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 site-related news and best community creations from the previous week!
Come one, come all, and marvel at the results of Giant Bomb’s Top 10 Games of the 21st Century community activity! Many thanks to @marino for compiling the stats and parsing the data all the way down to the 100th most picked game on a single handy and beautifully formatted article. If you want all of the dirty details beyond even that, feel free to check out their article.
Also, many thanks to all of YOU who participated! Not only was this community effort a massive success, it shattered all previous community-related endeavors we have done for a while. This activity alone saw 3,100+ people participate whereas we only had 400+ community members vote during 2024’s GOTY season. If you are unhappy or upset at the final results, find a tool on the site to express which games or genres you think were underrepresented or went underappreciated in the form of a list or blog! Let’s try to use this as a springboard more cool and exciting things!
Besides crowning the best game for the 21st century, the site had a short but eventful week. As most of you know, Grubb was out on vacation with Mike taking over Game Mess Mornings and some of the normal programming adjusted or delayed as a result. Also, there was no streaming on Friday due to it being the 4th of July, which is an observed holiday.
Want to see how the effort to redesign the next iteration of the Giant Bomb Wiki is going? Well, Chuck has decided to open the wiki-street-team channel of the Giant Bomb Discord! Be warned, the current discussion is incredibly technical about the design and architecture of things, but you can also catch some pretty cool looking mock-ups of what the future might entail. For a more digestible presentation of what the next version of the Giant Bomb website might look like, you should consider listening to the archive of the Discord Townhall that went up on 07/04/2025 and share any concerns or input in the comments.
We have some incredibly exciting news in terms of Giant Bomb’s staffing and that is Shawn McDowell/TurboShawn is returning and helping out with production and editing.
For those of you that caught the 07/02/2025 Bombcast with Matthew Rorie, you’ll be happy to know that he has officially re-launched his old Properly Petting Puppies feature on his Patreon!
If you catch this edition of the Community Spotlight around when it drops, you still have time to get Giant Bomb’s 4th of July Summer Sale on merch! Use the code IndependentGB or this link to get 17% off on your order but remember, the sale ends on July 7th!
Finally, with the 4th of July rolling around once again, we have reached another anniversary that continues to leave a mark on many community members and this site: the passing of Ryan Davis. As is tradition, consider honoring his legacy and impact by reveling in his old Summer Jams playlist on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube. Ryan, you are gone, but not forgotten.
Also, it was kind of fun finding out Edge magazine reported on Giant Bomb’s independence.
Art
Minotti Rascal Coffee Art + Dan Sonic Coffee Art + Grubb Batman Coffee Art (By: Sir5000)
It’s been a while since I remembered to showcase the coffee art of Sir5000 on the Spotlight, but their Minotti Rascal coffee work got me in the mood to highlight that and everything else I have accidentally forgotten to showcase the past month or two.
Jan Portrait (By: NickToilet)
Here’s another work of art I seemingly forgot when it first dropped on Bluesky. NickToilet made this AMAZING greyscale/monochromatic portrait of Jan that absolutely deserves a round of applause. Also, as with everything they make these days, there’s a timelapse video showing how they made this.
Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/cristian.wtf/post/3lt4cw52fh22z
Videos
Best of Blight Club – Grubbkatana (By: @alexwp)
Relive the Grubbkatana magic one more time!
AlexWP over on YouTube has made an AMAZING “Best of Blight Club” highlight reel for Grubbkatana all are bound to enjoy! Want to revel in Jeff Grubb’s John Romero-based misery one more time? Here you go!
Activities
The GBTrainers Club For Uma Musume Pretty Derby (By: @propagandapanda)
The literal translation of uma musume is horse daughter. That’s not a joke.
Don’t tell Jan, but there’s a new thread getting folks to join a GBTrainers Club for Uma Musume Pretty Derby! Now that the mobile game that went viral is getting and English language version, does anyone want to race horse girls together?
The Alters Is The 7th Game Of UUGPGC Year 4! Finish By August 1! Mark All Spoilers! (By: @bigsocrates)
Hey, everyone. The next pick for the Giant Bomb Game of the Week Club is The Alters. Voting closed before anyone knew about the GenAI stuff but the thread welcomes any and all discussion about it. Likewise, to those of you that have played the game, what do you think?
The GB Album Club 088 – The Glagolitic Mass by Leos Janacek (By: @unclejam23)
This edition of the Giant Bomb Album of the Week Club is listening to The Glagolitic Mass by Leos Janacek! Want to enjoy some church music that also features the craziest organ solo in music history? Well, the album club has you covered this week.
Blogs
I Think I Finally Get Darkest Dungeon II (By: @ford_dent)
If any of you reading this enjoy the Darkest Dungeon games, Ford_Dent has a blog for you!
After playing the game on-and-off for almost three years, Ford_Dent relays how they finally think they have figured out how to play and enjoy Darkest Dungeon II. What helped them turn the corner on the game? Read to find out!
My Continuing Adventures In Visual Novels And VN-adjacent Games: I Was A Teenage Excolonist (By: @atheistpreacher)
AtheistPreacher shares their latest effort to check out visual novels they previous skipped or ignored by sharing their blog/review of I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. Have any of you heard of this game before today? If you haven’t heard it before, read their blog to learn more about it!
Mento’s Month: June ’25 + Indie Game of the Week 426: Axiom Verge 2 (By: @mento)
Anyone else feel like the readability in this game is worse than the first one?
