Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am honored to be your host as we look back at the best community creations from the week! For this edition of the Spotlight, Halloween and Extra Life's November 4th Game Day are the biggest talking points.
When it comes to Extra Life, we have a lot of NEW information for you to review. If there is one thing I would like to ask, it is for donations from those of you that enjoy the Spotlight feature on the site. I'm trying to raise $1,000 for the site's Extra Life Team and even if all of you can donate is a few dollars, every bit counts.
For those of you wondering about bug fixes and other updates to how the site is performing, tickets will be starting for major site fixes soon. For many, it seems that the previous workarounds for getting the proper cookies settings to stick for more than a day are not working.
Still consider adding a cookie exception (Settings --> Privacy & Security --> "Cookies and Site Data" header --> Manage Exceptions) if that bug crops up.
As per the most recent Townhall on the Giant Bomb Discord, there's going to be a new podcast supplemental to the Giant Bombcast in the coming weeks. Every Friday, you'll get a podcast titled "R" or "Revengeance." This podcast will be focused on one specific topic or will continue discussions from the main podcast that could not be completed due to NDAs or other obligations. This new production is not a replacement of the main Bombcast, and the average length will be 60 to 90 minutes. For example, if this new project was in effect this week, the podcast feed would appear as:
- Tuesday - Giant Bombcast 812: Sam Raimi Mode
- Friday - Giant Bombcast 812R
Giant Bomb's Extra Life 2023 Information
We are quickly approaching Extra Life 2023's Game Day on November 4th. We have a few hints about what the staff are planning for Extra Life!
Secondly, Jan and someone else are planning something that will involve in-person streaming goodness. The hope, and fingers crossed this will work, is there will be a 12-hour west coast in-person team steam for Extra Life that should be followed by the East Coast team!
Giant Bomb's Individual Extra Life account is up and taking donations! If you enjoy what Jan, Grubb, and others do during Game Day, that is the account to send donations.
Now, for those of you that have joined the team and want to be hosted on chat, the sign-up sheet is HERE! Keep in mind that you can still opt to stream on Friday and Saturday if you are not available on November 4th.
If you cannot join or are not a streamer, no worries! You can still help the effort by donating to the accounts that have already joined the team! As with previous years, we always try to make sure that everyone on the Giant Bomb Extra Life Team has at least one donation and that we have ZERO PEOPLE AT $0! If you cannot donate, maybe spread the word and share a team page at $0 to someone you know that might be interested in donating!
- Giant Bomb's Extra Life 2023 Team Page - JOIN NOW!
- Giant Bomb's Individual Donation Page - Donate HERE during the main Giant Bomb Extra Life Streams!
- Giant Bomb's Extra Life 2023 Announcement Thread - Now being updated DAILY with details!
- Dan Ryckert (Giant Bomb Staffer) - DONATION GOAL OF $7,440
- Shawn McDowell (Giant Bomb Social Media & Team Captain) - DONATION GOAL OF $100
- ZombiePie (That's ME!) - DONATION GOAL OF $1,000
Tweets
— evie mae 🏳️⚧️ (@ethers_elixirs) October 26, 2023
That feeling when you’ve just witnessed some fully clothed good ole fashioned Americana @JeffGrubb pic.twitter.com/8rbnDYxvkr
— 🎃Josh Stevens🎃 (@JStevens1015) October 25, 2023
After waiting for the restock, I finally purchased the final SNES Boards for Ryckert’s Island from @RetroStage_PCB! When they arrive I’ll send all 5 copies to @FireEscapeCast, @JeffGrubb, & @MinnMaxShow (only like 8 months later than I wanted to 😅). Finally!! pic.twitter.com/EwkmqKUhlH
— SmashNcrab 🦀 (@SmashNcrab) October 24, 2023
Don't forget to play some Fantavision or Tekken Tag today. pic.twitter.com/4zU0IVYeU3
— Brad Lynch (@MarinoV1) October 26, 2023
What if we fucked around and got back into competitive Pokemon again🤔?
— Jan-O Lantern (@_janjerome) October 23, 2023
Activities
Gris Is The 22nd Selection Of Year 2 Of The UUGPGC! SPOILERS OPEN! (By: @bigsocrates)
It is TIME TO GET SPOOKY with the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Game Pass Game Club! This time the group will be playing Ghost Song! If you want to join the early discussion of the game, here you go!
Don't forget that the Giant Bomb Game Pass Game Club has opened its thread for Gris by Nomada Studio to story discussion! How did the game make you feel? Do you have thoughts about how it concluded?
