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 works from the previous week!
Here’s an important update about the beta and site issues. chucktowski will be out of the office from 9/18-10/3. If you need help, please hit up Shawn on all things content or RSS podcast feed-related. For technical issues or site bugs, please use the normal channels like an email to su*****@*******mb.com or the “site-tech-issues” channel on the Discord. Regardless, your patience and understanding is greatly appreciated.
A quick update about the beta site, Chuck has removed downvotes – for the remainder of the beta he will probably leave it alone. Turning Upvotes/Downvotes into a singular “Yeah” button is probably what they will do in the future, but that’s a custom job that will require time to implement.
Likewise, the beta site has finalized video player updates like the video player remembering where you left off on a video after pausing a VOD or Quick Look. Related, Chuck is working on a “Watched” status on the site that allows you to filter by watched videos. This feature is on the back-burner so they can work on some other more integral work, but it highlights the exciting new things coming up.
If you are still having issues with signing up for the beta site and are a Premium member, just send chucktowski a DM on Discord with your username and email. They have been able to fix this issue rather quickly but as I mentioned there might be a slight delay due to Chuck being out for a bit.
Here’s your weekly reminder to reach out to all past and present Giant Bomb community members to let them know that it’s incredibly important to log-in so they can opt into preserving their usernames going into the new Giant Bomb site. The ETA to do this still is “before 2026,” but doing things earlier is better. Also, for anyone concerned about if you have opted in or not, if you clicked yes and the pop-up isn’t appearing anymore, you are in the clear. If you want to be absolutely certain you are opting to keep your username, send a DM to chuck on Discord or send an email to su*****@*******mb.com. Also, Chuck’s call for help from a few weeks backis still up and applicable for all who may be interested.
Finally, with the end of 2025 looming like a proverbial Sword of Damocles, please consider helping Giant Bomb’s early steps towards independence start with a bang by either sending in whatever support you can on Ko-Fi or re-upping your Premium. Not sure how to support the site if you have a permanent Premium Subscription? Do you have any friends that like gaming? Consider convincing them to create a Giant Bomb account and then gifting them a premium subscription for a year! That would do so much to inject new life into the Giant Bomb site and its beta as well as send much needed financial support to the staff.
Art
Jurassic Grubb Banner (By: Pickle_Giraffe)
I blame Bluesky’s sometimes incredibly unreliable timeline for causing me to miss this AMAZING promo banner for Grubb’s descent into the wacky world of Trespasser: Jurassic Park, but as they say, better late than never!
Zoom Out On Video Game Journalist Jeff (By: Wrighteous86)
The Jeff Grubb t-shirt meme from last week has lost some steam, but Wrighteous86’s contribution this week was too good to ignore. If you are still interested in joining the fun, here’s a link to Grubb showing off his t-shirt with a transparent and more easier to edit front.
Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/picklegiraffe.bsky.social/post/3lyzwcytl622e
https://bsky.app/profile/airbagged.bsky.social/post/3lz5gfv4h322j
https://bsky.app/profile/dreyesceron.bsky.social/post/3lytjpevflk2s
https://bsky.app/profile/andrewalerts.bsky.social/post/3lza7ojqnas2s
https://bsky.app/profile/jearum.bsky.social/post/3lzbhcjmxck2s
https://bsky.app/profile/zoneoutzoey.bsky.social/post/3lzahv6er3s2r
Activities
The GB Album Club 097 – So Much for the Afterglow by Everclear (By: @unclejam23)
This edition of the Giant Bomb Album of the Week Club is for So Much for the Afterglow by Everclear! What do you make of the group’s transition into pop and the mainstream? Do you agree with my suggestion that the club should drink Everclear while listening to Everclear?
Herdling Is The 9th Game Of UUGPGC Year 4. Finish By October 1. Mark All Spoilers! (By: @bigsocrates)
Herdling by Okomotive is the latest game pick for the Giant Bomb Game of the Month Club! Without getting into spoilers, this week’s conversation is about the game’s attempts to graft a relationship or sense of connection with its mythical beasts. Do you think it works?
