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 important site-related news as well as best community creations from the previous week.
Before we get to the onslaught of Extra Life related news, let's talk about the other fun updates about the site. First, for anyone who placed an order for a mug or Bomb-A-Thon t-shirt during the Bomb-A-Thon when they first dropped, most of those orders have either shipped or should have already reached you. If you have any issues, please send an email to [email protected]. And yes, the new mugs are just regular sized mugs instead of the giant monstrosities that were the Beastcast mugs.
Deku Deals is Giant Bomb's sponsor this month and to kick this partnership off on the best possible footing, they even have a quiz that matches you with a Giant Bomb staffer based entirely on your favorite games and general gaming likes and dislikes. Who did you match up with? Feel free to share in the comments! More importantly, Giant Bomb will be using Deku Deals and their voting system to determine games they should stream during the month of November. Vote with your heart and maybe the staff will play something you love!
Some of you may have noticed that the site pulled the Premium version of Game Mess Mornings from Thursday, 11/6/2025. As per TurboShawn, the staff pulled the episode briefly to toss the problematic ads that appeared in it and around Friday a reupload should have hit your RSS Feed that is all good.
However, there's no doubt that the big news this week is the start of Extra Life 2025 festivities. I'll share most of the information in the Extra Life section, but there is one thing worth remarking upon in the intro of this edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight. GIANT BOMB SITE CHAT IS BACK BAYBEEEEEEE! Chuck used all of his dark magic to make it happen and I don't know how you feel, but I couldn't be happier. Like many of you, seeing the site chat back is a real trip down memory lane. Admittedly, this is only a temporary return so we have an easier time sharing community-led streams this weekend (Nov 8-9). So, even if you aren't able to donate and maybe can't tune in for too long, at the very least consider dropping by the site chat to pop off your favorite emote so you can relive the magic of the old site chat. This might well be your list chance to say goodbye to the site chat, but as they say, crazier things have happened.
Also, the staff's Extra Life tomfoolery will commence next weekend on November 15th. They have a whole set of goofy bits at his house like in previous years, but they needed a bit more time between the Bomb-A-Thon and Extra Life to get set up.
Likewise, please consider reviewing our team page and tracking down all of the people on our team that still have yet to raise a dollar towards their Extra Life goals. As is tradition on Giant Bomb, we want to make sure not a single person of the Giant Bomb Extra Life ends this year's Game Day at $0 raised.
And for my final note about Extra Life, if you have appreciated my efforts to captain Giant Bomb's community Extra Life efforts or this very Community Spotlight feature, please consider sending a donation to my Extra Life page. Even if you can only spare a single small donation, any amount helps and if you can't donate, please consider spreading the word to anyone who might be interested in helping out sick kids during their time of need.
Finally, let's end things with the usual updates and notifications about the site and the pending transition to the new site. For everyone logged in and reading this feature, you are in the clear about maintaining your usernames. What is important is communicating with everyone you know that might have moved on or have not used their site accounts in a while that they need to log into their Giant Bomb site accounts between now and the end of the year. If you really want to check to see if you're all squared away .
If after clicking this link, you get immediately re-directed to the homepage, that means there's nothing you need to do. You'll only see a disclaimer with a button to click if you haven't already opted into the account transfer process.
If you still are not able to log into the beta site and have premium, DM chucktowski on Discord with your username and email and he can sort it out.
Extra Life 2025
- Giant Bomb Extra Life 2025 Community Stream Registration & Info Thread – If You Have Any Questions, Feel Free To Drop A Comment And I'll Get Back To You As Soon As Possible!
- Dan's Donation Page – When time comes to support Dan in all of his crazy shenanigans, this is where you should send them! He has a donation goal of $10,000! dan will be streaming on the 15th.
- Giant Bomb Extra Life Team Page – SIGN UP NOW! Extra Life doesn't wipe out pages until the start of 2026, so even if you can't stream during Game Day, if you do stream at all, please consider joining the team and seeing if you can get a few of your viewers to chip in a few dollars.
- Giant Bomb Site Chat – From evening of November 7th until about 7:30 PM PST on November 9th Giant Bomb site chat will be back so we can host community streams!
- My Team Captain Extra Life Page – Consider Donating To My Page If You Have Enjoyed The Spotlight Over The Many Years I Have Been Authoring It!
Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/techsev.bsky.social/post/3m4wj77llpc2y
https://bsky.app/profile/majima.club/post/3m4vt3r73s22r
https://bsky.app/profile/gbdudersfeed.bsky.social/post/3m4xtudr3is2t
https://bsky.app/profile/adam-parker.bsky.social/post/3m4y77bifj22o
https://bsky.app/profile/bansheebanzai.bsky.social/post/3m4prv6lmqc24
Activities
Keeper Is The 11th Game Of UGPGC Year 4. Mark All Spoilers. Finish By December 1st, 2025! (By: @bigsocrates)
It won by a landslide, but the next game pick for the Game of the Month Club is Keeper by Double Fine Productions, Inc.! Was the game worth the years of radio silence from Double Fine all of these years? Join the fun and join the conversation about the game over here!