Art & Video
Jeff Grubb Inhabits The Black Lodge (Thanks, Blight Club) (By: @csl316)
A while back, csl316 made a theme for RoboMitch. Today, they made one for Grubb thanks to Blight Club for Ride to Hell: Retribution! Thank them in the thread linked above!
Mintotti: Includes St. Elmo's Fire (Mike In Motion) (By: @unusedcow)
Many thanks to UnusedCow for imagining what Mike Minotti would look like if he was on the cover of John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire" album and sharing the result on the Discord! If you want to see more works of art like these as they come out, join the Discord!
Grubb To Hell: Retribution (By: @airbagged)
A lot of people are already enjoying the latest edition of Blight Club with Jeff Grubb jumping into Ride to Hell: Retribution. As this picture from airbagged relays, it's going to be a wild ride.
Mike And Grubb Kissing (By: @cristian_rarg)
I mean... is this that big of a leap?
Blogs
Sulk Roads: Adventures in a Jumbled Lordran (Part Three) +
Indie Game of the Week 343: Demon Turf (By: @mento)
What's Blighttown and New Londo like in the Dark Souls randomizer? Well, give Giant Bomb moderator Mento's latest blog a read to find out! Whether you are a Souls fan or just enjoy game randomizers, give it a read by clicking the link above!
Mento also has a new edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature, which looks at Demon Turf by indie dev Fabraz! What are the ins and outs of this punky 3D platformer? Read to find out!
All Saturn Games In Order: May 1996 (By: @borgmaster)
It's time for another look at the games that released on the Saturn! This week, they lead you through the Saturn ports of WipEout, Iron Storm, Earthworm Jim 2, Slam 'N Jam '96 featuring Magic and Kareem, and MORE!
What's the Greatest Video Game: Return to Monkey Island (By: @imunbeatable80)
It is time for a new episode of imunbeatable80's "What's the Greatest Video Game" feature and this one is for Return to Monkey Island! Does the latest game rank favorably or unfavorably among the classics?
Altered Items: Revisiting The Ashtray Maze (By: GAMER_152)
In case you missed it, moderator Gamer_152 published an incredible essay about Remedy's "breathtaking" Ashtray Maze in Control and what it says about the potential and future of scripted set pieces as an art form.
Discussion Threads
Alan Wake II Review & Release Discussion Thread (By: @av_gamer)
How many of you have been following the review and press coverage of Alan Wake II? Are you surprised to see it reviewing so well? Are you excited to return to the world of Alan Wake?
Big/AAA Game Expectorations Discussion Thread (By: @topcyclist)
There has been a mini-backlash against Marvel's Spider-Man 2 by some for not living up to expectations. However, that leads to a discussion on what we all think mainstream game enjoyers expect out of AAA video game sequels. What are your thoughts?
Best Controller/Control Set-Up For Mario Wonder? (By: @minker17)
For those of you playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder, what control set-up or controller specifically have you been using to enjoy the game the most? Are there any of you that have dared to play it using only Joy-Cons?
How Come Nintendo First Party Games Have So Few Glitches Or Issues Vs Other Companies? (By: @topcyclist)
Nintendo's first-party games have always had the perception of having fewer glitches or technical issues than those of third-party developers. What factors contribute to that reputation as well as their games themselves?
Lists
Games With Good Titles (By: @cozmicaztaway)
Anyone out there that need a good laugh? Well, here's a list by cozmicaztaway titled "Games with good titles" and here's how they started things off! Apologies to Terry Cavanagh. I think Dicey Dungeons is a blast.
Bad Marketing (By: @melodicvirus)
MelodicVirus is trying their hand at making a list of games and game consoles with bad to terrible marketing campaigns. Check out what they have so far and feel free to share your own suggestions on their list.
Reviews
@pauljeremiah's Shovel Knight (PlayStation 4) review relays why they don't just consider it a great example of a video game throwback, but also a "triumph" of nostalgic continuity!
@pauljeremiah penned a new review of Axiom Verge and uses it to make a case for why they think the game warrants the "modern classic" label, at least in the Metroidvania genre!
@nateandrews' Starfield review explains their overall disappointment with the game despite its strong visuals, absurd scale, and low barrier to entry. Whether you agree or not, give it a read and consider writing your own review on the site.
Wiki Of The Week
With the sequel out this week, let's throw things back to the game that started it all for this week's "Wiki of the Week!" That's right, the wiki for the original Alan Wake leads you through the game's long development as well as reviews the story in the game in incredible detail! If your memory is fuzzy, this page has you covered!