The Community Spotlight 2026.10.17

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight and I, ZombiePie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the site and staff-related news alongside the best user-created works from the previous week!

Well, it goes without saying that the big highlight of last week was, without a doubt, Giant Bomb's Giant Bomb-a-thon event! Huge props to everyone that participated on the staff-end as they provided 24-hours of streaming entertainment across two days! Many thanks to all of you who joined in on the fun by subbing to Giant Bomb or sending your financial support however you could. The event ended up in the staff netting over 8,000 new subscribers! Even though the event itself is over, don't forget to subscribe to Giant Bomb to support the site's independent status and to help the staff continue to do more wacky and ridiculous things for your entertainment!

If you already have a Giant Bomb Premium Subscription, don't forget that you can still sponsor other Giant Bomb users using the site's official Ko-Fi page. Nonetheless, here's a reminder of all the cool and exciting things the Bomb-a-thon funded or hosted:

What are YOU most excited about now that the Bomb-a-thon is over?

For reference, Mike P.T., Space Ace Race, Willpolean Bonerfart, 50-Turn Mario Party, and TTRPG One-Shot are "Done" as they took place during the Giant Bomb-a-thon. Jan Blight (Crowchoa) was started and will continue in the future. Every other goal that was funded will take place in the future.

Related to the Giant Bomb-a-thon, Metal Gear Scanlon is OFFICIALLY BACK! The feature will be making its glorious return this coming Monday and indeed as confirmed that Drew and Dan will be leading it.

Just like old times....

Furthermore, if you missed any part of the Bomb-a-thon, please be aware that it will be a slight while before the VODs are available on the site due to the staff travelling to make everything possible last week, but if you want to relive iconic moments from the event right now, you can catch the archives on YouTube or Twitch.

• Twitch: Giant Bomb-a-Thon | DAY 1 | 2026
• Twitch: Giant Bomb-a-Thon | DAY 2 | 2026!
• YouTube: Giant Bomb-a-Thon | DAY 1 [PART 1] | 2026! & DAY 1 [PART 2]
• YouTube: Giant Bomb-a-Thon | DAY 2 [PART 1] | 2026! & DAY 2 [PART 2]

As announced on the Giant Bomb-a-Thon, there's a new subscription tier for Giant Bomb called Premium 64! The big highlight for this tier is that it provides ad-free versions of Last of the Nintendogs, Jeff and Mike's Nintendo podcast, as well as Game Mess Decides, the gaming podcast Mike and Jeff record every Thursday. This tier will be $25.00 per month or $250.00 per year and the full benefits are listed in the following image:

For those of you asking for a subscription tier that merges Last of the Nintendogs with Giant Bomb, here you go!

Additionally, as Chuck said during the Giant Bomb-a-thon, if you're one of the people who had a lifetime Premium subscription and you're seeing funny numbers or dates when you go to upgrade your Premium tier, please send an email to support@giantbomb.com and he'll sort things out for you. For anyone that tries to upgrade to the Premium 64 tier and either gets and error or might be concerned they got double charged, send an email and Chuck will get back to you as soon as possible.

Finally, in terms of site updates and fixes, the playlists for Steal My Sunshine and Gotta God Hand have been fixed. Click that link if you notice any missing episodes for classic Giant Bomb content or features. The Bombcast RSS feed problem on the 13th of October was resolved.

Video/Clip of the Week

It's beautiful....

Crowchoa Music Video (By: Creaky Legs)

The sight of Jan in The Crow makeup sure was a sight to see during the Bomb-a-thon and it's one bsky user Creaky Legs thought fit perfectly into the music video for the film perfectly! If you are in need of a hilarious pick-me-up, you won't find anything better than this.

Art

Giant Bomb x Maury (By: rickman5000)

After seeing Jan don the Crow makeup and sit right next to Bakalar, rickman5000 couldn't help but think the visual reminded them of a certain daytime exploitation show, Maury. Can you imagine what would happen if you had everyone from Giant Bomb appear on the program in their funniest get-ups?

I think Maury will help Jan get through his problems.