The GB Album Club 103 – Doom Garden EP by Catbite (By: @unclejam23)
Hey everyone! This week the Giant Bomb Album of the Week Club is listening to Doom Garden EP by Catbite! Are any of you familiar with this group and their work? Share away your thoughts and newcomers are welcomed. In fact, as the group nears the end of another season, it's time for anyone interested to share if they want to join the fun next time!
Blogs
Indie Game of the Week 444: PowerWash Simulator 2 (By: @mento)
This week, for their “Indie Game of the Week” feature, moderator Mento played PowerWash Simulator 2! Read why they loved the game and found it to be a major improvement from the first game. How much of an improvement and is it good enough to make their GOTY list? Read to find out.
Ranking of Roguelikes #5: Caveblazers + Ranking of Roguelikes #6: Nowhere Prophet (By: @laughingman)
aughingman revives their old blog feature in which they play and rank modern roguelikes from best to worst. This week they played and reviewed Caveblazers as well as Nowhere Prophet! Do either game do anything to set themselves apart in a crowded field? Only one way to know!
Moosey May Cry Part 2. (By: @mooseymcman)
Last week, MooseyMcMan started a retrospective on the Devil May Cry franchise with a look at the first game. Obviously, that means the second entry has to cover the incredibly controversial Devil May Cry 2. With that in mind, read why they think the game simply does not work or live up to expectations.
Super Robot Wars 30 (By: @valorianendymion)
After an extended hiatus, ValorianEndymion is back to reviewing entries in the Super Robot Taisen series! This week they look at and assess one of the more recent entries in the franchise, Super Robot Wars 30. If you want to read about how characters from SSSS.Gridman or those godawful Code Gease OVAs shape up alongside classic Gundam characters, give their blog a read!
ZombiePie's FMV Friday Special For Extra Life & The Glorious Return Of Site Chat (Temporarily) (By: @zombiepie)
As mentioned earlier, the glorious return of Giant Bomb chat is here and I went ahead and wrote a quick blog about what I have planned for this year's Extra Life festivities along with a fun plea for you all to join us in chat probably one last time before we say goodbye to it.
Discussion Threads
I Don't Think This Game Is Getting Enough Respect And Attention (Ball X Pit) (By: @doubledaddydan)
Have any of you given Ball x Pit a shot? Are you enjoying it and do you have any tips and tricks for people worth sharing? Also, what platform are you playing it on? If you have any thoughts or feelings about the game, drop a comment in the following discussion thread!
Halo Infinite Is Ending Active Development (By: @zombiepie)
In a statement on Halo Waypoint, Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) announced that Halo Infinite would end active development later in the month of November. With that in mind, what do you make of the current state of Halo Infinite? How do you reconcile the game's poor post-launch support with the fact the base game is genuinely fun to play?
Overwhelming Cynicism Sucks And Is A Huge Problem In Gaming (By: @laughingman)
As laughingman shares in this thread, it seems like negativity or cynicism about the video game industry is translating into people being negative or cynical about new games or people being able to enjoy new releases. Do you feel that's the case? Share why or why not in their thread.
BioWare Confirms They Are Actively Working On A New Mass Effect. They Only Have A Singular Teaser Image To Share (By: @zombiepie)
N7 Day came and went for the Mass Effect faithful, but the leaders at BioWare once again want you to know that they are absolutely working tirelessly on the Next Mass Effect (Working Title). Did they have any gameplay or even a teaser trailer to share? NOPE! Instead all they have is a hidden teaser image with key art. Is that concerning?
Lists
The (Not Completely, Absolutely Official Just Yet But Pretty Close) Top 100 SNES Games List (By: @mento)
It seems like an impossible task, but Giant Bomb moderator Mento made a list of what they consider the 100 best games on the SNES in order of greatness! Give their list a read and mull over if you think you are up for the challenge of making your own list, and if you do, I'll happily put it on the Spotlight as well.
Top 10 1985 Games (By: @alianger)
alianger made a glorious return to list making and this time annotated the games they think are the best of 1985! If you want a real trip down memory lane, give this list a read and think about your own list! Can you think of at least ten games from the year worth playing?
Video Game That Make You Say Hell Nah (By: @redfoxbennaton)
I am completely convinced that redfoxbennaton has perfected the art of making troll lists and they know exactly what they are doing, but I don't know for certain. What do you think? I'm all ears. There's too much “craft” put into the humor of this list.
User Reviews
@djcube‘s BMX XXX review attempts to demystify why they don't entirely believe the game deserves to be considered one of the worst games ever made. Sure, it's not good, but in the realm of almost-porn video games, is it really worse than Plumbers Don't Wear Ties? They say “No.”
@djcube‘s Die Hard: Vendetta review attempts to get to the bottom of the long-forgotten attempt to bring back the Die Hard franchise in video game form. Is this better or worse than A Good Day to Die Hard? I guess you'll just have to read their review to find out!
Wiki Of The Week
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
It's a game that practically defined an entire generation of multiplayer shooters, but November 7th marked the 18th anniversary of the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare! To call the game “important” would be an understatement and our wiki page for it really lays out what makes it such a seminal work in the realm of first-person shooters.
