Cblogs of 11/19 to 11/26/2022

-RoomWithaMoose talks about the decision to pick Sonic Frontiers over God of War Ragnarok.

-Mrkrono wonders what's our time worth in the face of increasingly longer games.

-GoofierBrute is back with another "Games that Time Forgot", with this blog about Sonic 3D Blast.

-Taterchimp shares their thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns.

-PhilsPhindings discu...

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 best community-created works from the previous week.

The feel-good Giant Bomb Extra Life team storyline of 2022 continues! Last weekend, khetix hosted their stream and raised $1,139, hightopninja was able to raise $4,280, AND mookie1515 captured $2,600 during their belated Extra Life Stream! If you missed their charity drives, don't forget that you can still donate by clicking any of the links I provided.

For this weekend, oleetku will be streaming and hopes to raise $550, followed by fasajones who is aiming for $1,000, and jake_plays_things who has their sights set at $1,500! Again, click any of the provided links if you have even a small donation to spare.

As you will see in the Tweets section, the theme this week are ways for you to follow the staff on Hive, the new social media platform. However, I have been asked by a few of y'all when or if I plan to the Giant Bomb Community Twitter account on Twitter to other possible platforms. Honestly, I was hoping if you all could tell me where you'd like me to go. If you'd like to have a community feed like I do on Twitter on Mastodon, Hive, Tumblr, CoHost, or elsewhere, please drop a comment and I will see what I can do.

Also, Giant Bomb is now on:

• Cohost (https://cohost.org/giantbomb)
• Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/@therealgiantbomb…)
• Hive (@giantbomb)
• Tiktok (https://tiktok.com/@therealgiantbomb…)
• Instagram (https://instagram.com/giantbombdotcom)

News

Alright, let's talk about the spam problem on the site. After looking at the issue, Rorie believes our normal anti-spam tool might not be functioning as designed, and this maybe has something to do with the ongoing migration to Fandom. As such, he'll bring up the issue with the engineers on Monday as a top priority. But, be aware that it has been a busy time for them with migration stuff to Fandom.

With winter looming right around the corner, many people have been curious about the site's 2022 GOTY plans. Unfortunately, due to scheduling issues, while Giant Bomb will have plenty of streams and video coverage during 2022 GOTY season, it will not be done in-person. That said, you can still expect a deluge of guest lists and livestreams as always.

Some people have been asking questions about the status Friday Night Forking and the fourth episode on the site being the "Season 1 Finale." The feature was contracted to be a four episode first season. So, if you enjoyed the feature, let the site know in the comments. For now, follow The_Windbag on Twitch if you enjoyed the shows.

Some of you may recall that the site was scheduled to do a Quick Look for The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me this week, but the video was cancelled due to major technical issues with the initial release of the game, which made recording a Quick Look difficult. In more positive news, Jess will be appearing on a RiffTrax Twitch stream on Monday the 28th!

Tweets

Galleria

Mike Minotti Kayak Meme Playdate +

Mike Minotti Kayak Meme Super Mario Bros. (By: @kone)

Last week, I mentioned how friend of the site, Mike Minotti managed to start a meme of sorts after they posted a picturing of them kayaking. Kone went ahead and had a field day this week and I think their Playdate-inspired artwork is one of the most impressive things I have seen this year. I can only imagine getting those pixels was a nightmare.

Activities

Metal Hellsinger Is The 22nd Selection Of The UUGPGC! Completion Date Is 11/28/2022. Mark All Spoilers!+

Unsanctioned Unofficial Game Pass Game Club Voting Thread For Cycle Starting 11/28/2022 (By: @bigsocrates)

Metal: Hellsinger is the 22nd selection of the Giant Bomb Community Game Pass Game Club! If you have any non-spoiler early impressions of the game, click the link and share them with the community! Likewise, there's a new round of voting for the Community Game Pass Game Club! Newly nominated games include Pentiment and Return to Monkey Island! Here's a list of the rest of the nominees and click the link to vote!

The GB Album Club 016 - The Greatest Generation by The Wonder Years (By: @unclejam23)

It's time for some pop punk this week as the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Album Club is for The Greatest Generation by The Wonder Years! Join the discussion and learn how to join the fun in the future by clicking the link.

Blogs

SIGNALIS Should Be Your Game Of The Year (By: @humanity)

Humanity is here to implore you to not sleep on Signalis during 2022 GOTY discussions. Click the link below to read why the retro-styled horror game deserves your attention!

The Quest For The Worst Adventure Game Puzzles - The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate [Part 2] (By: @zombiepie)

The second part to moderator ZombiePie's retrospective on The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate is up! Read why they still love the game even if the back half of it made them want to eat out their own eyeballs.

