Welcome to the latest issue of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am honored to be your host once again as we look back at some of the best work the community has created over the past week! This week we have a lot more positive news related to the site, especially in regards to the video player, so let’s get straight to it.

Another site update came out this week. I hope this has led to even more people being able to watch the videos on the site. If that’s not the case, the workaround I described last week now works in all browsers where the video doesn’t play, not just Chrome. This work around:

1. Clear all cookies
2. Click “Show Targets” OR “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” at the bottom of the site.
3. Enable only “performance cookies”.

The last two steps on this checklist work for most people. As I said last week, the engineering team does not consider this workaround to be a permanent solution. If you still cannot watch videos even after enabling these performance cookies, or if you do not want to, please leave a comment here.

There are several podcast reports missing from third party apps, inability to downloador completely missing. Please continue to use the bug boards to report these issues, but don’t forget to ping Dylan by including @dtoast in your bug report.

For those interested in part 2 of the Universal Road Trip video series, Yang confirmed that he is likely to rise over the weekend..

So, one little note about Dylan. Some people have commented that they think he’s been less involved or visible in the forums lately, and you’re right. But I will tell you the reason for this. GameSpot, GameFAQs, and Fandom, with the near universal support of their staff and moderation teams, have finally decided to close their off-topic political discussion threads. This decision has nothing to do with the Giant Bomb forums and the fandom’s current plans for them, but keep in mind that this is a pure positive for society, and also, things have gone downhill and Dylan has been busy.

tweets

activity

Immortality is the 10th game of the second year of the UUGPGC. Complete by May 22nd. Mark all spoilers! +

Unauthorized unofficial Game Pass Game Club voting theme for cycle starting May 22, 2023 (From: @bigsocrates)

Don’t forget that the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Game Pass is for immortality! If you have any non-spoiler thoughts about this controversial title from Sam Barlow and Half Mermaid, feel free to share!

There’s also a new batch of games to vote on as part of the Game Pass Game Club community! Here are the nominees. Remember, you can vote for TWO GAMES!

The GB Album Club 032 – Disorganized Fun by Ronald Jenkys (From: @unclejam23)

Ronald Jenkis’ latest release of Album Of The Week Club for Disorganized Fun! Do any of you have any thoughts on this indie album by a renowned YouTuber keyboardist? Join the fun NOW!

Kind

Poop City Slamma Jamma! (From: @jearum)

Inspired by the recent Voice Mail dump truck, jearum makes a daring return to Giant Bomb fan art, imagining what Dan and Robo-Mitch would look like if they were playable characters in NBA Jam.

Jeff Grubb REAL Award 2023 (From: @kone)

After Grubb joked on Twitter that “Best Husband of the Year” After a particularly long session with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Kone jumped at the opportunity for a better reward.

Metal hard tears +

Tamur x Scorpio (TO: @MOHAMMEDFI10)

On Twitter, MOHAMMEDFI10 continues to create fan art for Tamura. They first played with the font in Tears in the Kingdom, and then introduced Tamura as a Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat series. If you can think of any creative ways to include staff and guests in fan art, feel free to give them suggestions.

Legend of the Giant Bomb (From: Chroney)

Big thanks to Chroneus from the Giant Bomb Discord for creating this AMAZING Dan-inspired Photoshop work! If you’d like to see more staff related goodness, join Discord using the link provided above.

blogs

What is the best video game: Lonesome Village (From: @imunbeatable80)

In this edition of imunbeatable80’s “What’s the Best Video Game” column, they chose Lonesome Village! Does this game have a good mix of city simulation and puzzle solving elements?

May Generosity: Week 2 +

Indie Game of the Week 320: Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memory (From: @mento)

Mento continues to work on MANY games they took from the various Itch kits they bought to support various social justice fundraisers! Read all about the last batch of games they played.

Mento also has another issue of their site’s Indie Game of the Week feature dedicated to Hidetaka Suehiro’s “Missing: J.J. McField and the Island of Memories”!

Giant Bomb Crew RPG Statistics (From: @topcyclist)

We have someone trying to make a countertop “character sheets” for each employee and even regular guests. Here’s what they did for Dan, but they need suggestions for Jeff Grubb, Ian, Mike and Jerf!

Lo-Fi Plays V: Five Obscure Indie Games (From: @gamer_152)

This week, Gamer_152 brings you five small indie games you might not have played, including an occult grocery store visit and a social alienation marble game.

Topics of discussion

Mortal Kombat 1 is real; trailer falls; Help-based fighting game; DLC Fighters may have been leaked (From: @zombiepie)

Have any of you seen the Mortal Kombat 1 trailer? Have you pre-ordered Shang Tsung? How do you feel about these potential leaks and do you think Ed Boon is doing stunts again?

EU regulators approve Microsoft’s purchase of Activision-Blizzard; Appeals elsewhere gather momentum (From: @zombiepie)

EU regulators have approved Microsoft’s proposed merger with Activision Blizzard, Inc. Does this mean that MS has more options to challenge the FTC claim or the UK CMA decision? Does MS have an ally in Rishi Sunak?

What is your most hyped moment/video game release? (From: @tp0p)

People were REALLY excited about the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. People even lined up to get copies of the game. When was the last time you were really excited about a release and what game got you the most buzz?

Never meet your heroes; John Carmack tosses anti-revival convention (NEW: Carmack’s Concerns Statement) (From: @zombiepie)

Did you follow the controversy around John Carmack and his participation in the anti-woke convention called “BasedCon”? Do you think his statement/response to the backlash was satisfactory?

Has anyone played Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous on console? (From: @sombre)

Have any of you played the console ports of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous? What was your experience and how well does the gameplay transfer to the controller? Share your impressions here!

Would you actually play Overwatch 2’s canceled PvE mode? (From: @zombiepie)

PvE Hero Mode has been canceled in Overwatch 2, but would you still play it if it came along? Did this mode make sense to you? Vote and discuss on the forums and get a link to an AMAZING report on this topic from Tamoor.

What show or game would you recommend running a marathon or skipping the start because it’s the start? (From: @topcyclist)

What video game or series do you love but constantly have to warn people about being slow, whether it’s a bad first level or a sluggish first season? Star Trek: The Next Generation is what comes to mind when I think about this topic.

list

Deez 3DS free games (From: @mento)

There are plenty of Nintendo 3DS games that have all but died due to the closure of the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Moderator Mento is here to discuss who they would most like to see come back.

Retro Achievement Mastery (From: @bobafettjm)

bobafettjm LOVES retro achievements, so he created a list to annotate all his retro achievements! If you’ve also dabbled in retro achievements, consider creating your own list.

Rating, games played 2020-2029 +

Ranking, Worst Games 2020-2029 (From: @ginormous76)

Ginormous76 is really enjoying the games released in the 2020s, even after less than four years! So, they’ve already started working on a list of their favorite and least favorite titles of the decade.

Wiki of the Week

John Romero

John Romero (and his hair) most recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2023. Our John Romero wiki page is shockingly deep and contains a comprehensive overview of the ups and downs of his career.