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 creations from the week. But, let's talk about some site-related news first!
First and foremost, let's give a big round of applause for @marino for organizing and tabulating this year's edition of the Giant Bomb Community GOTY voting! The results are in and congratulations to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for taking first place after over 700 of you voted. You can see a lot more stats and details in Marino's results post.
The notification system on the site should be fixed! If you @ someone, they should get a ping/notification that you said something to them. You should also be getting updates about reviews, blogs, and lists your friends posted on the site!
@dtoast has an update on what steps he has taken to report and advocate for a quick remedy to the current issues with the site's video players. It's not a massive update, but they do want you to know that he continues to bring up the problems you are reporting in every meeting and continuing to file reports about problems helps him strengthen his case.
In happier news, Jan is back and Jeff Grubb has defeated Ride to Hell: Retribution! If you missed this edition of Blight Club, the entire series is on the site as well as on YouTube! Relive all 15 hours of the glory whenever you want!
With all that in mind, let's start this edition of the Community Spotlight!
Tweets
There is potential for greatness here.@Tolkoto @JeffGrubb pic.twitter.com/fzchm3masc
— 🏳️⚧️ Creaky Legs 🏳️🌈 (@CreakyLegs) January 12, 2024
wait now that I have this template, here's a @Tolkoto version pic.twitter.com/fyrcj4Z95K
— Ｓｉｒ５０００ @ cohost.org/Sir (@Sir5000) January 11, 2024
Saw Smite 2 was announced. Here is my favorite memory of Smite. pic.twitter.com/GOFXo6EyIA
— Brad Lynch (@MarinoV1) January 12, 2024
@giantbomb is playing the BEST VR game right now https://t.co/ulAd2tKZBB pic.twitter.com/IY1e7oBKtN
— Steve Kim (@Fobwashed) January 12, 2024
One of my favourite things about researching bad video games from the 2000s is how often the "Reception" section is just an @alex_navarro quote. pic.twitter.com/FWvx202dbh
— lex luddy (kiryu's roommate) (@BasicalliLexi) January 10, 2024
I just wanted to get on here and THANK @giantbomb for the 200 person raid! I might have cried for 5 minutes straight and my stream almost crashed because of the hype train.. I am forever grateful.. please go give him a follow.. he is amazing! 💜https://t.co/1UEKFryqNL
— WinslowsONLYHope (@WinnieDaPrinter) January 10, 2024
Galleria
Mike Minotti As A Rocket Knight (By: @StickerChamp)
The news announcing that Rocket Knight Adventures Re-Sparked was coming to modern platforms definitely excited Mike Minotti and to honor their excitement, StickerChamp made this creation on Twitter.
Activities
Unsanctioned Unofficial Game Pass Game Club voting thread for cycle starting January 15 2023 (By: @bigsocrates)
For their first game of 2024, the Giant Bomb Game Pass Game Club selected A Short Hike by adamgryu! Have you played this relaxing and peaceful exploration game? If you have any thoughts about it, just click the first link!
Speaking of the Game Pass Game Club, the group is taking YOUR VOTE for its next game pick! As long as you drop a comment with a vote before January 15th, there's a good chance that your top vote gets picked!
The GB Album Club 047 - Amanecer by Bomba Estéreo
The GB Album Club Presents... What's Your Favorite Album of 2023? (Or Thing You Listened to For the First Time in 2023?) (By: @unclejam23)
The Giant Bomb Album of the Week Club welcomes you to its latest discussion and the first new one of 2024! This edition of the group will be discussing "Amanecer" by Bomba Estéreo! Share your thoughts about the group and this album NOW!
Additionally, the Album of the Week Club might be done with its break this week, but that doesn't mean you should skip its discussion about the best singles and albums from 2023! What are YOUR musical highlights from the year? Share NOW in the second linked thread!
Blogs
All Jaguar Games In Order: 1994 (Part 1) (By: @borgmaster)
After a hiatus, borgmaster continues their quest to play every single game that released on the Jaguar in North America! This week, they cover Tempest 2000, Wolfenstein 3D, Brutal Sports Football, and Alien Vs. Predator!
Indie Game of the Week 352: Itorah (By: @mento)
It is the start of a new month and that means moderator Mento is back on the forums with a new blog concept! They checked out the OoTRandomizer website and you can read about their incredibly cursed adventures in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time NOW!
Additionally, Mento has a new edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" series and this one tackles Itorah by Grimbart Tales! If, like me, you hadn't heard about this game until now, give their blog a read to learn all about this hand-drawn Metroidvania!
Field Report IV: Halo Infinite Twenty-Six Months In (By: @gamer_152)
In case you missed it last weekend, moderator Gamer_152 has another blog providing an update on how things are going in to world of Halo Infinite! They review why Infinite is STILL not a finished game and why the state of Firefight is NOT GOOD.