All Saturn Games in Order: September 1995 (By: @borgmaster)

It is finally time for borgmaster's retrospective on the Sega Saturn to look at Virtual Hydlide. Is the game as bad as its reputation makes it out to be? Yes. They also played Danny's favorite Saturn game, Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend.

64 in 64: Episode 24+

Indie Game of the Week 297: Supraland (By: @mento)

Mento has a new edition of "64 in 64" and this episode looks at Tonic Trouble and Wheel of Fortune! How did about one hour of each game treat them? Additionally, for this week's edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature, Mento checked out Supraland! Click the second link to read why they fell in love with the game's macro-sized miniature worlds!

New Series Ideas The GB Staff May Have For Free (By: @jeffrud)

I saw a blog titled "New Series Ideas The GB Staff May Have For Free" pop up in my notifications, read it, and it is a video series pitch directed at the current staff and and I have no idea how to react to it. Do you like puns?

Capra: Autonomous Cars in Neo Cab (By: @gamer_152)

This week, Gamer_152 thinks about self-driving cars and what might happen if and when we get there and how Neo Cab paints a fairly realistic picture about what to expect in the future.

Discussion Threads

Getting A Newfound Appreciation For A Game You Previously Hated (By: @purpleshyguy)

Are there any games or game franchises that you dislike but at least respect? How long did it take you to finally develop a newfound respect for the game in question? I'll go: I don't like Souls games, but I respect their undeniable legacy and impact on the industry.

What Is The Best Action Scene You've Seen In A Video Game (Cutscene/Gameplay Included)? (By: @topcyclist)

What are your favorite individual action sequences or scenes in video games? A current popular community pick is the train sequence in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Share and defend your pick by dropping a comment in the thread.

When The MCU Takes Over.... (By: @spacemanspiff00)

Do you feel like there's a risk of "MCU fatigue" or "super hero fatigue" with the current and upcoming video games based on DC and Marvel properties? Are games like Marvel's Midnight Suns a net positive for having big names alongside player-created avatars?

I Reached That Part Of Marvel Snap Where I Don't Have Enough Credits To Level Up Cards. What Did You Do? (By: @zombiepie)

Calling all Marvel Snap fans in the community! What's the best way to react to the point in the game when you don't have enough credits or boosters to level up or keep your cards relevant for online play? What's the best way to grind?

What's Next For Mick Schumacher (F1 Racer)? (By: @gtxforza)

Calling all F1 fans in the community! What do you make of the current situation regarding Mick Schumacher? Where do you think he'll end up for the next couple of years? If you have any thoughts or ideas, drop a comment!

GBI On Stream Text - Usability/Legibility (By: @mekon)

I don't normally include bug reports in the discussion thread section of the Spotlight, but this topic has come up in chat from time to time. How do you all feel about the legibility or readability of Giant Bomb Infinite in the main (i.e., non-Twitch) chat? Can you think of ways to make the user experience better?

Lists

All Keighleys’ Companies +

2022: Childhood Callbacks at Eras’ Ends (By: @infantpipoc)

infantpipoc went through the archives in preparation of the 2022 Game Awards by annotating every single individual game studio that has gotten an award for “Best Game Direction” or "Studio of the Year" from a Keighley-led event. infantpipoc also decided to publish their 2022 GOTY list earlier than normal, but they also used their list as a reflection on the cyclical nature of the industry and on-going battle against Father Time.

Ideal Smash Bros. Roster Part 1 (First-Party) (By: @alfred_vincent_svent)

With Smash likely in the backburner for years to come, but Alfred_Vincent_Svent tried their hand at making a 100-person roster for a Smash game using nothing but first-party characters!

User Reviews

• @vookatos's Xenoblade Chronicles 3 review on Giant Bomb discusses why the game exhausted them to a breaking point for every hour they played it, and not in a way they particularly enjoyed.
• @yyninja's The House in Fata Morgana review on the site praises its atmosphere and characters while criticizing its pacing, production values, and occasionally illogical plot twists.
• @treetrunk's Assassin's Creed Valhalla review articulates why this was the game that finally convinced them that current-era Ubisoft's approach to open world games is no longer for them.

Wiki Of The Week

Daytona USA

Many thanks to @borgmaster for reminding me of our AMAZING wiki page for the original Daytona USA. If you want to learn more about this legendary racer and its MANY console ports, then give this wiki page a read!

An icon returns

This week is a very special one for the retro purveyors over at Hamster Corp, this week sees the publisher hit 300 consecutive weeks of console releases, having rolled out almost six years' worth of golden oldies to its record-breaking Arcade Archives range. And, befitting the importance of the occasion, the publisher is taking it right back to the 1970s, with a rerelease of...