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The Community Spotlight 2023.03.04

Everyone loves The Spotlight

Hello and 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 best community-created works from the previous week. This time we have an incredibly well-rounded edition of the Spotlight that has a little bit of everything while people get excited for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Atomic Heart.

However, many of you are still having issues with the new video player as well as the video encoder. As mentioned last week, the embiggen and fit to window options are in the works, but we don't have an ETA at the moment. The design and bug team are working with the tickets that Rorie is filing on your behalf, so, continue sharing your issues with the video player and the current API.

On a related note, timestamps on podcasts and videos on YouTube are rolling out slower than expected and this is not due to Giant Bomb no longer valuing timestamps. This week, Jan, who does most of the timestamps, had things that ate into the worktime he normally uses to make those.

Also, Dylan Host, the Community Manager of Safety for Fandom’s Community Safety team wants to introduce himself! What's his job and when should you contact him? Drop a comment! The Moderation team on Giant Bomb recently had a virtual meeting with him, and we can confirm he's excited to make Giant Bomb safer, better, and more fun. With all of that in mind, let's jump into the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight!

Tweets

Art

Minish Cap x Game Mess Game Club (By: @DuctSauce)

Over on Twitter, Duct Sauce, who has made some fun Giant Bomb fan art before, has taken a quick comment from an episode of Game Mess and turned it into a fun Zelda x wrestling joke. If you don't get it, just ask.

No Caption Provided

Activities

Somerville Is The 5th Selection Of UUGPGC Year 2! Finish By March 13, 2023! Mark All Spoilers! All Are Welcome! +

Coffee Talk Is The 4th Game Of The UUGPGC Year 2! Finish By February 27! All Are Welcome. Please Mark Spoilers! +

Unsanctioned Unofficial Game Pass Game Club FAQ and Game Suggestion Thread (By: @bigsocrates)

Does this game deserve to have the mixed reputation it current has on Steam?
Does this game deserve to have the mixed reputation it current has on Steam?

Somerville is the 5th selection of Giant Bomb's 2023 edition of the Game Pass Game Club! If you have any preliminary thoughts about the game's setting and characters or its gameplay, click the link below to join the fun! BUT REMEMBER TO MARK SPOILERS!

Conversely, the Game Pass Game Club has opened its discussion for Coffee Talk to SPOILERS! If you have anything to say about the game's story and how it ends, now is the time to share it!

Finally, the Game Pass Game Club could use a new batch of recommendations for nominees. What are some new or old indie games on Game Pass you'd like to discuss? Think about it and then drop a comment!

The GB Album Club 026 - Sorceress by Opeth (Cycle Finale!) (By: @unclejam23)

I'm going to be honest, I had never heard of this group until this edition of the Album Club.
I'm going to be honest, I had never heard of this group until this edition of the Album Club.

The first cycle of the 2023 edition of the community Album Club has reached its conclusion! The topic this time is Sorceress by Opeth! If you want to discuss the tracks on this album or learn what the plans for the group are in the future, click the link!

Blogs

Stars, Our Monkey Paw Wishes (By: @infantpipoc)

Once again, infantpipoc with a very interesting book report.
Once again, infantpipoc with a very interesting book report.

Did you know parts of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim were pulled wholesale from a science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Yukinobu Hoshino? infantpipoc sure did and you can click the link above to learn more about 2001 Nights!

Quest for The Worst Adventure Game SPECIAL: Let's Talk About Every Free Adventure Game On GOG (Part 2: The Classics) (By: @zombiepie)

ZombiePie takes to the site to wrap up their series looking at the free adventure games on GOG! This post discusses Teenagent, Flight of the Amazon Queen, Lure of the Temptress, and Beneath a Steel Sky! There's even a guest appearance bey Dragonsphere! If you like classic adventure games, this one is for you!

All PS1 Games in Order: Part 020 (By: @borgmaster)

This game is such a delight to look at. Playing it on the other hand....
This game is such a delight to look at. Playing it on the other hand....

Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire, Descent, In the Hunt, and Magic Carpet are all featured in this edition of borgmaster's latest blog on the site looking every PS1 by NA release date! One of these even cracked their top ten!

Grand Theft Auto's Lack of True Competition (By: @melodicvirus)

Remember when Grand Theft Auto clones were a thing? As bad as some of these games might have been, MelodicVirus comments on the history and consequences of GTA's competition evaporating in the past ten years.

Logging The Backlog: February 2023 (By: @brian_)

Remember when everyone was trying to copy San Andreas?
Remember when everyone was trying to copy San Andreas?

brian_ originally was planning to use 2023 to make a dent on their video game backlog. Then Horizon Forbidden West happened and you can click the link below to read why this game caused their progress to stop dead in its tracks.

