The Community Spotlight 2025.03.15

Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look at the site-related news and best community creations from the last week.

First, lets all give a huge round of applause to the Giant Bomb, GameSpot, and Fandom staff that made the last week of streaming possible!

As you may have heard, the current collaboration of streaming content between Giant Bomb and all of its affiliate sites is moving forward as the "Power Block" or "Pow Block" format. As explained on this GameSpot article, from Monday to Friday, starting at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET each day and running until around 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET, you will get hours of Giant Bomb and GameSpot content. As I mentioned last week, Game Mess Mornings is being renamed "GameBreaking News" though the content and scope of the feature remains the same. I also want to say I was hoping to have a thread on the site with info about the Pow Block news, but I had a crazy week of work and just didn't have the time. The places to catch all of this is:

• Giant Bomb Site Chat
• Giant Bomb YouTube
• Giant Bomb Twitch
• GameSpot YouTube
• GameSpot Twitch

Here's even better news about the new Pow Block programming. Moving forward, you will even be able to watch and listen to all of the programs in a day of streaming in a single VOD. For example, the streaming schedule for 3/13/25 is available on YouTube and you can watch all four and a half hours worth of Giant Bomb and GameSpot programming in a single video. As you might expect, these videos take time to make and will not be available right from the rip, so your patience is greatly appreciated. The only other episode of Pow Block that has an uninterrupted VOD is the 3/14/25 block.

When it comes to hosting videos on the Giant Bomb site, an effort is being made to get better about that. You can find most of what is being aired on the "Videos" tab of the site. There are some gaps, so, here's a handy list of all the site programming I was able to track down from last week:

Weekly List of Programming & Streams

• SpongeBob is Getting into Magic the Gathering | Game Mess Mornings 03/10/25
• 10 Mario Games for Mario Day!
• Totally Normal Super Mario Bros. | GB Kidz
• What's Even Happening in Death Stranding 2? | Giant Bombcast 881: No Tabby Touchy
• Capcom Trademark Could Hint at the Return of a Franchise | Game Mess Mornings 03/12/25
• Checking Out the 8BitDO Ultimate 2 Controller
• Mitch's Quest | Blightning Round
• The Oblivion Remake Could Launch Sooner than Expected | GameBreaking News 03/13/25
• Voicemail DUmptruck 152 | Confronted by Salsa.mp3
• Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 3 in Development | GameBreaking News 03/14/25
• Mt. Rushmore of Co-Op Games | Giant Bombcast 881: REVENGEANCE
• R.E.P.O. | Unprofessional Fridays
• GB Reacts - Death Stranding 2 SXSW Trailer
• GameSpot Present - Humble Games Showcase 2025
• GameSpot Presents - Atomfall's Exciting Take On The Post-Apocalyptic Genre
• Atomfall Preview, Best Games of 2025 So Far | The GameSpot Show
• GameSpot Presents - JaVale McGee Rewinds with a Spin in Diddy Kong Racing | Star Players
• GameSpot Presents - Split Fiction Let's Play: EXCITING First Impressions!
• We're Trying Something NEW!!! | GameSpot After Dark #261

BlueSky

https://bsky.app/profile/tamoorh.com/post/3lk4sp3vfok2s

https://bsky.app/profile/grubb.wtf/post/3lk4ywhmaja2i

https://bsky.app/profile/gbdudersfeed.bsky.social/post/3ljxpswrtus27

https://bsky.app/profile/picklegiraffe.bsky.social/post/3ljw64jlg6k2h

https://bsky.app/profile/silenttakedown.bsky.social/post/3lk2abmzv2s2c

Art

Uncle Fuddy Duddy (By: Pickle Giraffe)

The Fester's Quest Blight Club ended quicker than expected, but what can you say other than Mike is good at video games? Also, Pickle_Giraffe didn't use that as an excuse to not make a cool work of art in Mike's honor. And in case you can't see it above in the bsky section of the Spotlight, they also posted an incredible timelapse showing how they made this work of art.

Video

THAT'S FROGS, BROTHER! - (Season 7 Episode 4) - An Animated Giant Bomb Blight Club Series (By: Pickle Giraffe)

Will Blues Brothers 2000 be the game that finally "breaks" Grubb? Only time will tell, especially with him rotating out for new editions of Blight Club, but that's not going to stop Pickle_Giraffe from making more cool animated editions of Blight Club.

Activities

Avowed Is The Third Game Of UUGPGC Year 4! Finish By April 1! Mark All Spoilers (By: @bigsocrates)

Well, unsurprisingly, a lot of you have thoughts about Avowed. Some of you love the game and others seem slightly disappointed that it didn't entirely live up to your expectation of it being an Elder Scrolls-like game with sky-high ambitions. Regardless of where you might stand, share away your thoughts in this thread hosted by the Game Pass Game Club!

The GB Album Club 081 - No New World by Mass of the Fermenting Dregs (By: @unclejam23)

Hey, Giant Bomb community! This pick for the Album of the Week Club, the group has gone with No New World by Mass of the Fermenting Dregs! Have you ever heard of this musical group from Japan? Who wants to discuss some shoegaze?!

