The Community Spotlight 2025.05.24

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 site-related news and best community creations from the week.After publishing last week's Spotlight, I had a slight fear that activities with the community and site would dip back to where they were before Giant Bomb went independent, but am happy to report that things are almost as busy as they were last week!First, let's talk about customer support and technical issues with the site. You can report any and all problems you have with the site itself and its usability to support@giantbomb.com. If you have merchandise issues or problems with your premium subscription, consider pinging Rorie (mrorie) on the "site-tech-issues" channel on the Giant Bomb Discord. He's currently helping the staff in those two areas for a bit. You can also consider creating a thread on the Bug Reporting board with any new issues but consider @-ing @chucktowski in your post to get a response. Also, don't forget to check out the Giant Bomb FAQ to see if your problem or issue hasn't already been addressed. If it hasn't please consider dropping a reply and I'll see if I can't get a response soon.Detanglement between Giant Bomb and Fandom is progressing and the staff would like to thank everyone who offered their time to help in that process. Luckily, Will Carle, the former director of website engineering of CBSi who led multiple site revisions of Giant Bomb and its backend, has agreed to consult and assist with getting the site fully independent.Next, it has been confirmed that the Giant Bomb Staff will be attending Summer Game Fest this year. A lot of work is still being done with Giant Bomb's streaming and recording setup and this will require patience the next couple weeks. Details will be announced soon™.Nonetheless, here's a handy streaming schedule Marino made of the confirmed conferences at this point. This is NOT a final list of events. @marino will provide updates on his Bluesky.To repeat a point from last week, if you are excited about Giant Bomb's next steps towards full independence, don't forget about the new ways you can go about supporting the site and staff. That includes:Giant Bomb Premium Subscriptions ($9.99/month or $99.99/annual)Tip Giant Bomb on Ko-Fi (one-time only or monthly)Subscribe on Twitch here! (ad-free viewing + emotes)Giant Bomb's YouTube channel (send Super Chats once they are enabled)Finally, the Giant Bomb staff were incredibly busy guesting on other podcasts and livestreams in hopes of getting more buzz and community engagement with Giant Bomb! Here are some of the highlights I was about to track down, but there's a chance I may have missed something so feel free to share in the comments if you know of something involving the staff that my radar did not pick up.Axe of the Blood God - An RPG Podcast - Featuring Guest Mike MinottiAsking Dan Ryckert Everything About Giant Bomb’s Independence - MinnMax InterviewBetter Offline Podcast - Saving Games Journalism With Giant Bomb featuring Jeff Grubb, Jeff Bakalar, and Dan RyckertThe VGBees Podcast Episode 51 – Randy’s Looking Over Your Shoulder w/ Dan RyckertArtGiant Bomb Blight Club Skull Shirt Design + Giant Bomb University (By: TompTomp)TompTomp on Bluesky is a bit of a new entrant to making Giant Bomb themed artwork and memorabilia, but the two things they made this week are definitely cool! First, they made a Blight Club t-shirt design that even got Mike excited. Additionally, they imagined Giant Bomb as a university with a handful of cool logos. Just try not to imagine Dan as a professor of any subject.Tit Rascal's Troubles in Time (By: @manburger)Manburger has thrown their hat into the STACKED field of Giant Bomb members that make fan art and they started off by having a go at this nightmarish work based on Mike, Dan, and Rascal! Welcome To Flavortown With Mike Minotti (By: @kone)Here we have another Kone abomination/artwork but this time imagining a decked out Mike Minotti hanging out with his culinary best bud, Guy Fieri! Minotti Rascal x Doctor Manhattan (By: @mleelunsford)As requested by Giant Bomb and even Mike himself, MLeeLunsford imagined a Rascalized Mike Minotti alone like Doctor Manhattan from The Watchmen. I think it perfectly captures how dejected Mike was when he realized his saving mistake. GAME OVER (By: eviemae)Once again, this Blight Club with Rascal is delivering the goods with more highly creative works of art and photoshop! Here we have eviemae from bsky imagining Mike fused into Rascal's Game Over screen. Mike Meets Violent J (By: SrirachaChili)How serious are the Giant Bomb staff about attending the Gathering of the Juggalos? Only time will tell. Grubb's Game Mess (By: NickToilet)Also on Bluesky, NickToilet decided to have a go at making a fun work of art picturing Jeff Grubb neck deep in an actual game mess! Also, they posted a fun timelapse of themselves making this work. Mike Versus

May 25, 2025 - 03:50

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 site-related news and best community creations from the week.