What's the Greatest Video Game: Luigi's Mansion 3 (By: @imunbeatable80)

Luigi's Mansion 3 is the topic of imunbeatable80's latest "What's the Greatest Video Game" blog post on the site! How does the third game compare to the previous ones? Are Gooigi and Polterpup positive additions to the formula?

64 in 64: Episode 27 +

Indie Game of the Week 309: Umurangi Generation (By: @mento)

Is any of the DLC for The Outer Worlds worth checking out? Read to find out!
Is any of the DLC for The Outer Worlds worth checking out? Read to find out!

It's time for a new edition of mod Mento's "64 in 64" series on Giant Bomb! This episode is all about Rocket: Robot on Wheels and Mace: The Dark Age and if you have any memories of either game or want to expand your knowledge, click away! Likewise, this week's edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature looks at Umurangi Generation! What were their impressions of this anti-establishment first-person photography game? Click the link above to find out!

The Outer Worlds - DLC Field Report (By: @allthedinos)

Forgot gem of the N64's catalogue?
Forgot gem of the N64's catalogue?

ALLTheDinos decided to return to The Outer Worlds but instead of interacting with the main story, they decided to give the DLC a shot! Get a detailed rundown of both DLC to hit the game on since its original release.

Discussion Threads

Once again, Grubb slaying the internet.
Once again, Grubb slaying the internet.

New Elden Ring DLC Is Coming! (By: @rorie)

New DLC is coming to Elden Ring! What's YOUR first reaction to the first bit about the DLC that has been announced? Is there anything on your wishlist in terms of storytelling or gameplay improvements?

Humanity Demo Discussion Thread (By: @cyrusraven)

How many of y'all have played the Humanity demo? What do you make of its puzzle design and dog-based hijinks? Did you enjoy or hate the inherent wackiness of the game? Click the link below to join the discussion!

Has The Game Industry Crossed The Rubicon Regarding Always Online? Will Players Accept This? (By: @bigsocrates)

Has the game industry "crossed the Rubicon" when it comes to "Always Online" video games? Have certain genres benefited from always online requirements while others have not? Do any of you still put up a fight when a game is announced to be always online?

Have You Ever Let Hype Push You Away From A Game, Movie, TV Show, Etc.? (By: @topcyclist)

Has hype ever pushed you away from a video game? Has a game ever been too aggressive about its advertising that it eventually had no chance to ever joining your collection? If you open things up to TV shows and movies what gets added to that list?

Did any of you give this demo a try?
Did any of you give this demo a try?

Load Times On A PS5 Vs. A Good/Great PC (By: @topcyclist)

Have we reached the point when SSD load times on consoles are on par with decent PCs? Can you still notice the difference with comparable specs and price ranges? Join the community discussion about the state of console SSDs!

Looking For A new D&D Campaign To Run (By: @sombre)

We have someone that is interested in trying DM-ing a new campaign in D&D. Do you have any suggestions, tips, or tutorials you recommend to guarantee things go off without a hitch? Any help is greatly appreciated.

New "Wo Long" Demo Is Out, Lets You Carry Progress To Main Game (By: @atheistpreacher)

Anyone still excited for this game?
Anyone still excited for this game?

How many of you have checked out the demo for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty? Is providing a demo that lets you carry over your progress for the release version the new normal? How do you think the game itself feels?

Atomic Heart Impressions Sharing Thread (By: @spacemanspiff00)

How many of y'all have given Atomic Heart a shot? What do you make of its bite-sized campaign or its mix of adventure exploration and first-person shooting? Here's a link to the community discussion thread!

Lists

Best of 2022 (By: @langdonx)

I definitely relate to this!
I definitely relate to this!

langdonx wanted to wrap up a handful of game releases before making their 2022 GOTY and here you go. Once again, if you still have yet to make your GOTY list for the previous year, feel free to do so whenever you want! Just let me know when you're done/ready.

User Reviews

Remember when you could play Snake Eater on the 3DS?
Remember when you could play Snake Eater on the 3DS?

@infantpipoc decided to go back to and review Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D in light of all the buzz about a remake/remaster of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater coming in the horizon! Remember when Snake Eater came to the Nintendo 3DS eShop?!

@yyninja's Valkyria Chronicles 4 review on Giant Bomb assess if it was the send-off the series deserved or if it still lives in the shadow of the first game. And yes, we all pretend the second game in the series NEVER HAPPENED!

Wiki of the Week

Incorrect Usage of Cyrillic Letters

What a weird but unsurprising thing.
What a weird but unsurprising thing.

In light of Atomic Heart still being a big talking point on Giant Bomb, this week's Wiki of the Week is another concept page that is obviously "too cool for Wikipedia!" While it doesn't apply to Atomic Heart, there's no denying the games industry has a bad history of incorrectly using the Cyrillic alphabet. If you can think of additional examples of this phenomenon, add them to the page!