I’m so glad they continue to do these, one of my favorite features. I watched Annette solo in order to prepare and better appreciate this a film and Forties.
What’s funny is I just listened to the intro about being cancelled for an episode and then watched them. I genuinely thought they were talking about the first one until the bath scene started in the second one, lol
When Ryan passed I honestly was heartbroken for days. However the community pulled together with their love of Ryan, plus Drew really stepped up as a member of the team and the site kept going.
When Patrick left I was in shock, he felt like a pillar of the site and even though he was working from home, he was making it work with Alex and putting in solid solo work. But I understood the decision.
When Austin left I hated hearing it until I found out he and Patrick were joining forces to start Waypoint, so it felt like a step forward for the industry.
When Drew announced Cloth Map it seemed like a great use of his skills and despite losing him, I still had his Formula 1 podcast to have his presence in my life and even though it didn’t last, it was the perfect experiment for someone with his talent to try.
I truly thought Dan, Ben, and Abby were the future of Giant Bomb. Younger than the core crew, enthusiastic about games and extremely entertaining. When they left I was really worried because they could have taken the baton from the OG crew and made the site something of their own while maintaining its spirit. However, we still had the original team who seemed like they still had a fire in them to keep going.
When Nextlander was formed it felt like it may be the end, but we still had Jeff G to rebuild the bomb. He was the original architect and if one man could do it, he was the guy.
Then Jeff left and despite everything I’ve said, I maintained hope. The core nine they showed were solid. Dan was back, Grubb is great, Jan is a natural leader, Bakalar is an excellent diplomat, Jess was an incredible help to everyone, Jason’s experience would keep the train on the tracks, the GameSpot people were super charismatic, and Rorie is Rorie! We were entering a new phase of Giant Bomb, different than anything before especially since work from home was the norm now, but still very fun.
Now for the first time I have no hope. That is not me wishing for the site to fail, far from it. And maybe it’s because these were the first to be “laid off” and not leave of their own accord (ignoring Jeff G’s situation but it was kind of 50/50 since he was leaving anyway even though they screwed him, and besides that was Red Ventures!) but it just feels like we are in the end times.
Like it has been said, you don’t know when you are in the good old days but I look back to when GB was Whiskey Media and the upstairs years at CBSi and realize that was as good as it would ever be. The magic was as strong as it would ever be at that time.
Now it’s just a gaming site, not that different from anywhere else. I will be sad if it ends but that just seems to be the way the industry works now. I have other places that provide similar commentary. The Besties are great, I think Waypoint is truly Important as Bakalar would say, Fire Escape and Nextlander have some of that old school banter and feeling.
I love all of the duders, past and present, and I will go down with the ship, but even the Bombcast is one of my lowest priorities every week and after close to a decade I let my premium lapse. I hate what this industry does to good people.
I miss Ben, he was the perfect mix of chaos and knowledgeable on everything he was a part of. And I don’t care what other scientists say, he deserved that lab coat!
Loved all of the GOTY stuff this year. I agree with Grubb that the list pretty much sorted itself out in the exact same way it would have with organizing the list by hand and this was a much more fun and celebratory way to do it.
I am surprised by the lack of personal lists but I understand not having the guest lists. With the changeover in owners I’m sure the budget got completely reworked on everyone, a likely reason for the lack of travel for GOTY. And the site would obviously love to pay its contributors so I get it.
Can’t wait for the game of the year stuff from Fire Escape and Besties now!
I am firmly in the camp that this is amazing content. I think anyone who has ever run a stream can instantly appreciate how difficult this must be to produce live and on the fly while also being the center of attention. Windbag must have practiced for hours and hours to be this good.
I truly don’t understand the discourse on Immortality. Positive or negative. I feel largely like Jan, I finished the game and enjoyed the ride but by the end it wore out it’s welcome. Easily a 3/5 star game for me. The idea that this is a masterpiece of gaming is ridiculous, but I also don’t think it’s as bad as Jess does.
I think because FMV is so rarely used in major game releases that it’s getting more attention than other games, and being on Game Pass is making it more accessible to a wider audience. Plus being able to use a controller and that actually being the preferred method. I would rather play Contradiction again than Immortality though.
My final comment though is that this game has to win best looking game. Dan has made it clear that graphics peaked when Mortal Kombat used real people for its characters and this game uses real people AND environments! Lol
This is a great F&F. I was a huge fan and I hope now that everything is settled, this becomes a regular feature. This is my favorite feature, bar none, on Giant Bomb. Form the weird Disney movies to the classic Halloween films, to the family films of Fast and Furious. They are all the best.
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