After publishing last week's Spotlight, I had a slight fear that activities with the community and site would dip back to where they were before Giant Bomb went independent, but am happy to report that things are almost as busy as they were last week!

First, let's talk about customer support and technical issues with the site. You can report any and all problems you have with the site itself and its usability to support@giantbomb.com. If you have merchandise issues or problems with your premium subscription, consider pinging Rorie (mrorie) on the "site-tech-issues" channel on the Giant Bomb Discord. He's currently helping the staff in those two areas for a bit. You can also consider creating a thread on the Bug Reporting board with any new issues but consider @-ing @chucktowski in your post to get a response. Also, don't forget to check out the Giant Bomb FAQ to see if your problem or issue hasn't already been addressed. If it hasn't please consider dropping a reply and I'll see if I can't get a response soon.

Detanglement between Giant Bomb and Fandom is progressing and the staff would like to thank everyone who offered their time to help in that process. Luckily, Will Carle, the former director of website engineering of CBSi who led multiple site revisions of Giant Bomb and its backend, has agreed to consult and assist with getting the site fully independent.

Next, it has been confirmed that the Giant Bomb Staff will be attending Summer Game Fest this year. A lot of work is still being done with Giant Bomb's streaming and recording setup and this will require patience the next couple weeks. Details will be announced soon™.

Nonetheless, here's a handy streaming schedule Marino made of the confirmed conferences at this point. This is NOT a final list of events. @marino will provide updates on his Bluesky.

To repeat a point from last week, if you are excited about Giant Bomb's next steps towards full independence, don't forget about the new ways you can go about supporting the site and staff. That includes:

Giant Bomb Premium Subscriptions ($9.99/month or $99.99/annual)
Tip Giant Bomb on Ko-Fi (one-time only or monthly)
Subscribe on Twitch here! (ad-free viewing + emotes)
Giant Bomb's YouTube channel (send Super Chats once they are enabled)

Finally, the Giant Bomb staff were incredibly busy guesting on other podcasts and livestreams in hopes of getting more buzz and community engagement with Giant Bomb! Here are some of the highlights I was about to track down, but there's a chance I may have missed something so feel free to share in the comments if you know of something involving the staff that my radar did not pick up.

Art

Giant Bomb Blight Club Skull Shirt Design + Giant Bomb University (By: TompTomp)

TompTomp on Bluesky is a bit of a new entrant to making Giant Bomb themed artwork and memorabilia, but the two things they made this week are definitely cool! First, they made a Blight Club t-shirt design that even got Mike excited. Additionally, they imagined Giant Bomb as a university with a handful of cool logos. Just try not to imagine Dan as a professor of any subject.

Tit Rascal's Troubles in Time (By: @manburger)

Manburger has thrown their hat into the STACKED field of Giant Bomb members that make fan art and they started off by having a go at this nightmarish work based on Mike, Dan, and Rascal!

Welcome To Flavortown With Mike Minotti (By: @kone)

Here we have another Kone abomination/artwork but this time imagining a decked out Mike Minotti hanging out with his culinary best bud, Guy Fieri!

Minotti Rascal x Doctor Manhattan (By: @mleelunsford)

As requested by Giant Bomb and even Mike himself, MLeeLunsford imagined a Rascalized Mike Minotti alone like Doctor Manhattan from The Watchmen. I think it perfectly captures how dejected Mike was when he realized his saving mistake.

