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 important staff and site-related news alongside the best user-created works from the previous week!
The big site news this week is that User Reviews and User Lists just got a big makeover on their landing pages. After putting in a considerable amount of work into the pages, there's a new UI/UX to help settle what the site looks like moving forward. User articles are planned to get the same treatment in the future, but the updates are happening piecemeal. Likewise, and this is especially exciting news, all of these site improvements are being done in prep of a still "secret" site feature. For now, consider checking out the pages for Lists and Reviews as they look incredibly snazzy!
One handy thing you might notice as part of this most recent site deploy is that the main navigation the site has gotten a rework as well. When you scroll over to the Watch, Listen, Words, Community, and Wiki tabs at the top of the site, you'll notice the pull-down tabs are significantly easier to use and view.
For any of you that were trying to watch Giant Bomb Premium content on YouTube and noticed that the Blight Club playlist was missing Grubberdillo episodes 1, 2, and 5, that issue stems from users being on an old playlist. Shawn updated the new one and got rid of an old one, but if you saved the old playlist, it might seem like there are no updates.
Another weird quirk, for those of you that have noticed that sometimes sections of the Giant Bomb homepage don't seem to load and look as if they're just looping the "..." animation, be aware, those are ad slots trying to render and pop up if you're not logged in or have your ad blocker turned off. Sometimes, for reasons still unknown, they don't fill the slots they're intended to fill. If you use Firefox, Firefox has a thing where they disable certain kinds of ad tech or cookies out of the box, and that could explain the issue.
If you have attempted to watch videos on an iPad and have encountered issues with the site video player, this is what Chuck has uncovered. The video source is coming from JW Player, and they found some ad blockers cast too wide a net and block their domain. If you continue to have issues, please send him an email at [email protected].
Finally, it's that time of the year to send some support over to friend of the site, Drew Scanlon! As many of you are aware, the blinking white guy himself raises money every year towards Bike MS, a charity that works with the National MS Society to fund research into new treatment and therapy for people combatting Multiple Sclerosis. So far, they have raised $26,931.00 of their $30,000 goal and I think the Giant Bomb community can certainly help him out.
Videos
Giant Bomb, But Puppets (By: mybaconsmellinfine)
The title really says it all. What if the Giant Bomb staff were puppets? This fun video, which re-creates an especially fun Blight Club moment when Minotti was playing Virtuoso, dares to answer that very question.
THE TOP 15* BLIGHT CLUB MOMENTS! - Giant Bomb Completes Worst Video Games Of All Time - Highlights (By: Missile Lane E)
Over on YouTube, Missile Lane E went ahead and made an AMAZING compilation video highlighting the funniest and best moments from Giant Bomb's Blight Club series. It's a whole one hour long, and if you feel like they missed any fun moments, don't forget to comment in their video and maybe we see a part 2 in the future.
Clip of the Week
So, What's This Guy's Thing? (By: firehair12000)
[Snoop Dogg Appears]
Bakalar: So, what's this guy's thing, weed?
Jan: That's what I first thought when I met you.
Grubb: I don't know, it's hard to tell.
Bakalar: That's fair, Jan. You're not the first one to say that to me.
Community Articles
Arbitrary's Infernape: Getting Back into Pokémon in 2026 and Ruining Myself in the Process (PART ONE???) (By: ArbitraryWater)
After an extended hiatus, ArbitraryWater returns to the world of article publishing with a new series that looks at their slow but sure return to the world of Pokémon. What are their impressions of the state of the series after walking away from it for years? Has the Master Ball tier in Champions broken their spirit? Read to find out!
What's Up With Metal Gear Solid? (By: csl316)
With the release of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.2, csl316 wanted to explore that release while also pontificating about the state of the Metal Gear Solid franchise in general as Konami continues to pull off its return to form in the video game industry.
Top 10 Video Games of 2025 - Late as Fuck and Short Edition (By: unclejam23)
There were a handful of users that took to the site to rectify the fact they never got around to making a 2025 GOTY list, and unclejam23 is one such user. As I always say, there's no such thing as being "too late" to share one's GOTY list, whatever the year may be.
Indie Game of the Week 482: Doomblade (By: Mento)
With the dawn of a new month, that can only mean that Mento is back with a write-up about all of their gaming and anime-watching highlights and lowlights. If you want some indie game or anime recommendations, look no further.
Likewise, Mento has a new edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature and this one reviews Doomblade! To learn why they think this game more than punches above its weight class in a post-Hollow Knight world, check out their second article!
What's the Greatest Video Game: 7 Game Extravaganza! (By: imunbeatable801)
imunbeatable801 has a WHOPPING SEVEN GAMES with this edition of their "What's the Greatest Video Game!" It's also an incredibly eclectic mix of games with a few arcade games alongside some console buried treasures. So, if you're in a retro gaming mood, definitely give this one a read!
