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Considering Dan, Tam, and Lucy were all already on GB in various bits and bobs (some of which seemed to be abandoned without notice) I'm really not sold on another announcement featuring the return of people who were already involved in the site in some capacity.

Cool if they stay on as permanent staff members from now on, but if not, they can be found elsewhere doing more dedicated work in similar areas.

Jeff Gerstmann is great.

I was not always a specific GB fan (humour and approach varies, and I know a lot of the old staff came to terms with some stuff not being very apt or suitable in retrospect; the benefit of age and experience!) but I came to love Jeff's work and approach over nearly 2 decades.

He was always entertaining, had a deep well of knowledge, spoke of other hobbies without shame, pushed people up, and just seemed fantastic. Even during periods of terrible events, whatever happened, I never felt let down by Jeff which is quite rare! I say this as a fan, not someone who was ever involved in video game media, so I won't pretend I know Jeff at all, but what he offered with his work was more than can be said in a simple post.

Jeff was always a good voice, one of the many hundreds of voices I've heard that made me less liable to be a cynic about things which weren't worth the time of day, energy, or stress.

Thanks, Jeff. Theff.

Trying to avoid mentions of The Last Of Us/other ultra major pieces, because that series is one of the most celebrated video game pieces ever. I think it's utter shite, opportunistic with the topics it tries/fails to deal with, and empty in the most conservative nihilist style that is ultra popular, but I'm a far minority compared to people who state it as a truly powerful piece of media y'know? It's a small fraction of people who dislike it, so it's not a "hot take" that people like it.

I'll go with Hitman Absolution.

I disagreed with the vast majority of 'Absolution is a bad game' takes at the time, and continue to find it baffling that a lot of Hitman fans mention it in the 'good game, bad Hitman game'. I disagree with a lot of criticisms of it, but the biggest one is the story not making sense/being awful.

It's like a lot of people never watched Tony Scott or Brian DePalma films, innit? Just a complete lack of media literacy seemingly causing a feeling that misunderstanding something makes it inherently bad because it's not an imitation of Things Of The The Release Time. You can dislike things you understand, of course, but it's weird that only Alex Navarro and a handful of others understood the one the nose theme/plot/style elements of Hitman Absolution.

It's extra odd in how the incredible Hitman games that came afterwards owe a huge amount to Absolution, far more than they do to any other Hitman game. I get the sandbox style of the game makes them much more appreciable, and they are all far better than Absolution because they are some of the best games ever made, but it still provides a disconnect or logic leap at points when you look at it in context.

I only hear Jeff Bakalar on the Giant Bombcast these days, but I do feel a highpass filter would help a lot. Listening through my old smartphone with decent monitoring headphones I still get a case of the booms a few times per episode.

As has been said in the thread already, listening to podcasts with any good audio gear probably isn't helping.

A superb write-up!

I'm a huge Jacob's Ladder fan (ending and all, it's wonderful and has untold influence on so many pieces of art), and an old Silent Hill lover. The fantastic way both Jacob's Ladder and Silent Hill depict some of the more stressful aspects of C-PTSD is unnervingly accurate, the horrors beyond the mundane facade, and the body of feeling Silent Hill managed to gain from its direct Jacob's Ladder influence goes beyond that influence. That's fantastic.

I'm unsure, but Giant Bomb featuring more people/groups (regardless of whether I like them or not, because some of the new shows are definitely things to avoid) who already have an accessible, often zero cost, presence elsewhere is not for me. I understand Red Ventures methods and approach, I understand Jeff B is trying to get things in order with seasonal hires (/I know there's a more accurate term), and I get that it'll be a case of whether GB makes money on a level which satisfies the company who bought them but there's no simple answer in the present. There's no significant enough reason to be around the site as much as I used to be.

The weekly Giant Bomb podcast is still nice, I will always like Jeff G's retro stuff, and I think very highly of the remaining core staff alongside Jeff G...but as much as I like VoidBurger, Danny, Dan Ryckert, Tamoor etc, they all have better, more formalized, well presented projects/websites/streams/documentaries elsewhere that offer more than what they are offering to Giant Bomb as a light entertainment website. That is not a criticism of the individuals, it's a criticism of the direction of the site, staff can only do what they've been asked to do after all.