GAME OVER (By: eviemae)

Once again, this Blight Club with Rascal is delivering the goods with more highly creative works of art and photoshop! Here we have eviemae from bsky imagining Mike fused into Rascal's Game Over screen.

Mike Meets Violent J (By: SrirachaChili)

How serious are the Giant Bomb staff about attending the Gathering of the Juggalos? Only time will tell.

Grubb's Game Mess (By: NickToilet)

Also on Bluesky, NickToilet decided to have a go at making a fun work of art picturing Jeff Grubb neck deep in an actual game mess! Also, they posted a fun timelapse of themselves making this work.

Mike Versus His Nemesis, Cody Rhodes (By: groancrime)

Cody Rhodes has opinions about Disney that might rub Mike Minotti the wrong way. Nonetheless, here's a fun photoshop placing the wrestler right next to Mike on a new rollercoaster at Universal.

Mike Minotti Blight Club Road Warrior (By: JOOOOOOOOOOOOSH)

Should Mike be considered the "Road Warrior" of Blight Club considering everything he has done and how quickly he tends to beat his games? JOOOOOOOOOOOOSH on Bluesky sure seems to think so!

Bluesky

https://bsky.app/profile/creakylegs.lol/post/3lpqlqmwk4c2y

Videos

Best of Giant Bomb - OverBlood [Blight Club] (By: @turboman)

After the incredible reception to their first couple attempts at reviving their Best of Giant Bomb compilation video series, TurboMan/DerekStone had a go at highlighting what they consider the best moments from Giant Bomb's Blight Club for OverBlood. Try to thank them for getting back to the Giant Bomb video making when you have the chance.

Best of Blight Club - Ryckert of the 99 Dangons (By: AlexWP)

A new challenger emerges to bring attention to the best moments from Giant Bomb's Blight Club feature! AlexWP decided to have a go at compiling all of their favorite moments from Dan's adventures with Drake of the 99 Dragons on YouTube. Give the video a watch and send them thanks in their comments.

Activities

Mullet Mad Jack Is The 5th Game Of UUGPGC Year 4! Finish By June 1! Mark All Spoilers! Maintain Brand Safety! (By: @bigsocrates)

How many tries did it take before you finished the game?

Nothing stops the Giant Bomb Game Pass Game Club! The group is still up and running and the current pick is Mullet Mad Jack! Share your thoughts of the game as well as your tips for people that have yet to beat it over here!

The GB Album Club 084 - Low by David Bowie (Cycle Finale) (By: @unclejam23)

I know this activity thread is ancient, but as someone who is part of Giant Bomb's Album of the Week Club, I can tell you that the group has recently revived its efforts and is readying itself for a new cycle or season! If you want to join the fun just drop a comment in the thread linked above!

Blogs

South Of Midnight Is One Of Those Games That's Pretty Good But Frustratingly Close To Greatness (By: @bigsocrates)

Do you agree with some reviewers calling this a spiritual adventure game?

bigsocrates penned a blog about South of Midnight wherein they discuss why they think the game narrowly misses true "greatness" despite being "perfectly good" in their books. Whether you feel the same about the game or not, consider joining their discussion about the game.

May no Monogatari: Part Two (Saturn) +

Indie Game of the Week 420: Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip (By: @mento)

It's time to talk about the wild and wacky world of the Sega Saturn with Mento's latest blog! This week they discuss the decidedly quirky Dungeon Master Nexus! If all you know is the original Dungeon Master, this blog is a complete treat.

Likewise, Mento has another edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature and this one tackles Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip! Read why they think this open world indie game from last year is an underrated gem.

Y'all Hear About That New DOOM? (By: @ford_dent)

It's time to delve into the world of Saturn games with Mento!

Most are talking about and playing Doom: The Dark Ages, but Ford_Dent wants to talk about something "different" that is still undeniably Doom. Join them in their discussion about Amalgoom! If you have never heard of Amalgoom, then definitely give this blog a read!

