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 latest great works from the Giant Bomb Community.
Many thanks to everyone for working through all of the hiccups with the new video player, and if you are still experiencing issues with the player, feel free to drop a comment in the official bug reporting thread. Known issues include videos starting muted, no saved positions are saved, and there is no longer a red progress bar anymore. This is a company-wide video player, but the Fandom engineering team are taking input from the Giant Bomb community in an effort to improve it as best they can. If you wish to have moment-to-moment updates on how the video player is improving, feel free to join the Giant Bomb Discord and drop a comment in the "Site Tech Issues" channel.
For those asking about why the 02/10/2023 UPF archive is not on the site, Jan and company are still getting accustomed to the site's new encoding method and they will have to delay the site archive for a bit. For now, catch the VOD on Twitch. Encoding issues are also the reason why recent features have been slow to hit the site.
Tam and Lucy will be at DICE and GDC. If you or someone you know will be attending either even and are interested to talk to them about opportunities and plans for GameSpot, Giant Bomb, and Fandom, send them a DM or reply on Twitter. They are also reaching out to developers, publishers, and PR reps.
Finally, the last week has BEEN SOMETHING for the forum and chat Moderation Team at Giant Bomb. This community stands in support of all people, including those in the LGBTQIA communities forever and always. All I will add beyond that is to recommend everyone say something nice to someone you value in your life.
Tweets
RIP, Jeff
— Bend Studio (@BendStudio) February 10, 2023
Ten years since Giant Bomb played David Lynch's Lego Island. pic.twitter.com/wAsLWGDJdC
— Moosey. (@MooseyMcMan) February 8, 2023
Once again highly recommending Giant Bomb's FIlm and 40s commentaries of the first 7 (???) movies. pic.twitter.com/5viMXZzRcp
— Steven (@StevenWallaby) February 11, 2023
I’ve been meaning to try this out, but I made fanart of Game Mess Decides’ (@JeffGrubb and @Tolkoto) Mount Rushmore of 2D Platformers. Which include Super Mario Bros. (NES), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Celeste and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. pic.twitter.com/wNHClJ39UN
— TRBucket (@TRBucket) February 11, 2023
Look what finally came in today…
— SmashNcrab 🦀 (@SmashNcrab) February 6, 2023
“Dan” Render and Sprite Art by @jea_rum.
Box Art, Logo, and Cartridge designed by Yours Truly 😊 pic.twitter.com/8srID00lJh
giant bombcast, 02/23/16. timecode 2:09:20-2:14:34 https://t.co/1S0hNXOabr
— Colin Spacetwinks (@spacetwinks) February 9, 2023
Activities
The GB Album Club 023 - The Wall by Pink Floyd (By: @unclejam23)
It's time for the community Album Club to tackle a venerable "classic" as this week's topic is The Wall by Pink Floyd! If you have any thoughts about this album and its legacy, feel free to drop a comment in the thread linked below!
The Legend of Tianding Is The 3rd Selection Of UUGPGC Year 2! Finish By Feb 13 2023! Mark All Spoilers! (By: @bigsocrates)
Don't forget that the current pick for the Game Pass Game Club is The Legend of Tianding! If you have any non-spoiler impressions of the 2D action platformer, starring Liao Tianding, feel free to share them!
Blogs
Only The Future Crabs Can Judge Me: Disco Elysium and The Politics of Failure (By: @lostsol)
After an extended hiatus, LostSol returns to pen a new thesis paper on Disco Elysium and what it has to say about "the politics of failure." If you enjoyed their previous works about Dick Marcinko and Silent Hill, this is a treat!
All 3DO Games (Kinda) In Order: 1993 (Part 1) +
All PS1 Games In Order: Part 017 (By: @borgmaster)
It's time for borgmaster to send you on a journey chronicling the games that released on the 3DO. People like Battle Chess and Dragon's Lair, but how many of you remember Crime Patrol or Escape from Monster Manor?
Likewise, borgmaster tackled Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, College Slam, Johnny Bazookatone, and Krazy Ivan as part of their quest to play every single game to release on the PS1 in chronological order!
HuCARTography IV: Jaseiken Necromancer (By: @jeffrud)
jeffrud returns to blogging on Giant Bomb with a new edition of their retrospective on the games that released on the PC Engine! If you want to learn everything there is to know about Jaseiken Necromancer, then this is for you!
