Hello 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 and best user-created works from the previous week! Well, I hop you enjoyed Fishing Week as much as everyone else did and if you're interested in truly commemorating the occasion, the site's merch store still has plenty of Fishing Week stuff for you to buy! That includes:
- Fishing Week Tank Top - $30+S.H.
- Giant Bomb Fishing Shirt - $28+S.H.
- Giant Bomb Long Sleeve Fishing Shirt - $36+S.H.
- Giant Bomb Fishing Bucket Hat - $31+S.H.
- Fishing Week Trucker Hat - $31+S.H.
Semi-related, but let's give Dan a huge CONGRATULATIONS for finally defeating their long-running nemesis, Space Ace for the SNES! Now that their "shift" is over I guess it is worth pointing out, in case you missed it, that the next Blight Club will be Premium-only and the votes overwhelmingly picked Jeff Bakalar as the next "victim!" And if you don't trust me, you can take a gander at the forum voting on the Premium board, or look at this tabulation below:
From Chuck, if you tried to make a tier list on the site and noticed games were either unmovable in the unassigned row, the issue should be fixed. If you are still having editing and making tier lists head on over to the Giant Bomb Discord and report the issue in "site-tech-issues" channel.
A user on the Discord indicated that they were limited on the emotes they were able to use there. If you were unaware, the Giant Bomb Discord has implemented a restriction on emote reaction use for newer accounts and getting to Rank C should allow full and free use of emotes, which should amount to 3 months after joining the server. If you have been on the server for that amount or more, the bot that handles that role is currently down and roles and ranks should be updated when the host responds to the ticket that has been sent to them.
As mentioned last week, we have some BIG NEWS about the site and its staff! Jan, Jeff, and Mike will be attending the annual Myst fan convention, Mysterium, in Portland Oregon! Hotel booking at the location has already closed, but that doesn't mean you can't plan to attend the event while housed on an outside hotel. You have until July 20th to order tickets to attend!
Finally, earlier in the week the Giant Bomb crew joined Bailey Meyers and Good Time Society during their Roll for Pride: A Charity Stream for the Trans Wellness Center! Grubb, Jan, and Chuck were a part of the fun and if you missed the stream, you can catch a VOD of the event over here!
Nonetheless, huge props to them for raising OVER $5,200 towards the Los Angeles LGBT Center! Even though the stream is over doesn't mean you can't still donate what you can or spread the word about this good cause!
Fan Art
Giant Bomb Staff x Space Ace Artwork (By: techsev)
Let's Be Mean T-Shirt Design (By: Evalenge)
Check out this AMAZING work of art that Giant Bomb Discord user TECHSev made in honor of Dan beating Space Ace on the SNES! Don't forget that you can catch amazing user-made works of art the minute they come out if you join the Discord! The link above is an invite to the Discord if you need one. You can also follow techsev on bsky.
Also from the Giant Bomb Discord comes this mock-up of a "Let's Be Mean" t-shirt design for Mike!
Mike Meme - Part 4 (By: Dan & Various Participants)
Alright... I checked. I double checked. I even triple checked.
And I think that's everyone that participate at least once. If I missed you, don't worry, that sound isn't me weeping over my keyboard, but how about helping me out and dropping a direct link to your work of Photo-shopped goodness to avoid further humiliation on my part.
Video
The 500 Deaths of Dan Ryckert - Every Death in Giant Bomb Blight Club | Space Ace (By: Joyze)
Want to see something INCREDIBLE? Here's an almost TWO-HOUR-LONG compilation video from Joyze on YouTube of every single time Dan died while playing Space Ace for Giant Bomb's Blight Club! What does the future hold for the series? Only time will tell!
Love On A Leash (By: Pickle_Giraffe)
SGF 2026 is well behind us, but Pickle_Giraffe just couldn't help themselves to some video-editing tomfoolery. Click the link above to watch their incredibly slick take on Dan hanging out with the Xenomorph bartender!
Blight Club Highlights - Batgrubb (By: alex-wp)
And if you're in the mood for a more "classic" Blight Club, might I interest you in AlexWP's highlight reel of the best moments from Grubb's adventures with batman: Dark Tomorrow? I certainly think we can all agree it is one of the best editions of Blight Club ever.
Also, if you are a fan of the thumbnail PickleGiraffe has a timelapse video showing how they made it.
Mike Playing Dan's Winning Space Ace Sun As If It Were AN FMV Game (By: techsev)
As the title suggests, what if you took Dan's winning Space Ace run and turned it into an FMV game? Well, wonder no more as techsev has a proof of concept of this very real imaginary scenario and the end result is HILARIOUS!
Community Articles
Let's Review Demos From Steam's June 2026 Next Fest Event - Part 1 (By: ZombiePie)
After an extended hiatus, ZombiePie is back on the site with a fun rundown of some of the game demos they played as part of the June 2026 edition of Steam's Next Fest event! If you played a demo during Next Fest share what your highlights are in their article.
64 in 64: Episode 52—Plats All, Folks! Part Four +
Indie Game of the Week 473: ReSetna (By: Mento)
Mento wraps up their 64 in 64 feature with a write-up summarizing their one-hour-and-change experiences with Chameleon Twist and Looney Tunes: Duck Dodgers Starring Daffy Duck! Why are neither game held in high regard by N64 defenders? Read their write-up to find out!
Also, Mento's latest "Indie Game of the Week" is for ReSetna and once again they apply their litmus test to see if this game does anything to stand apart in the absolutely PACKED indie Metroidvania field.