Forum Posts Worth Checking Out
Wiki
Big Changes (Positive) To The Wiki! (By: Chuck)
As mentioned earlier, Chuck deployed a major update to the wiki recently. This update hopefully has fixed some of the formatting and display issues on older wiki pages and should set things up for a smoother future. If you want to read all about what has been done and how you can help, give the following post a read.
General Discussion
The GB Album Club 122 - Fantasy Black Channel by Late of the Pier (By: unclejam23)
Fantasy Black Channel by Late of the Pier is the latest pick for the Album of the Week Club! Have any of you given this well-regarded dance-punk revival album from the short-lived group? Feel free to join the conversation and also, don't forget to drop a comment if you want to pick an album for the next rotation.
Arcade Challenge Game Club: Space Bomber (Psikyo, 1998) (By: laughingman)
Don't forget that the current game pick for the Giant Bomb Arcade Challenge Game Club is Space Bomber (Psikyo, 1998)! If you want to talk about a quirky top-down arcade shooter, join the fun and even get some tips on how to wrack up a high score!
Check Out finalkeyframe.com For A Pure Nostalgia Trip (By: doubledaddydan)
Many thanks to the Nextlander crew for bringing it up during casual conversations, but Giant Bomb users are talking about FinalKeyFrame! Does this throwback AOL shell make you nostalgic? Where are my fellow 90s kids at?
GOTY 2026 That Aren't Going To Make GOTY 2026 Lists (By: laughingman)
Unfortunately, we are nearing GOTY 2026 territory. Before the onslaught starts, are there any games you enjoyed from 2026 that you worried will get lost or forgotten because they came out early?
What Are You Playing/Finishing/Abandoning This Week (August 23, 2026 Edition)? (By: laughingman)
What did everyone play and finish during the month of August? Are there any video game white whales haunting you as we enter September? Before we finally say "goodbye" to summer, what do you hope to finish or check out? Feel free to share in the thread above!
The Duskbloods Impressions (By: csl316)
More previews for The Duskbloods are coming out which leads to this question: What are your impressions of the game's early netcode woes and the way FromSoftware has responded to the situation? Do you think it still has the making to be the next big thing for FromSoftware or is a looming disaster?
Suggestions & Bug Box
This Day In GB History Button Is Broken [Response Posted/In-Progress] (By: bardalien)
A few users have pointed out that the "This Day in Giant Bomb History" tab or button isn't working as intended. As you can see in the thread, Chuck is aware of the problem and it seems to be a conflict with the new deployment process that's borking it. Chuck will try to tinker with it next week and see if anything gets better.
Adding Tiers In-Between Tiers on the Tier Maker [More Input Requested] (By: tampy)
For those of you that have played around with or tinkered with Giant Bomb's tier list system, how important or helpful would it be if adding a new tier could be done in-between pre-existing tiers rather than just at the end of the list as is the case right now?
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.
Premium
90's Game Rental Vibes (By: mafuchi)
So, Giant Bomb recently debuted its new "Weekend Rental Club" feature and that has the community thinking about games they would like to see the staff play as part of the feature in the future. Can you think of any Blockbuster or Hollywood Video rentals that seem destined for this series?
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!
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!
Lists/Tier Lists
Top 5 Games I Played In 2025 (By: adzpearson)
/v/'s Best Games Of 2025 (By: yuritajiri)
As mentioned earlier, with 2026 nearing the finish line, users that realized they never got around to listing or writing about their favorite games from 2025 have been hitting up the User Article and User List feature! When it comes to lists, adzpearson and yuritajiri are two such cases!
And if YOU also didn't publish a 2025 GOTY list, feel free to do so at your nearest convivence. It's never too late to make a GOTY list!
Final Fantasy Tier List (By: thenewneon)
thenewneon went on a tier list-making tear this week with rankings of the Final Fantasy, Resident Evil and Metal Gear franchises as well as a ranking of the Doom series alongside the Doom clones they have played. Even if you disagree with how they rated things, consider making a copy of their templates for your own lists!
User Reviews
Despite some misgivings here and there with a few isolated minigames, MajorMitch penned a review for Rhythm Heaven Groove on the site why they're so happy Rhythm Heaven is back and as good as they remember.
linksocarina is still going through all of the Guitar Hero games by chronological release day! This week they decided to get into the messy dark period where the series struggled to translate its success on handhelds and also repeatedly stumbled with its course corrections.
And as a fun detour, they also reviewed Rock Revolution! It's consider one of the worst Guitar Hero clones ever made, but what exactly makes it so rancid? Read to find out!