Grubb Enjoying Mario Party (By: Lazycon)

Over on the Discord, Lazycon shared a quick sketch they did that captured Grubb's developing misery as the Mario Party flowed through their veins. If you want to catch this and many other neat user-created works on the Giant Bomb Discord as they drop, don't forget to join it using the link above!

A natural and totally normal reaction to having to play 50 turns of Mario Party

Community Articles

Are you in the mood for some Metroid content this week?

I Finished Metroid Dread and All I Got Was A Longer Backlog (By: ford_dent)

ford_dent ended up playing and finishing Metroid Dread and they caused them to go down a very long Metroid-based retro gaming rabbit hole. Read all about it, and the games they enjoyed the most and don't forget to share how you would rank the franchise!

Ranking of Roguelikes #10: Star Renegades (By: laughingman)

After a brief hiatus, laughingman is back with a new entry in their "Ranking of Roguelikes" feature on the site. To kick things off, they reviewed Star Renegades and shares why its impressive visuals aren't the only reason why it cracked their top five!

Scrying the Future: 4 Gaming Industry Predictions for 2027 and Beyond (By: Chron)

Against their better judgement, Giant Bomb Discord moderator Chron tried their hand at predicting what 2027 and beyond will hold for gaming, games, and game tech. Will prices and affordability get better? (Survey Says: Absolutely not!)

Is Secret of Evermore an "underrated classic" on the SNES? See what Mento has to say and feel free to share your thoughts on their community article.

They're Taking Over #04 - Oh No, This One Has Sk8er Boi (By: allthedinos)

It's time for another review of Kidz Bop from Giant Bomb user allthedinos and this time we have Avril Lavigne's Sk8er Boi! This one also has some HILARIOUS censorship and "The Ketchup Song" by Las Ketchup

RetroPiece Theater: Secret of Evermore +

Indie Game of the Week 489: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (By: Mento)

In the mood for some retro gaming goodness this week? If so, might I interest you in Mento 's community article about the RetroAchievements for Secret of Evermore on the site! Whether you're a fan of the game or newbie, it's a real enlightening write-up.

Additionally, Mento has a new entry in their "Indie Game of the Week" feature and this one looks at and reviews Lorelei and the Laser Eyes! Why do they think the game entirely earned the GOTY buzz it got in 2024? Give their community article a read to find out!

Forum Posts Worth Checking Out

Announcements

If You Have Giant Bomb Premium, You Can Now Test The Giant Bomb Video Game Tracker (By: chucktowski)

Once again, if you have Giant Bomb Premium, give the site's new Game Tracker a shot and play around with categorizing games and even giving them reviews! If you encounter any bugs, feel free to drop a comment in the thread and Chuck will try to get to you as soon as possible.

General Discussion

Congratulations to Mike, but that does lead us to the question of: what's a game that can replace Sewer Shark?

Games That Would Also Work as a Blight/Run Hybrids? (By: undeadpool)

The thread itself isn't new, but now that Mike has finally conquered Sewer Shark, the topic is more relevant than ever! What are some games you think fit the same crease as Sewer Shark? Can you think of any run-based games that lend themselves to daily content the way Sewer Shark did?

The Giant Bombathon Discussion Thread (By: gasketcase)

What do YOU think were the highlights of the Giant Bomb-a-thon? Where there any funny moments you think people should track down if they missed the event? Also, are there any upcoming features or series that you can't wait to watch that got funded during and thanks to the event?

No Rest For The Wicked Discussion Thread (By: atheistpreacher)

No Rest For The Wicked recently had an "Inside Showcase" where the game's developers shared information about its class system but how the game would be delayed to 2027. This news and the shifting nature of how it will play, have been met with praise and condemnation, so, where do you stand?

Deadlock Invites & General Discussion Thread (By: noboners)

After watching After watching friend of the site, cristian carry the Giant Bomb crew through Deadlock on UPF last week, we have GB users still looking to get invites into the game and getting tips on how to play better.

Are any of you reading this hooked on Deadlock?

Assetto Corsa EVO's Free Roam Release Date Trailer Is Here (By: GTxForza)

GTxForza has new racing game news to report and this time it is about Assetto Corsa EVO! The game will be getting a new "free roam" mode and you are free to ask them about all the details and surrounding information about how this will work.

