The Community Spotlight 2021.10.16

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-generated content from the last week! Surprising no one, the big theme this week are the many reviews for Metroid Dread authored by community members. Whether you have enjoyed the game or not, feel free to join the community in assessing the game.

In case you missed it earlier, Rorie and Jeff Bakalar hosted a Q&A session with community members through Discord! If you want to know more about the future of the site and what they have been up to recently, give it a listen! Topics discussed include games they have enjoyed playing as well as the state of the Best of Giant Bomb videos.

Speaking of which, the number one question the past two weeks has been about the status of the Best of Giant Bomb videos. First, as Rorie states in this thread, Giant Bomb has Derek, the author of the series, working on "other stuff." Additionally, Derek has said they want to take a bit of a break from the videos before they re-asses where they want to go with them next.

There will be a new feature on the site called "Programming Schedule and Show Notes." This article will update EVERY MONDAY to include a list of shows that are active on the site as well as "in production." You can review the first edition of the feature to discover Quick Looks, podcasts, and premium features you may have missed!

Extra Life 2021 Links

Giant Bomb's Extra Life Team Page (By: @marino)

Giant Bomb's Individual Donation Page

It's crazy to think, but there's only THREE WEEKS UNTIL EXTRA LIFE 2021! Feel free to join Giant Bomb's team as well as donate! If you can't donate, please spread the word to people who can! The team goal is to raise $223,566 so Giant Bomb can crest an all-time total of $2,000,000 raised for Extra Life! Giant Bomb proper has a personal goal of $100,000.

Marino is the current team captain for Giant Bomb's Extra Life team and if anything is "off" with the page, please let him know! Right now we have 43 team members and as a team has raised over $5,000!

Galleria

Man Called Danny! (By: @jearum)

With Halloween right around the corner, Jearum did a bit of a throwback with their art for this week. Some of you may recall the Alex Junji Ito t-shirt design they did a few years ago. This week they decide to apply that aesthetic to Danny!

Tweets

Community Activities

Giant Bomb New World Discord Invite Link

Giant Bomb super-fan, Cristian, has created a Giant Bomb Community Discord for users that are playing New World. If you are in the game and want to hook up with other community members, this is the link for you.

Blogs

Indie Game of the Week 241: Forever Lost: Episode 3 +

Building a Better Builder (By: @mento)

Moderator Mento has a new "Indie Game of the Week" blog on the site and this time covers Forever Lost: Episode 3! Use the link below to read why they think it struggles, much like the previous two episodes, to take advantage of its theme. Additionally, they don't hate the Dragon Quest Builders games, but can't help but wonder if it wouldn't benefit from pulling certain ideas and concepts from other games.

The Music Of The Demon’s Souls Remake Shows The Problem With Constant Bombast (By: @purpleshyguy)

PurpleShyGuy shares in their latest blog why the new music in the Demon's Souls remake sticks out to them in all the wrong ways. Use the link to read why they think more bombast is not always a good thing.

Ten After Ten: 9/30/21-10/09/21 (By: @brg)

BRG has another batch of ten news articles from the last week about the video game industry. If you feel like you were not able to keep up with the news, then this is definitely worth a read.

Get Chrono Crossed: Part #5: I Present The Craziest Plot Twist In Video Games: "Baby, Daughter, Clone" [SPOILER WARNING] (By: @zombiepie)

Moderator ZombiePie wraps up their retrospective on Chrono Cross with a deep look at the game's ending and what they consider the craziest plot twist in video game history: baby, daughter, clone.

Discussion Thread

Back 4 Blood Impression Sharing Thread (By: @giant_gamer)

What does the community think of Back 4 Blood thus far? Are you having a blast with the campaign? Have you unlocked all of the characters? Share your experience with the game using the link above!

Nintendo Switch Expansion Pack Price? (By: @av_gamer)

The official trailer for the Nintendo Switch Expansion Pack has come out! However, the price for a single membership is $49.99 and the Family membership is $79.99. What do you think of this price? The internet sure seems unhappy.

Voice of Cards Demo Discussion (By: @slax)

Have any of you checked out the demo for Yoko Taro's strategy card game, Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars? The current conversation on the forums is its the reliance on cards for everything in-game leads to a sluggish game.