Riven, Cyan's Obscure Masterpiece; or, The Third School of Puzzle Design (By: @wollywoo)
Riven's remaster will (maybe) release in 2024 and that seemed like a good enough reason for wollywoo to return to the game. Read why they think Riven: The Sequel to Myst and Myst deserve credit for pioneering a new school of video game puzzle design!
Manburgian Candidates 2023 (By: @manburger)
Manburger definitely took an unorthodox approach with their 2023 video game wrap-up blog but that doesn't mean you should skip it! Find out what their favorite songs, retro games, and 2023 release were by clicking the link above!
ALLTheDinos' Favorite Games of 2023 (By: @allthedinos)
ALLTheDinos wrote a GOTY 2023 blog on the site and it is a great read! Check out the fun and diverse mix of games that came to define their 2023 by clicking the link above! Also, it's not too late to make your own GOTY 2023 list/blog!
Uncle Jam's (Album Club Guy) Top 10 Games of 2023 (By: @unclejam23)
UncleJam23 has been hosting the community Album of the Week Club and they welcome you to read about their ten favorite games they played in 2023! If you have enjoyed their Album of the Week feature, use this as an opportunity to thank them for their work!
Discussion Threads
Here's A Thread With Links To Every Single Staff & Guest GOTY 2023 List! Which Ones Did You Enjoy The Most? (By: @zombiepie)
Now that the temporary GOTY 2023 front page template is gone, feel free to use this thread or the site's Words section/tab to find staff and guest lists you may have missed. Were there any lists you personally enjoyed the most?
Winners of the Hottest Mess 2023 (GB Community Voting) (By: @allthedinos)
The Giant Bomb community voting for "Hottest Mess" have finished and the winner has been crowned. Would you be surprised to learn that Unity Engine's 2023 PR disaster was only a runner-up? Find out what ended up winning by clicking the link!
It Makes Sense But I'm A Little Sad That Giant Bomb Seems To Have Abandoned The "Quick Look" Term (By: @bigsocrates)
I want to commend most of you that have participated in this thread for sharing legitimate and honest criticisms while also relaying a love and appreciation for the current staff on the site. As the title suggests, do you miss the "Quick Look" label?
Amazon Has Laid Off 500 Twitch Employees, About 35% Of The Division (By: @bigsocrates)
2024 layoffs are already getting announced and Amazon/Twitch have laid off 500 employees on the popular streaming platform. Are you surprised by the announcement?
Lists
Pacific Rim Presents 3 Cancelations of and 1 Countdown to the Apocalypse (By: @infantpipoc)
Unrelated to the final batch of GOTY content on the site, infantpipoc decided to check out four games that reminded them of Pacific Rim and looks at where they improved upon Pacific Rim and where they came up short.
Games Of the Year, 2023 (By: @frontman12)
frontman12 not only wrote a GOTY 2023 list, but they also listed their favorite games from years that end in the number 3 and it is a sight to see! Where else can you expect to see a GOTY list these days with Cool Spot?!
Yours Truly's 2023 Game of The Year Awards (By: @genessee)
Genessee has a real fun mix of games that you might not have heard of before or maybe forgot about on their GOTY 2023 list! Give it a read by clicking the link and see if there are a few games you'd be interested in playing!
TFP's Top 10 Games of 2023 (By: @thefakepsychic)
TheFakePsychic is back with another highly comprehensive rundown of the video games they enjoyed playing during a year on this planet we call Earth. Here's the 2023 edition of this entertaining yearly tradition of theirs!
YYninja's GOTY List of 2023 (By: @yyninja)
yyninja played almost no games that actually came out in 2023, but they did not let that stop them from making a 2023 GOTY list this week! If you are in the mood for an eclectic mix of games, this is the list for you!
Top 10 of 2023 (By: @nateandrews)
nateandrews finally got around to writing a GOTY 2023 list and you can give it a read and see what their favorite ten games were from the year and their honorable mentions.
GOTY 2023 (By: @amlabella)
Games both big and small grace amlabella's GOTY 2023 list and you should give it a read in case you were following some of the more obscure indie games that came out last year! There are some real hidden gems on their list.
Best Games I Played In 2023 (By: @waiguobao)
WaiGuoBao couldn't limit themselves to just ten games from 2023 as they played more than ten great games from the year. As a result, their GOTY 2023 list has THIRTEEN games on it! It might be an unlucky number, but the games on it are not bad luck!
User Reviews
@infantpipoc's F.E.A.R. review articulates why they think you should still play the game as they consider it a "bookend to a bygone era" of PC game and game design. Also, remember how GODDAMN AWESOME the shotgun was in this game?
@pauljeremiah's reviews of the Borderlands series continue with an assessment of Borderlands 3! Read why he still had a blast playing the game even if he felt like the game felt more like "Pandora 2.0" more than anything else.