As we ease into July, moderator Mento has a new write-up looking at their gaming and anime viewing highlights during June! If you want game and anime recommendations from someone you can trust, this is the blog for you!
Furthermore, Mento has a new edition of their “Indie Game of the Week” feature and this time they examine Axiom Verge 2. Why did they enjoy the game but also not feel it was as inspired as the first one? Read their blog to see what they think.
The Future State Of Simcade Circuit Racing Games For PC And Consoles? (By: @gtxforza)
As most of you already know, massive layoffs have taken place at Microsoft and one of the studios impacted is Turn 10 Studios, which some reports have characterized as being a support studio for the Horizons series at this point. In light of that, GTxForza has decided to review the state of sim racing games and why it feels like they aren’t as mainstream as they once were.
June 2025 Next Fest Demo Impressions [Part 2]: Super 10 Pin, Rogue Point, Mio, Rue Valley, Azaran, Mina the Hollower (By: @zombiepie)
Are you excited for the next hotness by the Shovel Knight team, Mina the Hollower?
This week, moderator ZombiePie rounds off the second part of their two-part series looking at the most notable game demos they played during Steam’s June 2025 Next Fest. Whether it be a shitpost joke game or a highly anticipated title like Mina the Hollower, give their blog a read and share any demos you played during the event as well.
Discussion Threads
Phil Spencer/Sarah Bond Bloodbath Thread – Tracking The Layoffs And Studios/Games Affected At Xbox (By: @treethan)
Clearly not in the driver’s seat, right?
It’s by far the biggest news of the last week, but these layoffs at Xbox are a complete bloodbath. If you have any thoughts or have heard new developments, share them on this discussion thread. Nonetheless, what do you think this reads as in terms of the future of Microsoft in gaming?
New FPS Project From Romero Games Cancelled As Publisher Pulls Funding (By: @ford_dent)
The hits keep coming with news that a new FPS from Romero Games Ltd. has been cancelled after its publisher has pulled funding. The culprit appears to be Microsoft and Romero is another victim of their brutal cuts. Share your thoughts and get updates
Most Wanted Game Re-Release Or Remaster? (By: @xmarty97)
What franchises or video game series do you still hope gets the remake/remaster treatment? Is it a long-forgotten cult classic or a game stuck in rights Hell? Are there still three to five of you holding out for a remaster of The Operative: No One Lives Forever or Xenosaga: Episode I – Der Wille zur Macht?
Anthem Is Shutting Down For Good In January 2026 (By: @bladeofcreation)
Anthem is shutting down in 2026. What’s your gut reaction? Were you surprised like many others that the game even had its servers still up before the announcement this week? Also, do you look at Anthem as the beginning of the end of BioWare as we once knew them?
Blight Club Games Wishlist (By: @xmarty97)
Grubb’s thread asking the community for suggestions was a big hit last week, so, xmarty97 decided to create a thread where we can suggest future games for Blight Club. Obviously, this is all in good fun and the staff aren’t obligated to check out any of the games suggested. Nonetheless, if you could torture one staffer with one specific game, what would it be?
Krafton Just Fired The Senior Leads Of Unknown Worlds And Replaced Them With The CEO For The Callisto Protocol Studio (By: @zombiepie)
Did you catch the news about Krafton firing the senior leads on Subnautica 2 at Unknown Worlds? Get a summary and share what your read of the situation might be. Furthermore, remember when everyone was really happy that Tango Gameworks got bought by Krafton? Real monkey paw situation with that one.
Shower Thought: Are Games Done Growing Up? (By: @tartyron)
Anyone else surprised the servers were still up in the first place?
Will we reach a point when it feels like video games as a medium have “finished growing up?” Not counting fans, how much more narrative maturation is there to be had with games? Are we reaching a Francis Fukuyama theorized “the end of video games” soon?”
So Bananza Is The Mario Team, What’s Up With 3D Mario (By: @jeffgrubb)
Want some Jeff Grubb while he was on vacation this week? Over on the forums, he is asking YOU what you think is up with the next 3D Mario after Nintendo revealed DK Bananza is the 3D Mario team! Will we see at least a trailer of the next 3D Mario game next year?
How Do Y’all Watch On TV? (By: @dancedance)
Not even indie games could catch a break in the news.
It’s different than it was five years ago, but how are you interacting with cable, if at all? Is there any cable-only programming that is even remotely interesting to watch? Also for those of you that have cut cable, what are the biggest pitfalls of streaming only besides sports and live programming?
Lists
My 10 Best Games Of The 21st Century List For Kicks! (By: @zombaholic)
Best Games of the 21st Century (By: @pop)
What is the spiciest take on your best game of the 21st century list?
Even with the publishing of the final results, don’t let that discourage you from publishing your ballot on the site as a list! We have two such lists to showcase this week but I am more than happy to put them on the Spotlight when any of you get around to doing so.
Favorite Games of All Time (By: @heart1lly)
Heart1lly took Giant Bomb’s “Top Ten Games of the 21st Century” competition one step further and decided to update their “Favorite Games of All Time” list. As you mull over the final results of Giant Bomb’s community activity, has the needle moved on anything on the edge on your favorite games list?
Wiki Of The Week
A game worthy of how much hype it gathered when it first came out?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this coming week will mark Rocket League’s 10th anniversary, meaning it is now officially a “retro game.” It was one of the most played games in the world for almost a year and you can learn more about what made it so addictive on our wiki page for the game.
