The Community Spotlight 2024.06.22

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 and the most notable site-related news and community creations from the previous week!

Well, with Summer Game Fest 2024 fully behind us, it is time to transition back to Giant Bomb's normal programming. Quick note, if there were any feed or video-related issues, please be patient as Jan was on a much-deserved vacation this week.

However, when it comes to podcast feed issues, we have an important update from TurboShawn. They found a solution for the Bombcast premium feed being wonky. Unfortunately, due to some legacy site stuff, some older content is still a work in progress. As they said on the Discord, "We know this has been happening too often, and as Jan's tweet implied, we're figuring out more permanent fixes." Likewise, Jan provided some insight on why the Premium RSS Feed has been wilding out recently.

To any of you that bought Lifetime Premium subscriptions during Giant Bomb's @ Nite promotion, the form to redeem that lifetime sub has GONE LIVE! If you experience any issues trying to redeem this subscription, please head on over to the Giant Bomb Discord or email support@giantbomb.com.

Lucy was incredibly busy, or at least they will be in the coming future. First, they will be guesting on Game On Cancer's program at Sunday from 9am AEST. Second, they have a new show that will be hitting GameSpot where they talk to celebrities that profess to enjoying video games.

Finally, I mentioned it last week, but it seems the ruse is completely up about the Giant Bomb ARG. For those still not in the know, playing this game is how to gain the URL to Giant Bomb's 16th anniversary t-shirt design. If you want the solutions to this game, here they are:

1. Go inside
2. Pull the chain
3. Wear the hat
4. Fire Boylt

Also, for those that solve the ARG and lose the link and just want a direct link to the shirt, here you go as well:

https://store.giantbomb.com/products/16-1?variant=45074245091466

Tweets

Galleria

Grubbkagrubba (By: @buzz_clik)

All rise, a venerable Giant Bomb fan art king has returned and it was Grubb's recent struggles with John Romero's Daikatana that inspired them to come out of retirement.

The "Real Jeff Bakalar (By: @kone)

With Grubb now revealing his ruse, Kone decided to take Grubb's joke at Bakalar's expense and turn it into actual art! Personally, I think the shirt needs a few more Cool Ss before it feels totally right.

Activities

The GB Album Club 060 - Girl You Know It's True by Milli Vanilli (By: @unclejam23)

Guess who's forcing the Album of the Week Club to listen to "Girl You Know It's True" by Milli Vanilli? I AM AND I HAVE NO REGRETS! Inspired by the recent Milli Vanilli documentary, what are your thoughts about the group?

Botany Manor Is The 13th Game Of UUGPGC Year 3! Finish By July 1. Mark All Spoilers! +

Chants of Sennaar Is The 12th Game Of UUGPGC Year 3! Finish By June 17. Spoilers Open!(By: @bigsocrates)

Botany Manor is the 13th game of this year's edition of the Game Pass Game Club! Did you enjoy exploring this take on a 19th century England manor while exploring plants by Balloon Studios

Likewise, the Game Pass Game Club has opened its discussion for Chants Of Sennaar to SPOILERS! What did you make of its final act and plot twists? Did any of the puzzles in the game get you? Join the discussion!

Video

Voicemail Dump Truck - Big Minister Energy (By: AlwaysBeCorgi)

Many thanks to AlwaysBeCorgi for doing the investigative work and finding the receipts of Grubb's "bit" against Bakalar that has been NINE YEARS IN THE MAKING!

Also, if you missed the most recent VMDT, you are missing out!

Stairs - An Animated Giant Bomb Blight Club Series (S.3 Ep.6) (By:Pickle Giraffe)

Picckle_Giraffe is back with a new edition of their Giant Bomb Blight Club ANIMATED series! In this episode, "Jeff searches for Mikiko, Mike searches for Jeff at the Airport, and Dan is on Oat Cooldown."

Blogs

64 in 64: Episode 43 + Indie Game of the Week 375: Hands of Necromancy (By: @mento)

Starshot: Space Circus Fever and Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt are the latest subjects of moderator Mento's latest "64 in 64" feature! Some have called Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt one of the worst N64 games ever made, but NOT Mento!

Additionally, for the latest edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" Mento checked out Hands of Necromancy! Read why this retro fantasy first-person shooter by Frechou Games really thrilled them on their nlog!