What's the Greatest Video Game: Let's Build a Zoo (By: @imunbeatable80)
imunbeatable80 played Let's Build a Zoo for this week's edition of their "What's the Greatest Video Game" blog series! How does this cutesy management sim compare to the other games they've played? Read to find out!
That’s Good, That’s Bad: Cave Story (By: @purpleshyguy)
PurpleShyGuy has a new edition of their "That's Good, That's Bad" blog series on the site and this one is a bit of a throwback by looking at the cult indie classic, Cave Story! Give it a read and feel free to share where you stand with the game on their blog!
Indie Game of the Week 306: Eastward (By: @mento)
Mento's latest "Indie Game of the Week" tackles Eastward, by Chinese developers Pixpil! What did they make of this Mother and Zelda inspired indie platformer RPG? Click the link to find out and feel free to share your thoughts
Discussion Threads
Let's Support And Celebrate Inclusive Authors (By: @sparky_buzzsaw)
In light of recent events, the Giant Bomb community is working on a list of book recommendations from LGBTQIA authors or feature LGBTQIA characters and experiences! If you have any suggestions, drop a comment in the thread and maybe we can get a book club going!
Atomic Heart Excitement/Hype Thread (By: @anchorsahoy)
Who's excited to get their hands on Atomic Heart? Have you been following the preview coverage for the game? Have you been impressed or skeptical of what they have shown so far? Join the discussion now!
Favorite Odd Gaming Idea That Had A Good Run But Went Away? (By: @bisonhero)
Here's a fun discussion thread on the forums. What are the game design things that have gone extinct that you are most nostalgic about but is likely never to return? For example, remember when video game save files had icons?
The Last Of Us TV Show Is Remarkable (By: @sombre)
Many are loving The Last of Us TV series as the story and characters develop more. Are you one of them? Share how your impressions of the show compare to where they were when the show started over here!
Are Nintendo Switch Vouchers Worth It? (By: @cubbielover)
What has everyone's experience been like using Nintendo's voucher program on Switch? Is it worth the time and effort? Share your tips and tricks to get the most out of it over on the site by clicking the link above!
Throwback Thread: What Are Best Looking PS4/Xbox One Game Trailers From 2013? (By: @gtxforza)
Here's a fun thought exercise for all members of the community, but which game trailers and game reveals/announcements from 2013 got you most excited? Did they pan out the way you'd hope? Join the conversation NOW!
Has Anyone Seen The Dualsense Edge For Sale? (By: @axl159)
Have any of you had any luck ordering or buying a DualSense Edge? What are your thoughts about only being able to order directly from Sony's site for the first month? Have you seen them in the wild yet?
Gran Turismo 8 Is Confirmed In Development (By: @gtxforza)
It's been confirmed Gran Turismo 8 is in development. What do you think the over/under is it comes out in less than ten years? Is this a sign that support for Gran Turismo 7 will dry up sooner than expected?
Lists
After turning their quest to play all of their 2022 "MUST PLAY" video game releases into a recurring blog series, moderator Mento finally got around to making a 2022 GOTY list on the site and it is definitely worth a read!
My Personal Top 10 Games of 2022 (By: @camitalo)
It took some time, but camitalo finally got around to making a 2022 GOTY list that you can give a gander by clicking the link below! As you can see, they put a lot of time and effort into it.
GOTY 2022 (By: @wemibelle)
Wemibelle finally got around to making a 2022 GOTY list on Giant Bomb and you can tell they took a long time thinking about which games deserved to be on their list because their justifications seem seal-tight.
User Reviews
- @infantpipoc decided to return to Dead Space 2 in light of the first game's remake and wrote a review describing why they still think the game is the high-water mark for the franchise.
- @infantpipoc's Dead Space (2023) review discusses why they think the experience the game provides presents a value proposition to its potential players worth discussing before issuing a full recommendation.
- @capt_blakhelm's Bloody Spell review assesses its attempt to cross Ninja Gaiden with Nioh and concludes that its "jankiness" simply does not afford players the best experience.
- @melodicvirus's L.A. Noire review sees if the then lauded facial fidelity of the game and its variable dialogue choices have stood the test of time, or if the game's many memes have something to say about its relevancy.
Wiki of the Week
So, Jeff Grubb has fallen in love with the "Konami's Best!" box art for Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, which, features the box art of the original game on the box art of the reissue. If you wanted to know, the site has a specific concept page for this very phenomenon titled" Box in Box Art," and it is a real treat if you are interested.