Hello and welcome to the latest and first edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight in the year, 2026! I, ZombiePie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the big site-related news and best user-created works from the previous weeks. As is tradition, the Community Spotlight took a slight break during the week of GOTY on the site to allow everyone to better process and appreciate the great and wonderful GOTY podcasts and guest lists on the site. Huge props to Lexi and Marino for getting a record-breaking 60 guest lists on the site! If you are worried that you may have missed out on any of these lists or the site's GOTY content the past two weeks, there's a handy, one-stop-shop article that has EVERYTHING, including a summary of every Game of the Year award category! If you'd rather use the site's search tab, here's the "Game of the Year" tab link.
And one final note about Giant Bomb's GOTY 2025 content, Marino also got around to compiling all of the stats about the games that won and how everything compares to the staff member's individual lists! Did the game with the most "points" actually take Giant Bomb's Game of the Year this time around? Only one way to find out!
New and exciting things have come to the site that are worth reviewing as well! Shortly after the previous edition of the Community Spotlight went up, Chuck deployed an update and list creation tools are available to use for those that have a Premium subscription. So, for those of you that still haven't gotten in on the GOTY spirit, you can do so over here if you have Premium as of now! Also, if you click the "My Lists" button, you should see all of your lists that you made on the old site, and being able to access this archive is free for everyone to use.
Likewise, user reviews just re-debuted on Giant Bomb and like lists, the feature is currently in beta and only available for users with a Premium subscription. And just like lists, you should be able to click a "My Reviews" button that has all of your reviews from the previous site, albeit, things might not be formatted the best, but it's open for everyone to use.
A quick disclaimer to all of you that have submitted Community Articles! To give those articles some breathing room between the guest lists and all of the GOTY content hitting the site, Community Articles were paused for a week, but you can expect to see all of the great and wonderful things you wrote and submitted very soon!
From the Giant Bomb Discord, with the dawn of a new year, that means it is time to run a new season of the Giant Bomb Discord Fantasy Critic league! If you want to join in on the fun, head over to the "fantasy-critic" channel on the Discord and drop a comment that you are interested in joining. Also, you can see who won the 2025 incarnation of the Fantasy Critic League! And if there's even the slightest bit of interest in doing a Giant Bomb site/forum version of the Fantasy Critic League, let me know and I would be open to hosting one.
In goofier news, Giant Bomb is the Kinda Funny Games Daily Site of the Year. I have no idea what that means, but it's fun seeing Gregg Miller talk nicely about Giant Bomb for once!
Finally, I'm making a personal commitment to comment on every single GOTY guest list that graced the site this season on Giant Bomb. While I don't expect all of you to take such an extraordinary step, I do ask that you all take the time to thank or comment on your favorite guest lists to show how much you love and appreciate this part of Giant Bomb's GOTY culture!
Art
Timelapse For Pickle_Girafe's GOTY 2025 List's Banner +
Giant Bomb GOTY Expedition 33 Discussion "Clip" (By: pickle_giraffe)
For those of you saw pickle_giraffe's GOTY 2025 list might have noticed their bizarre and honestly disturbing banner in which they imagined their avatar, a pickle giraffe, as the protagonist in Stellar Blade, thong and all. If you want a timelapse of that art, feel free!
Also, the second link shares pickle-giraffe's favorite moment from Giant Bomb's GOTY 2025 discussions: the wholesome discussion about Expedition 33!
Burning Rangers As Sung By Mike Minotti (By: Adam Parker)
Do you want to listen to Mike Minotti sing the opening theme to Burning Rangers poorly? If you said "Yes" then click the link above but be warned, bleeding ears are likely.
Community GOTY 2025 Lists
Note: Y'all made a TON of GOTY 2025 lists since the last Community Spotlight aired. As a result, I cannot fathom writing little intros for each list. Also, if I missed your list or GOTY content on the site, feel free to chime in and include a link in the comments and I promise to include you next week!