Sony Sets Up Kinda Vague Lottery For A Chance To Buy A PS5 (By: @el_blarfo)

How does everyone feel about Sony setting up a lottery to help out consumers that want a PS5 but still haven't gotten on yet? Is this the right approach? How could their style of lottery be improved?

Any Tips For A Newcomer To Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn? (By: @sombre)

Calling all CRPG FANS! We have a user who is playing Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn for the first time and wants YOUR TIPS AND TRICKS! Someone already told them to get the Staff of the Magi, but what else should they know?

Below Explore Update (By: @constantk)

Below, the minimalist action-adventure game by Capy for Xbox One and PC recently got an update that makes it slightly less punishing! Are there any users out there that have checked out the Explore Update? Some are saying the update helped them beat the game for the first time.

GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition Speculation Thread (By: @wickedcobra03)

How do you think Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition will shape up? How much work do you think they will make to the graphics and gameplay? What's your price of entry and does it compare favorably to the rumored $70 price tag?

Video Game Championship Wrestling Was One Of The Best Twitch Streams Of All Time (By: @sombre)

With Giant Bomb adding more and more wrestling content to the site, what are your memories of Video Game Championship Wrestling? The anniversary of the show is less than a month away, so, what were some of your favorite moments?

Sable Has Been Patched And The Performance Is Much Better (By: @noboners)

Updates and patches have released for Sable to address the game's performance issues on various platforms. Have you noticed a difference? Did the performance issues originally have a large enough impact on the game that it would have affected it rank on your GOTY list?

Pixel Art - Dying Breed Of Games Or Exactly The Opposite? (By: @irisedgestudios)

Do you foresee a slowdown in the amount of modern games that use a pixel-like artstyle? Are pixel-based artstyles here to stay? Are you finding it harder to get impressed by games that use pixel art? Share your thoughts using the link above.

Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye DLC Discussion (By: @wollywoo)

Are there any users out there that have checked out the Echoes of the Eye DLC for Outer Wilds? If you have, share if you consider it a worthy follow-up to main game with the rest of the community.

Lists

Top 10 Final Fantasy Games (By: @daavpuke)

Daavpuke took the time to list out their favorite Final Fantasy games on Giant Bomb! I will warn you, some of the games on the list are a bit of a shock, but that's part of the fun! Give it a read and don't forget to consider making a list of your own!

Guest Character In The Mortal Kombat Series Rankings (By: @jessemb27)

It will be a long time before we ever see a new Mortal Kombat game, but user jessemb27 looks back at the guest characters from the last two games to see which ones have the highest chance of ever coming back.

User Reviews

• @d_w wasn't as impressed by Metroid Dread as most and shares in their review why they were not impressed by its E.M.M.I. mechanic and lack of accessibility features.
• @kay-the-stray has been following Metroid Dread since the 2000s and is happy to report in their review that it's the best Metroid game they have played in decades.
• @infantpipoc's Metroid Dread review shares why they found it to be a welcomed return to form for the series but also not without its share of bumps and bruises thanks to the franchise's age.
• @yyninja decided to give Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition on the Switch and shares in their review on @giantbomb why its sense of scale is still impressive, but is held back dated gameplay and story padding.

Wiki

Hirameki International Group Inc.

@bowl-of-lentils went down another Japanese video game rabbit hole, but this time it was for Hirameki International Group Inc.! If you have never heard of the company and its many non-video game related ventures, this is definitely worth reading!

Thanks again, @zombiepie. I managed to miss the programming schedule announcement. Pretty handy.

I'm slowly picking away at Sable, and gotta say that patch made a big difference. The framerate is still uneven, but overall much better than at launch. I find myself feeling pretty forgiving of issues like that when a game comes from such a small team. I know not everyone agrees, which is a shame for such a beautiful game.

Once again, thanks for the shout-out. Spent a long time working on that Hirameki page.

Thank you again for including my list. I feel like we've come full circle now. Until I make a list for FF characters.

Once again, thanks

I should have said this earlier, but I demand a ranking of your favorite to least favorite FF protags.

@zombiepie: oh noooo, least? Sadly that's just a rundown of the entire cast of Type-0. The game itself is interesting, but have mercy I could just not get over the lifelessness of those kids. They suck so much, it makes that game unbearable. I've generally liked most playable characters, save one or two, so I did draw up a list but it's a lot of the known people. I dunno I'll go shuffle it around!

Then give me a top ten and I want it to be purely for you.