Hello and 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 site-related news and best user-created works from the previous week!
As if the banner here or the many mentions of it on the site or social media were not enough, Giant Bomb recently wrapped up their collaboration with MinnMax to raise money for food banks in Minnesota as part of their ICE Out - Protect Our Neighbors charity drive! As of the publishing of this article, the collective power of the Giant Bomb and MinnMax communities have raised over $260,000! If you haven't yet donated, click the link and chip in what you can and spread the word to anyone you know that might be interested in helping out.
VEAP, the organization MinnMax is trying to highlight for this charity drive, is not only active in helping people with food, but it is also providing life essentials and rent assistance for those families that may have lost the primary income maker as part of ICE's occupation in Minnesota. As you can see in the image below, it's a fantastic organization and the Giant Bomb x MinnMax page will be up for another three months for those interested in helping out and maybe even including it in your socials or personal livestreaming efforts.
For those interested in watching the VOD for the event, the entire 8 hour livestream is available on Giant Bomb's YouTube page and will hit the site on a later date. This stream did, after all, air on Friday and is especially beefy.
For those of you wondering about the Sektori codes that were mentioned during the Bombcast, Mike has already emailed the game codes, so, be careful about checking the email you have on file for Giant Bomb. If you got premium on or later than 2:39 PM Eastern Jan 28, then you likely missed out this offer.
Finally, friend of the site, Rorie, recently penned a massive essay on their Patreon, that is free for everyone, on the rise of subscription models to keep websites profitable on the internet and why they still consider the old Whiskey Media Premium model a trailblazer. If you want to read a deep dive about the history of what has kept Giant Bomb alive, this is definitely an enlightening read.
Videos & Art
Giant Bomb x MinnMax Ice Out Coffee Art (By: Sir 5000)
What more is there to say other than Sir 5000's coffee art once again delivers! The fact they nailed the details of the Giant Bomb logo along with MinnMax's logo is simply amazing stuff. Also, follow them on bsky to see more coffee-based artistry.
Fuck ICE (By: Pickle Giraffe)
Pickle_Giraffe made a more than comical animation of Grubb juggling with the words "FUCK ICE" right there next to them. Watch and appreciate the full animation by clicking the link above and don't forget to thank them for their amazing work.
Forum Posts Worth Checking Out
Community Articles
Ranking of Roguelikes #9: Rogue Legacy (By: laughingman)
It's time for laughingman's "Ranking of Roguelikes" feature on the site to tackle a legend in the roguelike genre: Rogue Legacy. Now that years have past since its release, does one of the games that started the roguelike Golden Age still hold up?
Beating F-Zero GX's Story Mode For The 1st Time, 23 Years After Its Release (By: mocbucket62)
F-Zero GX is widely considered to be a tough cookie to crack. So, mocbucket62 decided to boot it up and committed themselves to finishing the game's main story mode after failing to do so after 23 years. Which race tracks gave them the hardest time? Read to find out!
Top 5 Games (That I Played) In 2025 (By: totalpatoot)
totalpatoot finally got around to publishing a community article on the site this week! This week they reviewed their five gaming highlights and trek down the retro gaming hole! Read all about it NOW!
Indie Game of the Week 452: Kena: Bridge of Spirits (By: Mento)
The start of a new month means that Mento is back with a write-up detailing their gaming and anime enjoying escapades over the past thirty-ish days! If you're interested in retro or indie gaming recommendations or even anime suggestions, give their article a read!
For this edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature, Mento reviewed Kena: Bridge of Spirits! Read why they found the game equal parts enchanting an unforgiving.
Sektori Review & Thoughts (By: relentlessknight)
relentlessknight mixed a review with a blog on their User Article on Giant Bomb where they applied a spotlight on Sektori! Is there more to this twin-stick shooter than cool visuals and vibes? If you ask them, YES!
Double Exposure, And The Legacy of Life is Strange. (By: MooseyMcMan)
MooseyMcMan finally wrapped up Life is Strang: Double Exposure and penned an essay about it, their thoughts about the future of Life is Strange, and the absolute state of queer stories in games going into 2026.