One Week After A Pretty Good Showcase I Have Already Come Back Down To Earth With The Future Of Xbox (By: @zombiepie)

A week after the Xbox Showcase, Moderator ZombiePie relays why their confidence in the future of Xbox is back to zero. Be it Spencer's answers about Tango or Xbox's confusing multiplatform plans, here's why they are so pessimistic.

Meet Machine Menace Part 1 Of 2 Humble, But Not That Humble Beginning +

Meet Machine Menace Part 2 Of 2 Finishing Up Some Unfinished Business (By: @infantpipoc)

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of The Terminator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed James Cameron! infantpipoc decided to give The Terminator and The Terminator 2 watches in an attempt to see if both are as timeless as people say!

Not E3 2024: The Great Video Game Roundup (By: @gamer_152)

Some time has passed, but what do we all make of Summer Game Fest 2024 after one week? Moderator Gamer_152 penned their thoughts about the current state of "Not-E3" and the various showcases the biggest names in games had.

All PS1 Games In Order: Part 030 (By: @borgmaster)

It's again time to get nostalgic for the PS1 with borgmaster as they look at the games that came out for the PS1 during August 1996! Do any of you remember playing The Hive, Triple Play '97, Worms, or NFL Full Contact?

Amico Not Showing Up At Summer Game Fest Was A Missed Opportunity For Both (By: @bigsocrates)

The Amico had zero footprint at Summer Game Fest, but that does not exactly surprise Giant Bomb's #1 Amico reporter, bigsocrates. Is the hope of an Amico console ever releasing all but dead even after the payout from Atari? Was having zero footprint at SGF a missed opportunity? Read to find out.

Discussion Threads

Here's Every Trailer From Nintendo Direct June 2024 - Metroid Prime 4 Is Real And Xbox Catches Random Strays (By: @zombiepie)

We now have every trailer, teaser, and announcement video from the June 2024 Nintendo Direct in a single forum post! If you missed anything check things out here and feel free to chime in with your thoughts!

Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC Discussion Thread (By: @rorie)

Elden Ring's Erdtree DLC is finally here and the reviews are all over the place. Some people view it as a stellar follow-up to the original game and others find it to be too buggy or hitchy in its current form, especially on PC, to enjoy. How do you feel?

This Week In Embracer News, Embracer Closes Pieces Interactive And Then Rolls Out New AI Policy To "Enhance" Development (By: @zombiepie)

So... Embracer was in the news again and it's mostly bad news. First, Embracer closed Pieces Interactive, makers of the 2024 Alone in the Dark game and then later this week they changed their AI policy. This has to be the end of bad Embracer-related news this year, right? Don't hold your breath.

What's The Fastest You've Been Sold On A Game/Movie/Etc. That You Knew Little About Then Loved, When Engaging With It? (By: @topcyclist)

What is the fastest you have ever been "sold" on a game? Millions jumped on Balatro after its Next Fest demo but can you think of other games where you personally knew you had to have a game after a few minutes?

Despite Botching The Reveal, Ubisoft Announces 20th Anniversary Edition With New Content That Ties Into A Sequel (By: @zombiepie)

Ubisoft botched its announcement, but the 20th Anniversary Edition of Beyond Good & Evil is real and coming out next week! Are any of you excited and what do you make of it having a "narrative tie-in" to Beyond Good and Evil 2?

For The Average Gamer, What Are The Risks Of Never Buying Things On Game Pass Or The Epic Game Store? (By: @topcyclist)

Most people only use the EGS to buy one to two games per year and rest of their interactions on the digital marketplace are snatching up the weekly free games. People have raised concerns about Game Pass being sustainable.

Lists

Nine Virtual Tours of One Fake Warrior +

Places of Future Past (By: @infantpipoc)

infantpipoc can't help but be excited for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Assassin's Creed Shadows, and in response they decided to rank the first nine Call of Duty games as well as the first five Assassin's Creed games they played entirely from memory!

Game of The Year 2023 Users Choice (By: @demonbear)

I mentioned a few weeks back that I am always happy to showcase GOTY lists even well past their expiration date and that's the case this week with demonbear who finally got around to mulling the ten games they enjoyed the most last year.

Wiki Of The Week

Beyond Good & Evil

What makes Beyond Good & Evil so "special" that some people continue to hold out hope that it will one day get a sequel? Well, check out our game page for the original game to see what makes its world and characters so memorable!