Bottom of the Barrel in the FF/MTG Crossover (By: @thatpinguino)

You might have heard that Magic the Gathering is doing a crossover thing with Final Fantasy. What's the deal and why is everyone so excited? Check out thatpinguino's blog to find out and also feel free to lament the insane cost all of these card packs are going for!

The Mountain Within: How Celeste Transforms Gameplay into Psychological Struggle(By: @pauljeremiah)

pauljeremiah penned an essay about Celeste and its metaphorical mountain and how the game gets storytelling out of in-game trials and challenges. While most who play the game understand the game's metaphorical meanings, pauljeremiah gives the subject an introspective deep dive.

Discussion Threads

How Do You Think Bluey Made It So Big Where Other Kids Shows Just Fizzled Out? (By: @harinosho)

It has spawned a fairly active debate on the forums, but what's you take on this question: How do you think Bluey made it so big where other kids shows just fizzled out? Do you watch the show and have an opinion about the quality of its writing and characters?

What Are Your PS1 Essentials? (By: @angryjedi)

If you started a PS1 collection right now, what would be the first games you get? What are the big ones as well as obscure titles that you'd want? This applies to games that never came out of Japan as well as games that only had limited runs.

It's Officially Over - The FTC Has Completely Dropped Its Case Against MS Over The Activision Blizzard Deal (By: @zombiepie)

The FTC has officially dropped its efforts to block Microsoft's attempt to buy Activision-Blizzard. This storyline is over, but is that good news for the landscape of video games? Without the deal, would the Xbox brand and consoles be in a better or worse spot?

WAR HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO SUPER EARTH! - Helldivers 2 Heart of Democracy Update (By: @vendettadylan)

Calling all Helldivers II players! What is your first reaction to the Heart of Democracy update? Has it inspired you to boot up the game again in order to defend democracy? Do you like it or hate it? Share your thoughts in our official community discussion for the update!

At What Point In Doom: The Dark Ages Did You Break Down And Use A Life Sigil? (By: @big_denim)

Have you been doing your part to fight for democracy?

For those of you playing DOOM: The Dark Ages, when was the first time you used your first life sigil? What level or specific encounter forced your hand? Share away your answers to those questions as well as if the game benefits from having them in the first place!

How Many People In This Community Stream Games Themselves? (By: @doubledaddydan)

This is a call to everyone in the Giant Bomb community! How many of you are streaming on Twitch or YouTube? Share your streaming account links and let's start watching each other! Also, if you are already follow some other community members, feel free to promote their socials here as well.

Lists

The Good Star Wars Games (By: @m_kolibri)

Jokes aside, there have been some INCREDIBLE star Wars games over the years.

With the conclusion of Andor season 2, m_kolibri had a hand at creating what they think are the ten "best" Star Wars games. Give their list a read and feel free to have a go at your own list.

Giant Bomb 5 Stars (By: @seanjhealy)

Want a list of every game that has gotten a five star review on Giant Bomb? Well, this list from seanjhealy has you covered! Whether it be reviews from when the site first launch or more recent ones, they were able to track down every single game to get pristine marks from the staff.

Reviews

Anyone else have thoughts about the latest Doom?

@willin's Doom: The Dark Ages review relays why they are not as enthused by the game as most people. In fact, the word they think best describes the game is "dull," and you can read why they think that in their review.

@pauljeremiah continues their retro video game reviews with an in-depth assessment of Mickey Mania! Is the fervent nostalgia for the this game warranted or has Father Time been unkind to this game?

RETRORENTSAL's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered review talks about how the game felt like returning "home" and that includes all of the game's bugs and flaws.

Wiki Of The Week

Splatoon

Maybe one of the most important competitive shooters in the past ten years.

The 10th anniversary of Splatoon is coming up! It's crazy to think that Nintendo's competitive shooter has been around for that long, but it's true. So, let's give props to the site's pretty incredible wiki page for the game that started it all!