I guess I'd like a Giant Bomb which has more analysis of non-new games/consoles (to use some of the staff's knowledge in a more formal way), less general streaming + chatter, fully produced/non-stream based reviews for current games, permanent hires who will be around for a few years to meld with a team, and a less scattergun and laboured approach to the series/ideas they have on the site.

That and GB needs ongoing, clearly worded, non-fluff, weekly/monthly updates that are uploaded on this website, to be pinned, and shared across their social media accounts and email list. If the site is about to hit an upswing, most people wouldn't hear about it from anything but word of mouth, and word of mouth isn't always going to hit the right ears. Giant Bomb has always had issues with this, and it's bizarre that there's no sign of it improving.

From a type 1 diabetic with neuropathy issues myself, I hope Jason is adjusting well.

I remember hearing Jason mention how hard it was to play certain fighting games due to nerve damage/pain a while ago, and it reminded me so much of losing capability to play truly complex music with my left hand for the same reason. I know diabetes isn't taboo at all, but it's nice to see other people coping/dealing with physical disabilities and still...finding joy in all ways. It's very cool.

We all love you, Jason!

I don't want to be too down on the new stuff, and it probably speaks to me as someone who has a ton of hobbies and an awareness of the value of my time, but even the good personalities involved in Armed and Rangerous/The Very Online Show coulnd't make me watch any of these shows. Albummer sounds actively awful as a concept, too, not least because you can find very informed analysis of many records (from fans and professionals) elsewhere that isn't attached to a deeply unfunny team like Two Minutes to Late Night.

I don't think Giant Bomb has to be a site solely about video games, but there are so many great existing options for non-video game comedy and analysis elsewhere so shows which are a set of talking heads you may or may not like having a chat isn't inspiring. I reiterate that I know I'm definitely not the audience for these things, and we all outgrow stuff, so yeah. No premium renewal for me, even if I miss some of the new shows I liked the sound of (Tamoor/Danny doing the Souls series, favourite odd games etc).

I felt a bit down on Outer Wilds, as much as I appreciate everyone who likes/loves it having genuinely great reasons. Beyond the controls being a bit crap and the 'explore to resolve the puzzles' thing never fully realizing for me despite a fair amount of play-time, I never felt the plot or themes mattering to me in the same way they did to a large portion of the player base.

I already knew what the game was due to it's grounding in tried and true sci-fi tropes (and aspects covered in certain spiritualities like Buddhism), and that's why I generally disagree with this game being an example of why video games being interactive inherently makes them better equipped to deal with certain themes in certain ways, because you can find similar themes and delivery/relations to the theme going back a long time in other art forms. Though that is an argument based around personal experience in certain genres, innit?

The other side of that coin is that Outer Wilds seems lovely, and it is a piece of art bringing ideas to new eyes, and that's great!

Not so much. Most people who play games will not finish them, and that's fine, but it took me a few too many years to realize that.

I do like to try to commit to my favourite games, or new (to me) mechanics or ideas I know I should adjust to even if I may struggle initially, but if they lose me after a fair amount of time then I move on. If you give time to something and you get a positive from it (or not and you feel it's wasted your time somehow) then it's fine to leave it. Though if you do find a game you can spend a lot of time with, with constant fun/enjoyment/other interesting stuff, then great!

In my late teens to mid 20s I did have a somewhat annoying habit of wanting to Fully Complete every game I picked up during the big realization of achievements across Steam and consoles. The power of odd things that really add nothing to games, innit? But it meant a lot of wasted time with every game, even my favourites, all to complete a checklist and to get a satisfying pop-up saying I'd done something. Positive reinforcement for something probably not worth being proud about at all. It was surprising cuz I am one of those annoying people who is big on working out and studying the purposes of art and values of them in different systems, so I shouldn't have been so easily tempted by a checklist which means sweet FA in life.