General Discussion
Games From 2026 You've Completed And Recommendations On Them (By: bigsocrates)
With the first month of 2026 behind us, where there any notable 2026 releases you already recommend? Are there any games you advise people to avoid? Share your thoughts and opinions about your gaming start to the year here!
Is Dragon Quest 1 HD-2D Remake A Bad Representation Of The Series? (By: big_denim)
Here's a thread for Dragon Quest fans: if someone enjoyed the Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake where do they go next? Is it time to play one of the PS2 games? Should they just stick with the Dragon Quest III Remake?
Men Of Giant Bomb, What Is Your "Roman Empire?" (By: hyperfocus74)
This week the Giant Bomb forums have revived a fun meme for all the guys in the community: What is your actual "Roman Empire" that you can't stop yourself thinking about whenever you have free time?
Best Series to Play Through in Their Entirety? (By: mjhicks88)
What's the "best" or most realistic video game series to play through its entirety? Some people have said Metal Gear and there's someone I know that agrees, but if you were to play every game in a franchise, which one do you think would lead to the most satisfaction?
South Park Snow Day Is On Free Play Days On Xbox. It's Awful! What Bad Games Are You Playing? (By: bigsocrates)
On a whim, Giant Bomb user bigsocrates played South Park Snow Day while it was on the "Free Play Days" on Xbox. Read why they found it to be one of the worst games they have played in a while.
Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, A New Story Set In The Dragon Ball Universe, Has Been Announced (By: ZombiePie)
Ayo, how do we all feel about the announcement of a new original series set in the Dragon Ball universe? Also, did you see that amazing Dragon Ball tribute video with music by Hans Zimmer? Discuss away in this thread on the Giant Bomb forums!
What Are You Playing/Finishing/Abandoning This Week (January 25, 2026 Edition) (By: laughingman)
It's a new week, so, it is time for everyone to share which games they picked up or dropped in their rotation. Were there any brave souls willing to give Highguard a shot? Join the weekly conversation over in this thread!
The Same Name Game (By: gyratyne)
Highguard is just "OVER-WATCH!" Get it?
If dunking on that naming convention sounds right up your alley, give this thread a read; I promise you will not be disappointed.
Premium-Only
UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A ENTER (By: baltmatrix)
Chuck, you monster!
Honestly, doesn't this count as cyberbullying?
Grubbsnax Question Thread (By: jeffgrubb)
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!
Suggestions & Bug Box
(Bug?) The Community Article Link And Image Are Mismatched With The Page That It Clicks Through To. [Answered/Resolved] (By: zacyzacy)
Confirming Subscription Window Size on Mobile and PC [Answered/Noted] (By: rmccantsii)
Live/Chat Redirect [Resolved] (By: brittonpeele)
For the first of these, I'll come out and admit the mistake with the community article page on the front page was my fault.
Nonetheless, Chuck has responded to the thread mentioning the window size for some of the pages for subscribing on mobile could be better and also fixed the redirect fromgiantbomb.com/chat to giantbomb.com/live/chat so that it no longer 404s. If you come across any other bugs or issues while using the site, don't forget to use this board.
Lists
Top Games 2025 (By: rawkpartee)
Game Of The Year 2025 (By: gravitypenguin)
As they say, better late than never! rawkpartee and gravitypenguin finally got around to writing their GOTY 2025 lists on the site! See which games they most enjoyed playing last year by clicking the link above and don't forget that if you still haven't made a GOTY 2025, I'll take it whenever you are ready!
User Reviews
Ball X Pit review by rmccantsii
rmccantsii wrote a quick but handy review for Ball X Pit! Read why they think the game was one of the most underrated indie games from 2025!
Shadow Complex review by infantpipoc
infantpipoc uses their review of Shadow Complex to wax poetically about that ancient time when Microsoft and Epic funded and developed smaller scrappier games. Oh, and the game itself still holds up remarkably well.
Promise Mascot Agency review by jbick89
jbick89 went into Promise Mascot Agency after having LOVED the studio's previous work, Paradise Killer. So, you might be surprised to learn that Promise Mascot Agecy actually left them disappointed. Read why on this review.