A Real Game, Or A Puppet Bound By Strings? (By: MooseyMcMan)
MooseyMcMan really fell in love with and was fascinated by how much Lies of P's central themes mirror what the game is and how it plays. Read what sold them so much on the game, its world, its cast, and overall story by clicking the link above!
Forum Posts Worth Checking Out
Announcements
Giant Bomb Premium YouTube Memberships... Are Here (By: Chuck)
As mentioned earlier, YouTube Memberships are here and you can get the early details on what is locked behind them and how they can enhance your Giant Bomb experience. As Chuck lays out in the article, if you already have Giant Bomb Premium and are enjoying Premium features on the site, this might not be for you, but for those of you that have been asking for a YouTube Membership option, read all about it!
General Discussion
Steam Machine Price Announced (By: atheistpreacher)
So it's the biggest news item of the week, but how does everyone feel about the pricing on the Steam Machine? With memory and storage prices being what they are, how much do you blame Valve?
Games From 2026 You've Completed And Recommendations On Them (By: bigsocrates)
It's crazy to think, but we are more than halfway done with 2026! So, which games are your GOTY 2026 frontrunners and what are the games you think more people should play? Were there any indie or AAA games that lived up to the hype?
Fishing Week Merch Shipping & General FAQ Thread (By: dadgummit)
Have questions about the merch for Fishing Week and how shipping and handling will work out?? Postmandan is on the case and will get back to you if you drop a comment in this thread. Also, how are shipping prices for you all for this batch of merch? Postmandan and other staff would love to know and you can share in the thread linked above as well!
BlazBlue Central Fiction's PC & PlayStation 4 Version Is Nearly A Decade Old And Announced A New DLC Character (By: gtxforxza)
BlazBlue: Central Fiction is over a decade old, but Arc System Works just announced a new DLC character for the game regardless. This news is definitely wild, but do you think this a sign a new BlazBlue might be in the works?
Does The OoT Remake Make Sense To Release On November 19th? (By: V)
The Ocarina of Time remake joins an absolutely STUFFED 2026 calendar, especially during the fall months! Would you have it come out on a less crowded month or time? Or, are you getting it no matter what?
What Are Some Of The Games On Your Long Term "I Need To Get Back To That" List? (By: bigsocrates)
Are there any games that you play on and off and can't help but think "Man, I really need to lock in and finish this thing"? Why seems to vex you about this game and do you think you'll be able to finish it before the end of this year? Share away and maybe you can get some help from someone in the community.
Clicking Fish (By: doctormark87)
DON'T LIE but how many of you have instinctively tried clicking the falling fish on the site during Fishing Week? Share the TRUTH and other fun musings about Giant Bomb's always entertaining bit about fishing.
Premium-Only
9 Lives Appreciation Thread (By: figmentspace)
For those of you with Giant Bomb Premium, we have an appreciation thread for Chuck's "9 Lives of Mister Mistofelees" feature on the site! If you are a fan of their feature and the tomfoolery they have been up to on Skyrim, drop a comment over here!
Premium Content Suggestions (By: adamthephantump)
Now that premium features really seem to be hitting their stride, what is your "dream feature?" Is there a game you think is a perfect fit for the Giant Bomb staff you'd like to see them do a deep dive into? If so, share away in this discussion thread!
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
Colour Contrast Issues [Response Posted] (By: permanentsigh)
Have you wondered about color contrast options on the site and felt like more would be appreciated? As Chuck points out in this thread, for the forums you can change your Skin in the bottom left and use a better contrast option using that menu. For the general site they admit more options would be better.
Seeing Ads With Premium! [Response Posted & Possible Fix Deployed] (By: thecakester)
As mentioned last week but it bears repeating, Chuck has been tinkering around with a lot of moving parts to try and make it less likely for ads to pop up on the Premium podcast feeds. However, postmandan has a workaround that might be worth noting if you're still having issues. As they point out in the thread linked above, you can mitigate this problem by navigating to your profile page then returning home as sometimes, reloading won’t get rid of the video ads.
Also, if Chuck's most recent deploy hasn't made this issue better, please drop a comment in this thread to indicate as much.
Tier Lists
Fishing Mini Game Tier List Presented by Fishing Week +
A Personal Tier List Of The Fish Catalogs Of Fishing/Underwater Games That I Played (By: mocbucket62)
Inspired by Giant Bomb's Fishing Week event, mocbucket62 decided to publish a tier list ranking of what they think are the best and worst fishing minigames as well as the games that have the best overall catalogues of fish. If you have premium, you can use either template to join belatedly Fish Week!
ArbitraryWater's Definitive, Official, and Entirely Authoritative Ranking of Modern Indie Survival Horror and Survival Horror Adjacent Games (By: ArbitraryWater)
ArbitraryWater re-upped their Premium membership and to commemorate that they went ahead and made a list on the site ranking all of the indie horror games they have played and streamed in the meantime! And don't forget to welcome them back when you have time.
Kingdom Hearts Tier List (By: chocobodude3)
After the game graced Nintendo's June Direct, chocobodude3's excitement for Kingdom Hearts IV is at an all-time high! So, they went ahead and made a tier list ranking of every single Kingdom Hearts game they have played!
Lists
Blight Club Wish List Part 2 (By: chocobodude3)
After Dan pulled off the impossible and finally vanquished Space Ace on the SNES, chocobodude3 decided to make another list of games that are on their "Blight Club Wish List!" This is the second list of this type they have made and if you want to join them, consider picking up premium!
User Reviews
infantpipoc played 2023's Trepang2 entirely on a Steam Deck and shares on @giantbomb how the game fairs on that device as well as reviews how it almost, but not entirely, scratches the same itch as F.E.A.R.