The Community Spotlight 2025.06.07

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 site-related news and best community creations from the previous week!

Not-E3 2025 is here and the Giant Bomb staff are running a lean and mean operation down in LA. Your patience and understanding as Jan works his butt off behind the scenes with the set-up and Grubb, Bakalar, Dan, and others nab the strong bevy of guests you'd want, is greatly appreciated.

GB@Nite will continue tonight June 7th at 5:00 PM PT. The end time is anyone's guess. Following the 7th, Giant Bomb will have a talk over for Microsoft's Press Conference on June 8 at 10am PT but they will not continue into Microsoft's special streaming event for The Outer Worlds 2. You can catch all of the fun on YouTube or Twitch. Again, a great deal of thanks to everyone who made Giant Bomb even covering SGF 2025 possible.

To call the challenge of doing this "tough" feels like an understatement. But as I have said before, Giant Bomb Forever, and hopefully Grubb won't actually follow through on murdering Dan live on camera and let's not forget that FRIDGE CAM IS BACK BAYBEE!!!

Some of you may have heard that Niki Grayson got their laptop and podcasting gear stolen and they set up a GoFundMe page, but recently they have closed donations there after you all played a massive role in smashing their goal. Nonetheless, don't take that as an excuse not to send them appreciations on their Venmo, subscribe to their newsletter, or support their VGBees project.

Finally, THERE'S NEW GIANT BOMB MERCH TO BUY IN THE STORE! The new merchandise this week includes four new shirt designs as well as a tote bag! NickToilet over on Bsky ever posted a timelapse of them making the Spoon Heaven shirt design.

• Spoon Heaven - $28.00 (Artist: Nick Oliveto, NickToilet)
• He's Gonna Look So Cool - $28.00 (Artist: Nick Oliveto, NickToilet)
• We Bought A Bomb - $28.00 (Artist: JEARUM)
• Blight Club - Blighty Bunch - $28.00 (Artist: JEARUM)
• Mitch on Mars Tote Bag - $33.00 (Artist: Moz Lee Lunsford)

This Is Giant Bomb's Not-E3 2025

For those still finding it hard or confusing to track what Giant Bomb is up to or has made, as of the publishing of this Spotlight, for SGF/Not-E3 2025, here are some handy links to hopefully make your life a little bit better.

• Giant Bomb's Streaming Schedule For Not-E3/SGF 2025 - Here you can find a schedule of all of Giant Bomb's planned streams for Not-E3 and SGF 2025. One note, though. Giant Bomb will be doing a talk over for Microsoft's Press Conference which should start on June 8, 10am PT
• The Not-E3 2025 Time Zone Chart - If you are still interested in knowing when almost every single press conference for the week of Not-E3 started, Marino still has you covered with this AMAZING article!
• GB@Nite Guest Tracker - Likewise, Marino is still tracking the guests that appear during the shows.
• State of Play (06/04/25) | Giant Bomb Talk Over
• We Talk Over Summer Game Fest 2025 | Presented by Annapurna Interactive
• Giant Bomb @ Nite, LIVE from the Warframe Villa! | Presented by Annapurna Interactive | Nite 1

Art

Giant Bomb's Games-Rating People + Giant Bomb As Ferengi (By: @jearum)

jearum was on a roll this week with a re-imagining of the Giant Bomb staffers as different parts to GamePro's face-based review score system. Likewise, they also had fun using photoshop to dream a timeline wherein the Giant Bomb staff attend a Star Trek convention dressed as Ferengi.

Full Gimmick Dan Ryckert Coffee Mug (By: Pickle_Giraffe)

Mike appears to have some aversions to coffee mugs, but that did not stop Pickle_Giraffe from making a mock coffee mug design that I can only imagine would sell out in record time!

Gallery

Mike Minotti Says "HRAAH!" (By: NickToilet)

Mike as Colossus just feels right and this artwork by NickToilet on Bluesky, whom you should follow if you are there as well, proves why. And once again, NickToilet was generous enough to provide a timelapse of this artwork being made.

Dan As A Fun Uncle (i.e., Funkle) (By: Synthminded)

Dan has talked about how the kids in his extended family consider him a "Fun Uncle" so over on bsky Synthminded imagined him as the ultimate Funckle ala Gravity Falls.

"I'm Dan and I was wrong... I'm singing the Dan Wrong Song... I shouldn't have taken that chance... Now here's my remorseful dance…."

Gallery

Bluesky

https://bsky.app/profile/creakylegs.lol/post/3lqy4hhfdq22i

Videos

Mike Minotti, Solicitor to the Nobility (By: Lanz Alentzia)

It looks like Mike Minotti has advice this week for Eastern European Nobility looking to travel or move abroad and Lanz Alentzia has an idea of how "well" that could go.

Activities

Monster Train 2 Is The 6th Game Of UUGPGC Year 4! Finish By July 1! Mark All Spoilers! +

Mullet Mad Jack Is The 5th Game Of UUGPGC Year 4! Finish By June 1! Spoilers Open! Maintain Brand Safety! (By: @bigsocrates)

Are you in the mood for some card-based ACTION?! Because the next game pick for the Giant Bomb Game of the Month Club is Monster Train 2! Do you have any deck strategies and do you have any advice on how to beat some of the bosses?

Furthermore, the Giant Bomb Game of the Month Club has also opened its discussion for Mullet Mad Jack to SPOILERS! For that discussion thread, how many tries did it take before you "beat" the game? Share your answer and favorite weapon combinations.

