Giant Bombcast Game of the Year 2020: Day One

@thisismrle: Miss Austin, Patrick, and Dan. And for sure going to miss Ben. Hope they find some good people.

Tom Nook was robbed. A+ dad

Tom Nook was robbed. A+ dad

I hope they can find another gal for the team. A grid of seven dudes is a bit rough and all too cliche for video game podcasting (or whatever you want to call GB). I feel that the Boys Club look doesn’t really represent the spirit of Giant Bomb, so I hope they can mix it up in the future.

There's dozens of us!

@gregalor: yeah I don’t care what the new people will look like, just want the best most interesting people for the job.

I like Cyberpunk enough to play it from start to finish and I think visually it deserves a more positive shoutout, but I think its art direction is extremely marred by its poor performance.

It's also just really generic in the best and worst possible definitions of the word, as expected of a videogame literally named after its genre. I feel like the mechanical and cultural designs could be lifted from any high-quality concept artist from DeviantART and are often thrown together for little more meaning than just aesthetics or cultural appropriation.

@strings19: Played 70 hours on Series S and literally never encountered anything even close to that.

Everyone desperately trying to find reasons to dislike TLOU2, lmao, the '2020 Covid' excuse doesn't even work as a complaint. So fucking dumb.

@dolphin_tequila: Yes, it does work as a complaint, and no, it's not dumb. Some people are not in the mood for a dark and depressing game (I haven't played it yet, so cannot speak to its quality). Some can compartmentalize these things and some can't. They're not wrong for having a different experience than you.

I'm so disappointed in Jan dropping 13 Sentinels like that, come on bro!!!

Well, this was excellent fun. Thanks team! Please hire more ladies to replace our departing/ed friends

Nothing wildly interesting to say, nor any hot takes, but I kept the video version on on a 2nd screen while doing work... and the amount of times I looked over to see "Ben" smirking at what someone else was saying, and fell for it was at least 10 times. Mad props to the static Ben image. That's it... That's the comment.

@cuuniyevo: If you're not in the mood for something like that or aren't comfortable that's perfectly fair, but it's not a valid criticism in arguing whether something is good or not.

The Best Dad category really should have been called, "Top of the Pops."

Thanks duder! I'll listen later on then.

Hot Dad was robbed. Thankfully he foresaw this and made a response a few years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqbv0q426BY

Thanks for going back to the "classic" GOTY formula. I really like it more than the catalog of games from recent years.

Spoilers for Hades in the best looking category in case anyone cares.

I know it's their category and their award, but putting flight simulator in best looking seems like a critical misinterpretation of the words "best looking". It's an incredible technical achievement but I don't think it is that visually impressive. The arguments they're making are all about the technical aspects and not how good it looks, just seems like they ignore that it should look good while doing it. Also think they're crazy for just shrugging off the best looking game I've personally ever seen in Demon's Souls, but Ghost of Tsushima and Last of Us are both great looking and had the support so that's at least understandable.

I missed the categories so much! So happy they're back, I love listening to each one and simultaneously being angry that they're wrong but also genuinely wanting to play these games to get a better judgement for myself.

While I agree with their lists (well, mostly, i haven't played every game they talked about, but their reasoning seem about right/entertaining), I do find their recap of The Last of Us 2 to be problematic... mainly cause I think it was wrong (well, their recap of The Last of Us, via The Last of Us 2).

@thepickle: I agree it's a pretty good 90's song.

Glad to see MSFS2020 respresented! you gatta check out some of the payware scenery... they're amazing!

Hello, this is probably very not ontopic but:

They played a song during intermissions where a lady sings/raps Jerry Jerry Jerry. Does anyone know the title of the song and the artist?

Any idea why this isn't in my premium bombcast feed? Was hoping to listen through work today!

@alex I totally empathize, and have found painful solace in characters in games this year, where my father passed away, as did a friend who Jackie in Cyberpunk reminds me a lot of. My dad sounds a lot like your uncle, and was widely loved, but his passing was an earthquake, and subsequent sudden 'taking charge' 'coming of age' moments of having to almost take up different roles, role, there really is something comforting to see glimpses, if painful, of these people that meant so much, when we are fortunate enough to see them. I dunno if they're still out there, but they're still in here. For me it's a reminder to stand for the things my dad did, or be the person my dad would be and was proud of, at least, that's what we have left to work with, you know. My dad was more Mike from Breaking Bad, but all the same it can be pretty powerful. Or in another context, a shimura who actually does understand Jin's motives and yeilds to common sense instead of tradition, or something. I had immense respect for my father, and it's very tough because I also lost my friend, and I wonder if spiritfarer will actually be something I can handle.

I am so sorry Alex, I can tell you were close with your uncle, and I know the feeling, and truly feel the gravity of it, it truly was the worst year of my life, I'm not sure about you. But through that, if you can find something that hits you in that powerful a way, well, it means things, on levels- you know what I mean. I am just glad that could happen for you too this year. That's all I wanted to say. Cheers man. That and I really gotta play Spiritfarer.

I don't know. Mixing it up may cause a backlash. Many gamers dislike what they consider people intruding on their thing. I saw plenty of people with the statement of diversifying a mainly male and majority cast and the backlash was that they should choose the best man for the job and keep politics out of it. I see that if a minority is picked then the result will be a keen eye on how they got in cause forced diversity. People generally don't get the reason behind mixing things up for new perspectives. I kinda agree that you get an echo chamber as well when most of the crew is around the same age and foil. Generally, they are in deep. Married/long relationships, busy with kids/life, generally exhausted by long games and you get the same camp of games they like. That said, the crew surprises you a lot and brings their own individual taste to the table. I'm sure they will hire who they think is best and it will work out.

Giant Bomb is lame now?

I'm glad they returned to the old format, because the "recap" format of the past couple of years was terrible and stupid.

Ghosts of Tsushima was robbed in best looking. Flight Sim is an impressive technical achievement, but it has little to do with how it looks, and is instead in the scope of it. I don't think that fits into best looking, but that's me.

I get some of them didn't like LOU2, but really....That game looks incredible, its got excellent world design and variety. How can you argue its one note when you haven't even seen all of it?

Arakawa is a shitty father because he raised his "actual" son as a power hungry piece of shit. Ichiban might be noble, but Arakawa only met Ichiban when he was a teenager and can't take credit for being a good father for Ichiban. Arakawa raised Arakawa Jr. from baby to adulthood and Arakawa Jr. sucks. He might be a galaxy brain yakuza boss, but he clearly is more concerned about that than being a good father. Somewhere down the line he gave up trying to raise Arakawa Jr. right.

@denverson:

https://au.audionetwork.com/browse/m/track/jerry_167058

Man, Hades got done dirty in the Best Looking Game category. If I ever accomplish anything nearly as gorgeous that game in my time on earth, I'll be ecstatic. And these fools will be wowed by seeing a fish-eye effect when they look through Minecraft glass.

@onemanarmyy: @onemanarmyy:

Thank u my dude.

Ghosts was cut from best looking for being an open world game and somehow Ori was retained despite a sun flare blinding the middle of the screen constantly.

Criticizing Joel for "not teaching your child to not go on a revenge quest" is a double bad take.

1. Whose parents every sat them down and had a conversation about not going on a revenge quest?

2. In a lawless society, by have the reputation as someone who doesn't get revenge you make yourself a target.