Blogs

Let's Review Demos From The February 2025 Steam Next Fest - Part 1 [Monster Train 2, Wanderstop, New Cosmo D, And MORE!] (By: ZOMBIEPIE)

Steam's February 2025 Next Fest has been behind us for a while, but ZombiePie can't stop thinking about some of the game demos he played during the event. If you want to read their recommendations about Monster Train 2, Wanderstop, the latest game from Cosmo D, and MORE, give their latest blog a read!

Might and Mento: The March-Date of Heaven: Part One+

Indie Game of the Week 411: Manifold Garden (By: @mento)

Moderator Mento decided to have some fun with their latest blog feature: Re-creating Homestar Runner's Teen Girl Squad in Might and Magic VI! Yes, this is real, and, yes, this might already be a solid candidate for "Best Blog" of 2025.

Likewise, they have a new edition of their "Indie Game of the Week" feature and this one looks at the curious puzzler, Manifold Garden. Read all about why they were stunned and impressed by this simplistic first-person puzzle game on their write-up about it.

NamCompendium 16: A Tale of Two Sequels +

Presenting, Viking Strike 01 (By: @electricviking)

ElectricViking has another edition of their NamCompendium blog and this one looks at Pole Position II and Galaga 3/Gaplus! Which arcade classic has benefited better from home console ports and why? Read their blog to find out!

ElectricViking is also trying out a new format to get in the habit of writing new stuff on the site at least weekly. That format is to write one paragraph, and only one, while reviewing games they've played, both new and old, and why he recommends or condemns them.

Help I'm Trapped in Mid-Budget Action-JRPG Heck (01): The Hottest Games of 2022 (By: @arbitrarywater)

ArbitraryWater returns with a blog titled "Help I'm Trapped in Mid-Budget Action-JRPG Heck" that looks at Valkyrie Elysium and Star Ocean: The Divine Force! Is the B-Tier video game still alive in the JRPG genre? Check out their latest blog to find out.

Looking At A Potential Peak Point In March, 2025 (By: @infantpipoc)

Hades II is still in Early Access, but infantpipoc decided to bust out their magnifying glass to really look at what the Warsong update does to change the game and see if we can surmise anything about what the final release will look like.

Discussion Threads

Dirty Dan Ryckert Shirt =D (By: @fobwashed)

Yes, this thread is over ten-years-old, but there's a reason for me including it in this edition of the Spotlight. @offnickel bumped the thread to claim they had found an ancient Dirty Dan Ryckert t-shirt at a Goodwill and I was able to convince them to post a photo verifying that to be true. So, have you found Giant Bomb-themed shirts in odd places?

Your Wish List For Ports And Remakes For Switch 2? (By: @gtxforza)

We are drawing closer to the Nintendo Direct where it is expected that Nintendo will give a better picture of what they have planned for the Nintendo Switch 2. Nonetheless, almost everyone agrees there will be some games that are ports and remakes shared during that Direct. So, what remakes and remasters are on your wishlist?

What Matters To You Most In A Controller? (By: @topcyclist)

Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are rumored to be planning big things for their next controllers, what do you value most in a controller these days? Share away on this poll and feel free to share how you feel on this thread.

It's Not Just Microsoft; Sony Is Experimenting With Generative AI In Game Development (By: @zombiepie)

After Microsoft made their generative AI tool public, Polygon published a report suggesting that Sony is experimenting with AI as well. What are your thoughts about this news? Is AI slop inevitable even in the world of premier or AAA video games?

What Pop Culture Twist Did You Go Without Knowing Via Osmosis Somehow? (By: TOPCYCLIST)

Here's a fun topic on the forums: What's the most impressive twist or plot point you somehow completely avoided getting spoiled? Is it a movie or game? As you can see in the screenshot to the right, one user apparently was able to avoid getting Final Fantasy VII spoiled until adulthood.

What Games Are You Looking Forward To In 2025? (By: @atheistpreacher)

The first quarter of 2025 is almost over, so, it's time to check in on those of you that shared your most anticipated games of 2025. How did the first salvo of games treat you? Were there any misses or duds in the opening months of the year? Have you added anything to your list?

Lists

Worst Of The Worst +

Hot Imports (By: @marino)

Fellow moderator Marino has played his fair share of video games and that includes some real duds. Of the 1700+ games he owns, here's their list looking at the ten worst games based on their Metacritic scores.

Have you ever imported a game? Marino also published a list where they list and discuss every game in their collection they imported from another country and there are some real obscure and classic gems on this list!

Only Keighley’s Bards (By: @infantpipoc)

infantpipoc has a new list that looks at the history of Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards and this time they decided to look at all of the modern "Best Narrative" winners!

Fakey's 2024 Games of the Year (By: @fakekisser)

FakeKisser almost thought about skipping making a 2024 GOTY list entirely but they finally got around to making one. Read all about the new and old games they loved and hated and don't forget that it's never too late to make a GOTY list.

Reviews

• @pauljeremiah's Omega Boost review talks about what they think is a criminally forgotten mech game on the PS1 that deserves more attention. Read why over here!
• @pauljeremiah's Chrono Trigger review celebrates the game's 30th anniversary with a review in which they join the choir in calling the game one of the best JRPGs ever made.

Wiki Of The Week

Skullgirls

Last week marked the 14th anniversary of Giant Bomb debuting the first gameplay footage of Skullgirls! If you want to remember Brad fielding Reverge Labs, LLC questions about the earliest builds of the cult-classic fighting game, here's a link to the Quick Look!