3D Printing - My Library Got A Nice Gift (By: monkeyking1969)

A user on the forums just got a 3D Printer and that has resulted in the community making a 3D Printer Enthusiast & Hobbyist Discussion Thread! Do you have any tips for 3D printing newbies? Share them and other advice in the thread linked above!

The GB Album Clob 128 - From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots by Dälek (By: unclejam23)

From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots by Dälek is the latest album pick by the Giant Bomb Album of the Week Club! Join the community discussion about the second studio album by the beloved experimental hip-hop group!

What Are You Playing/Finishing/Abandoning This Week (October 11, 2026 Edition)? (By: laughingman)

What are YOUR gaming objectives for the week? Are any of you picking up Hellraiser or Mortal Shell II? Do any of you have backlog objectives? Speaking of Hellraiser what do you make of the game's controversy in how no one seems to be able to post playthrough footage of the game on YouTube?

Suggestions & Bug Box

Reporting Missing Videos on Site (By: trace17)

Just a friendly reminder that if you notice any missing videos or VODs on the site, whether it be a random missing video in a "classic" Giant Bomb program or a recent livestream that never got posted, drop a comment in the thread linked above and try to be as specific as possible about the feature or stream name and the episode number if it is part of a series. Chuck or someone else will try to be on the case as quick as possible.

Recent fixes include fixing the playlist for Gotta God Hand and Steal My Sunshine! If you thought those series pages had missing episodes, they should be fixed now!

Premium

Grubbsnax Question Thread (By: jeffgrub)

For those of you with Premium subs, you can head on over to the Premium-Only board and possibly get a question answered during Grubbsnax if you write and post it in this thread. Huge props to Grubb for taking the time to engage with the forums to whip up some community engagement!

Lists/Tier Lists

What are your S-tier JRPG English dubs?

JRPG English Dub Tier (By: chocobodude3)

Here's a REAL FUN tier list on Giant Bomb from user chocobodude3: The JRPG English Dub Tier. Here's a screenshot of how they ranked the games on their list, and remember, you can make a copy for your own list!

TheMightyMander's Top 10 Games of 2025 (By: themightymander)

themightymander was mulling over their 2026 GOTY options when they realized they never got around to publishing a 2025 GOTY list on the site! They fixed that TODAY and you can give it a read NOW!

Roman's All Time 100 Games (By: Ronroman-1979)

Inspired by Greg Miller's Top 100 Games Of All Time list over on Kinda Funny, Ronroman-1979 decided to have a go at making a Top 100 list as well. Give it a read, and if you feel up for the daunting task of making a top 00 list as well, keep me posted!

User Reviews

Do you rank Townfall above or below Silent Hill f?

Silent Hill: Townfall was one of KQKKLUjR's most anticipated titles going into 2026. After finishing the game, they can't help but share why they were completely disappointed. What specifically rubbed them the wrong way? Read to find out!

bravobuster1200 took the plunge and bought Gears of War: E-Day! While they wouldn't call it a complete course correction for the series, they do share in their review why they think it is a fun trip down memory lane.

With the 2026 World Series drawing nigh, Giant Bomb SuckaFred user decided to boot up MLB 2K7 on PS2! Read why they still think it holds up and is a pseudo-Gold Standard for baseball games today!

infantpipoc wrote a review for Onimusha: Way of the Sword and in it shares why it feels and plays like the Genji sequel they've always wanted to come from the best and brightest minds at Capcom!

Internet memes aside, is The Exit 8 an actual good horror video game?

infantpipoc initially avoided playing The Exit 8 because they dismissed it as a meme streamer horror game. After watching and enjoying the movie, they finally gave the game a shot and was pleasantly surprised.

linksocarina wrote an in-depth review for Voices of the Void, and shares why it's an interesting film that fits the spooky season PERFECTLY for those in the mood for some spooks in prep for Halloween!

Likewise, linksocarina also wrote a review for Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and in it argues why the game's sense of progression through time still leads to a complete horror package you can't stop thinking about.

daddybojangles published their first review on Giant Bomb and it's for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos! Check out their brief but interesting theory on why they think the game is still a "timeless" classic in the strategy arena