The 2025 List Of The Favorite Games Beaten By Sgt Sphynx In The Year 2025. Also Known As Sgt Sphynx's GOTY 2025 (By: sgtsphynx)
Tosshi's Games of 2025 (By: Tosshi)
Chuck Zimmerheld's 2025 GOTYs (By: chucktowski)
A GOTY List From Someone Who Barely Plays Many Video Games (Especially New Ones) (By: ladyflash)
My GOTY 2025 List You Probably Won't Agree With But It's Mine Not Yours (By: thedrumkid92)
GOTY 2025 (By: nophilip)
GOTY 2025 (By: dandyshlonglegs)
GOTY 2025 (By: jeverage)
GOTY 2025 (By: bruno0091)
Best of 2025 (By: epicbenjamin)
2025 Game of the Year (By: chiknfingaz)
Game of the Year 2025 (By: whitehowler)
My 2025 Games I Played (By: styx971)
GOTY 2025 (By: jimi)
GotY 2025 (By: killerfly)
The Three 2025 Releases I Rolled Credits On (By: infantpipoc)
Well, Well, Well, Look Who's Come Crawling Back for a Community 2025 Best of List! (By: undeadpool)
Jordan Hass Wrote a GOTY 2025 Article and Now Made a List (By: jordha)
Games of 2025 (By: aggrocraig)
GOTY 2025 (By: codenamelenny)
Super Joe's Top 10 Games Of 2025 (By: superjoe)
2025 Game of the Year (By: slamvanderhuge)
Durandir's Game of the Year 2025 (By: durandir)
My Games of 2025 (By: iphone_tyler)
2025 Games of the Year (By: chaz934)
Top 10 Games I Played In 2025 (By: markr)
Community Articles
Data Dump: GOTY 2025 Staff & Guests Breakdown (By: Marino)
As mentioned earlier, Marino once again graces us with a write-up that wonderfully summarizes all of the stats you want to know about Giant Bomb's 2025 GOTY discussions and awards!
Ranking of Roguelikes #8: City Wars: Tokyo Reign (By: laughingman)
laughingman's Ranking of Roguelikes feature on the site continues with a rundown and review of City Wars: Tokyo Reign! Is this an easy recommendation for cyberpunk fans? Read to find out!
Moosey May Cry Part 6 (Part 2). (By: MooseyMcMan)
After working on the retrospective on the site for months, MooseyMcMan finally wraps up their feature looking at every single Devil Mary Cry game! Does DMC 5 rank well? Read now!
Field Report VI: Halo Studios at the End of 2025 (By: Gamer_152)
Halo is coming to PlayStation and remakes/remasters are keeping the Halo torch alive for a while. So, what's the final say on the 343/Halo Studios era? Moderator Gamer_152 shares their thoughts in this article.
Forum Posts Worth Checking Out
Announcements
User Reviews Are Now Available For Testing By Premium Users (By: chucktowski)
User Lists Are Available For Closed Testing By Premium Users (By: chucktowski)
As mentioned in the introduction, lists and user reviews are up and functional for everyone to test out that has Giant Bomb Premium. If you have any issues with either of these features or have a feature request you'd like to see added or changed, feel free to drop a comment in the appropriate thread included above. Cool stuff is happening on the site!
General
Happy New Year! What Are Your Most Anticipated Games Of 2026? (By: gtxforza)
Welcome to 2026, Giant Bomb community and everyone who is seeing this! To commemorate this very happy new year, let's start things off by sharing what everyone's most anticipated games are on the forums!
Your 2025 GOTYs That Aren't Going To Make Any GOTY Lists (By: laughingman)
Here's a GOTY discussion thread on the new forums I think we all can relate to: what are the games on YOUR GOTY 2025 list that have gotten ZERO buzz by mainstream publications? Were there any snubs that really rubbed you the wrong way?
If You Have Any GOTY 2025 Lists Or Write-Ups, Feel Free To Share & Discuss Them Here! (By: ZombiePie)
Hey everyone! Did YOU, yeah, YOU ever make a GOTY 2025 list or just want to talk shop about your top ten games from 2025? Here's a thread on the new forums where you can link any lists you've made or feel free to just share your list wholesale.
Do You Have Any Gaming Resolutions For 2026? (By: hyperfocus74)
With this being the first week of a new year the Giant Bomb community is busy sharing their "gaming resolutions" for 2026! Do you have any game-related hopes? Are there backlog games you want to play?
Have You Ever Played a Game That Imparted the Message "You, the Player, Has to Know When to Stop" Effectively? (By: undeadpool)
Here's an interesting discussion thread that has people talking. As the title suggests, can you think of games where the protagonist correctly decides "Actually, I think I've gone far enough," before the end of a game?
The Return of the Umamusume Thread (By: ben_h)
Calling all Umamusume: Pretty Derby fans! What are your hopes for the game going into 2026? Forever Young is an exciting inclusion for 2026, but what else can be improved to keep you exited?
Let's Do A Steam Sale Hidden Gems Thread! (By: nekomancer105)
What are YOUR Steam Winter Sale 2025 recommendations? Are there any indie titles at a discount you think everyone should nab? How about a big AAA at a steep discount?
Things That Are Just An Immediate Deal Breaker In A Game For You. (By: Eurydice)
What are immediate turn-offs in games for you? Is there a design foible or specific mechanic that always grinds your gears when you run up against it? Have you used the term "slop" to refer to a game mechanic?
Things That Make You Pay Attention To A Game You Otherwise Wouldn't Have Considered. (By: angryjedi)
Conversely, what are the gameplay mechanics or genres that always have you excited? Is there one word or term a game can use or say that immediately gets your attention?