Blogs
The History of Chunsoft’s Sound Novels (By: @bowl-of-lentils)
Many thanks to bowl_of_lentils for posting their AMAZING video essay on the history of Chunsoft‘s sound novels on the Giant Bomb forums! Give it a watch if you don’t know a ton about Chunsoft’s past before they became the Danganronpa company.
Indie Game of the Week 437: Discolored +
Supertember: Week 2 (By: @mento)
Moderator Mento has a new “Indie Game of the Week” feature and this one tackles Discolored! Despite not being a Myst fan, they share why they enjoyed this game despite some quibbles with how a few puzzles were presented.
Drought: The Bad of Super Mario Sunshine (By: @gamer_152)
Last week, moderator Gamer_152 took the side of Super Mario Sunshine supporters, but this week they try to identify what makes the game so divisive and hated by those that despise it. For those of you with nightmares playing the Haunted House, Sandbird, or Manta Ray levels, this is a blog for you!
Tariffs Are Part Of It, But Let’s Not Kid Ourselves. The Virtual Boy Pricing Is Mostly Nintendo Pulling A Nintendo (By: @zombiepie)
Now that the dust has settled on Nintendo’s September Direct, moderator ZombiePie wants to get into why they think the event left them wildly uncomfortable about the future of the company and its pricing strategy. Are tariffs the only reason why things are getting way too expensive?
Discussion Threads
For The Second Time In 2025, Xbox Console Prices Are Going Up, But Only In The US (By: @zombiepie)
As the title here says, Microsoft has decided to increase prices on console hardware a second time, but the price increases this time will only impact the US with them citing “changes in the macroeconomic environment.” Considering an Xbox Series X console is now $150 MORE than it was at launch, is this the ultimate white flag waving from them?
Hades II Early Access Discussion (By: @atheistpreacher)
Hades II 1.0 releases in less than one month! As the game nears the finish line, what are your final impressions of the game’s Early Access release? Is it bound to be another Supergiant Games classic? Are there any pressing issues you really think need to be squashed before the retail release?
The US Government And Nvidia Have Basically Bailed Out Intel. The Impact On PC Gaming Will Be Massive (By: @zombiepie)
Intel has clearly fallen on hard times as the monolith faces a leadership struggle and issues with its new foundries. Nonetheless, it’s still shocking to hear that the U.S. government AND Nvidia are basically bailing them and x86 out. Do you have fears about how this will impact gaming? Share away!
Are We In The Cycle Era Of Liking Things We Used To Hate? (By: @topcyclist)
What’s the quickest you’ve gone from hating a game you played to liking it? Related, when did you first see the appeal of “so bad it’s good?” What was the first bad movie or game that made realize that watching and playing bad things can sometimes be fun?
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Admits That MAAAYBE Their Company-wide Layoffs & Return-to-Work Policy Have Lacked Empathy (By: @zombiepie)
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has seemingly admitted that maaaaaaaaaaaaybe their company-wide layoffs and return-to-work policy have lacked empathy. Obviously, I don’t think anyone on the forums is buying it, but you can share your thoughts about their statement.
Lists
My Top 10 N64 Games! + My Top 10 GameCube Games! (By: @kingofknights)
KingofKnights is a newcomer to Giant Bomb and as their unofficial introduction to the community, they decided to whip up TWO lists detailing their favorite N64 and GameCube games, respectively. If you have any thoughts about what are the best games on either console, consider making your own list when you can!
Reviews
@tonyblue87‘s No One Can Stop Mr. Domino review shares why the game itself is a completely miserable and awful video game experience even if it was a recurring personal favorite of Ryan Davis.
Wiki Of The Week
Say what you will about modern day David Cage, and indeed, there is a lot to say about the guy, but that doesn’t change the fact that Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit celebrated its 20th anniversary this week. It’s the game that solidified the template for what a Quantic Dream game would be like and you can read all about that and then some on our wiki page for the game.