

Grubb has been making progress with John Romero's Daikatana and that means Pickel Guraffe had plenty of content to work with for a new edition of Giant Bomb Blight Club Animated! Did you want to see Grubb pogo using a gun? Well, this is the video for you!

Galleria

Grubbed Lied To The Cooperheads! (By: KONE)

The internet getting upset about Grubb quotes taken out of context continue to amuse me. The same cannot be said about Grubb. Knowingly this, Kone decided to have some fun with this work of Photoshop goodness.

Dark Echo (1989) dir. Tim Burton (By: @Pickle_Giraffe)

Man, Dark Echo was a classic pre-Avengers super hero movie. I remember dressing up as Dark Echo for two Halloweens in a row. He was that important to me as a kid and I am glad Pickle Giraffe agrees with me.

Mike's Excited About Mountain Zu (By: @turboshawn)

I have a sneaking suspicion that Mike and Shawn might be a little excited about the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail x Mountain Dew collaboration. The reason why I think that is because Shawn made this goofy artwork in response to the announcement.

Activity

My Friend Peppa Pig Is The 10th Game Of UUGPGC Year 3! Mark Spoilers. Finish By May 20+

Unsanctioned Unofficial Game Pass Game Club Voting Thread For Cycle Starting May 20 2024 (By: @bigsocrates)

My Friend Peppa Pig is the 10th game selected for the third season of the Giant Bomb Game Pass Game Club! Is this the "best" family-friendly game on Game Pass? What other kid's games do you feel are gems on Game Pass? Discuss HERE!

This round of voting for the next pick for the Giant Bomb Community Game Pass Game Club is ABSOLUTELY STACKED! Not only are No More Heroes III and Botany Manor nominees, but Little Kitty Big City and Chants of Sennaar are as well!

Blogs

What's the Greatest Video Game: Metroid 2 (By: @imunbeatable80)

Metroid II: Return of Samus is definitely one of the weirder entries in the Metroid franchise, but does it still hold up? That's the question imunbeatable80 tries to answer with the latest edition of their "What's the Greatest Video Game" feature. Do you have nay thoughts? Share in their blog if you do!

The Remastered Version Of PO'ed Costing $20 Is Proof We Have Strayed Too Far From The Light Of God +

All These Years Later I Don't Understand Why Killzone 2 Was So Beloved. And I Hate The DS3!(By: @bigsocrates)

Nightdive Studios released PO'ed: Definitive Edition! Is the $20 price tag too high? Do any of you out there have nostalgia for the original release of PO'ed? Is this the first clear sign of Atari's influence on Nightdive?

bigsocrates also decided to give Killzone 2 a shot and penned an essay questioning why the game was so beloved in the first place? Was it the graphics? The console wars at an all-time peak? Or reviewers tilt?

Thirsty Thirteen Plus One On A Second Tour Of The Underworld (By: @infantpipoc)

What if you attempted to make an anime adaptation of Hades and Hades II by Supergiant Games? Who would you cast to voice even the smallest roles? Well, those are the questions infantpipoc attempts to answer on their blog!

Anyway, Here's WonderSwan (Part Four) +

Indie Game of the Week 370: Tangle Tower (By: @mento)

Moderator Mento takes you through another WONDERFUL tour of the WonderSwan! If you know every little about this largely forgotten retro handheld, and its lovingly-made Final Fantasy port, give their latest blog a read!

Likewise, Mento has a new edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature and this one looks at the muder-mystery point-and-click adventure game, Tangle Tower!

All Saturn Games In Order: Mid-1996 Round-Up (By: @borgmaster)

If you think things are looking bleak for the Xbox these days, consider the Saturn's struggles in 1996! borgmaster reviews what might be the most depressing and dire year a video game console has ever endured!

Hi-Fi Rush, Tango, And the Cruelty of the Games Industry (By: @mooseymcman)

MooseyMcMan penned an essay/review on Hi-Fi Rush praising its colorful world, fluid mechanics, and diverse cast of characters and why the news this week absolutely breaks their heart. Give it a read and share your thoughts!

Discussion Threads

After Microsoft Shut Down Four Studios A Week Ago, Microsoft-owned Activision Starts A New Studio With AAA Ambitions (By: @zombiepie)

About a week after Microsoft closed down four studios, Microsoft's Activision announced the formation of a new studio in Poland with AAA game aspirations. What is going on with the Xbox division? Why all these mixed messages?

Should Run Based Games Allow RNG To Put You In A Literally Unwinnable Position? (By: @bigsocrates)

Using Balatro as a case study, bigsocrates opened up a discussion if all run-based games should have a winnable scenario or if that expectation is unreasonable with games and genres that have RNG. What do you think?

(By: @zombiepie)

Phoenix Labs announced a massive wave of layoffs and cancelled several game projects Have you enjoyed Dauntless and Fae Farms? Also, did you hear about a blockchain firm buying them a year back?

Did Anyone Play Shipwreckers! (By: @sombre)

Does anyone remember Shipwreckers! for the PS1? sombre isn't alone in saying they played a ton of the game when it was on a demo disc, but did anyone every get around to playing the full game? If so, drop a comment in this thread!

Lists

Roguelikes I Like (By: @megalowho)

The genre sometimes results in people rolling their eyes, but megalowho whipped up a list of their favorite roguelikes and as you can see, they like a little bit of everything! Do you have any favorite rougelikes?

The Platinum Melt-off Twenty Twenty-four (By: @infantpipoc)

infantpipoc originally was exploring how "Verified" Vanquish really is on the Steam Deck and that became a retrospective on the works of PlatinumGames’ output during the 2010s. Read what they think are the best titles from the studio during that decade.

Reviews

@pauljeremiah's Cuphead (PlayStation 4) review not only praises the game's art, but they also share why they loved playing the game and continue to view it as a triumph of level design.

Wiki Of The Week

John Romero

With how much of a blast Grubb is having with John Romero's Daikatana, why not have this week's Spotlight highlight the man, the myth, the legend: John Romero himself?!

Regardless, John Romero has had a long and storied career in the video game industry and our wiki page for him gets the job done in terms of communicating that point. If you notice any gaps, feel free to edit the page!