GOG Has Been Sold To One Of Its Co-Founders (By: bigsocrates)
And now let's jump into some gaming-related news! GOG has been sold to one of its co-founders. Are you optimistic or concerned about the marketplace's future now that it's disconnected from CDPR?
March 31, 2026 Is Marathon's Release Date, For Realzies This Time. Also, The Game Will Be $40 Upfront. (By: ZombiePie)
So, Bungie have announced that the new Marathon will come out in March 2026 and at $40. Do you have any optimism for the game? Are you worried? Share away in this thread!
Unsolicited Anime/Manga Recommendation Thread! (By: dwerkmd)
It felt inevitable but the newly christened Giant Bomb forums now have an anime and manga recommendations thread! What are your go-to picks for anime or manga newcomers? Share away over here!
Whelp... Star Citizen Is Approaching The $1 Billion Of Player Funding, But Still Has No Tangible Campaign Release Date (By: ZombiePie)
As per PC Gamer, Star Citizen is approaching $1 billion of player funding raised. However, as outsiders, what's the right way to approach the game and its marketing and release?
Vince Zampella, Video Game Developer Behind ‘Call Of Duty,' Killed In Ferrari Crash (By: pauljeremiah)
Join the rest of the Giant Bomb community mourning the passing of Vince Zampella in the following tribute thread. It goes without saying that the industry has lost a true titan.
Who Are Your Favorite Non-GB Game Critics, Past And Present? (By: atheistpreacher)
With Dan leading the charge in bringing back reviews on Giant Bomb, we have a thread wherein users are sharing their favorite game reviewers now and in the past. For example, athiestpreacher kicks things off with love for Kevin VanOrd.
Look At My Cats (By: angryjedi)
AWWWW YEAH! We finally have a thread on the forums where users are sharing pictures of their cats, dogs, and other pets! WE ARE SO BACK, BAYBEE! CLICK THE LINK TO LOOK AT SOME REAL CUTIES!
I've Been Playing Outer Worlds 2 And It's Absolutely Ridiculous That Microsoft Wanted To Make It Their First $80 Game (By: bigsocrates)
Now that Outer Worlds 2 has been out for a while, how do you feel about Microsoft's original plan to try and sell the game for $80? Do you think the current game justifies that price? Share away in this thread!
Amico Wrap Up 2025 And Looking Towards An Exciting 2026 (By: bigsocrates)
Some things never change and to mark the end of a year, bigsocrates is back surmising how the Intellivision Amico storyline isn't technically dead and done and what the future might hold.
Epic PM Is Dead, Long Live The Epic PM (By: red12b)
Seeing an open reference to the Epic PM from the old days of the original Giant Bomb site was not on my 2026 bingo card, but here we are! If any of you know what this thread is talking about, I tip my hat to you.
Nonetheless, if you want to read a user reviewing how their life has changed since they first discovered Giant Bomb, this is definitely a touching read.
Premium-Only
The Duders as Giant Robots (By: baltmatrix)
If you are a premium user, don't forget there's a new Premium-Only discussion board! Right now, a handful of users are trying to imagine the staff as popular robots/mechs/Transformers!
Non-GOTY 2025 User Lists
List of Games Beaten in 2025 (By: Mento)
Moderator Mento took the whole "year in review" list an extra step or two by annotating and reviewing every single game, 100+ of them, they played in 2025!
10 Games I'm Looking Forward To The Most In 2026 (By: beachthunder)
beachthunder has been making a "Most Anticipated Games" lists on Giant Bomb since they first became a user and the launch of a new site hasn't stopped them! Catch it here and consider making your own version when you can!
Game Of Not The Year 2025 (By: barrabas)
barrabas played a ton of games in 2025 that didn't come out this year, so they went ahead and made a separate GOTY list on Giant Bomb ranking their ten favorite retro or non-2025 gaming experiences on this list!
All the Old Games I Beat In 2025 (By: thedrumkid92)
Like many of us, thedrumkid92 played more games that DIDN'T come out in 2025 so, it felt odd to disallow all of those gaming moments and highlights from any recognition. As a result, they listed all of their non-2025 accomplishments here!
Every Non 2025 Game I Rolled Credits On Or Put Significant Time Into This Year (By: mocbucket62)
Similarly, mocbucket62 felt like highlighting all of the non-2025 video games they played and even completed last year with their own dedicated list that's definitely worth reading.
User Reviews
Jackbox Party Pack Review by jordha
Congratulations to jordha for making the first user review on the site since the feature's re-debut! For this historically important review, they took an interesting stance by reviewing Jackbox Party Pack from an entirely single-player perspective!
Earthion Review by pauljeremiah
To kick things off with their return to reviewing games on Giant Bomb, pauljeremiah assessed Earthion and shares why he thinks the title is more than just a simple nostalgia trip and a fun game in its own right!
And here's to 2026: the first fully-independent year of Giant Bomb!