Join The New GB Album Club Cycle!!! (By: @unclejam23)

Some of you have been asking for a direct link to join the Discord for the Giant Bomb Album of the Week Club and in this thread, you can find exactly that! In fact, I'll include the direct invite link to the group RIGHT HERE! Also, feel free to share this link to anyone whom you think would be interested.

Blogs

All Jaguar And 3DO Games (Mostly) In Order: 1994 Round-Up (By: @borgmaster)

Want to see something wild? borgmaster tracked down Atari's financials leading up to the release of the Atari Jaguar and found, when adjusted for inflation, its R&D budget was about the same as the Amico's. Get a deep dive on Atari's dying gasp.

The Switch 2 Launch Feels Like The Death Of The Console Launch As Something Special. For Better And Worse. (By: @bigsocrates)

The launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 has been making headlines and has been a huge talking point on social media, however, bigsocrates muses why the console's launch also feels like the death knell of big console launches.

Mento's Month: May '25 + Indie Game of the Week 422: The Talos Principle II (By: @mento)

Last week marked the start of a new month, which means Mento has a blog looking back at all of the games and anime they viewed and (hopefully) enjoyed! Show them some love as who else on the internet can you expect to be talking about Ganbare Goemon these days?

Nioh 3 Alpha Demo / Pre-Release Discussion(By: @atheistpreacher)

Following Sony's State of Play, Nioh 3 launched an alpha demo and AtheistPreacher decided to give it a go! Read if they think the demo paints a positive or bad future and feel free to share your impressions of the demo as well.

Time To Finally Figure Out Which Final Fantasy Character Is The Strongest! (By: @thatpinguino)

ThatPinguino recently published a blog that looks at the biggest and most potent Final Fantasy Commander cards and attempts to figure out which one is the "strongest." If you have been following the online obsession with these Final Fantasy cards, give it a read!

Political DOOM: Thatcher’s Techbase (By: @ford_dent)

It's time to talk about one of the weirdest DOOM WADs ever made with Ford_Dent! While everyone else was enjoying The Dark Ages, they were busy playing Thatcher’s Techbase! Politics and classic Doom mixed together? I wonder why that never took off.

Discussion Threads

Switch 2 Impressions Thread (By: @bigsocrates)

So, for those of you that managed to get a console, what are your impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2? Is it worth the wait and asking price? Also, besides Mario Kart World, what do you make of this bevy of launch titles for the console? Share your answer to all of those questions in the thread above!

Switch 2 Preorders: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (By: @foxdye0089)

How has everyone else's experience been like trying to pre-order a Switch 2? Share the good, the bad, and the ugly and feel free to share any tips you have for others! Likewise, do you think this chaos peters out sooner rather than later?

This Is The Least Summer Game Fest Has Justified Its Length In Years. But RE9 & Stranger Than Heaven Look Good (By: @zombiepie)

There were some gems during the Summer Game Fest but were there enough to justify the event as a whole? What grade would you give SGF 2025 this year if you were to assess it as an overall event? Also, that guy and his hate sure sucked!

Sony's State Of Play June 2025 Was Very Good If Not Great (By: @zombiepie)

Now that the dust has settled, what is everyone's thoughts about Sony's June 2025 State of Play? Did you find it as exciting as most? Which game or games stuck out the most and does it matter that most of the games shown were multiplatform releases?

Switch 2 Full Hardware Disassembly (By: @pauljeremiah)

Have any of you seen teardowns of the Switch 2 yet? Even if you haven't what is you take on how much more powerful the console is compared to the first Switch? Everyone agrees it is a stronger system than the OG Switch, but how noticeable is it?

A Forza Horizon Spiritual Successor Is In Development By One Of Its Co-Creators (By: @gtxforza)

Driving fans! The first details for Gavin Raeburn's next project, the co-creator of Forza Horizon, have emerged. Get a helpful summary of what they are and share if you are excited or skeptical!

The Witcher 4 - UE 5.6 Tech Demo | State of Unreal 2025 (By: @pauljeremiah)

Did you see the tech demo for The Witcher IV during Unreal's event? How representative of the game do you think it is? Furthermore, how many of you tuned into Unreal's conference during the week of not-E3? If you did, share away in this thread.

Did You Ever Beat An Arcade Game Back When Arcades Were A Thing? (By: @topcyclist)

For those of you that remember arcades, did you ever roll credits or see the end to an arcade game? Did you use a ton of quarters or cheats? Share the game and what you had to do to see such a rare feat in this highly nostalgic discussion.

Lists

Top 10 Games I Regret Selling (By: @majormitch)

The glut of retro game releases on the Switch 2 got MajorMitch thinking about the ten games they most regret selling or giving away. Here's a snapshot of their list to the left, but which games are on your list if you were to make one of your own?

Every Game At The SGF 2025 State of Play RANKED! (By: @daavpuke)

daavpuke mulled over all of the game shown at Sony's June 2025 State of Play event and ranked them from worst to best. Which games did they think were the true highlights? You'll just have to read to find out!

Multiple Endings, But No "True Ending" (By: @franzlska)

franzlska is working on a new list on and they need YOUR HELP! They're working on a list of games with multiple endings but with no "True Ending." If you don't mind spoilers, give their list a read and see if you can help them locate more examples of this trope in video games.

Reviews

@infantpipoc's Sifu review talks about how well the game translates onto a Steam Deck and why they don't just believe the game is good but they also think playing it on a Steam Deck might be the best way to play it.

@pauljeremiah's retro game reviews continue with a look at Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War! Is the game rightfully held in high-regard by long-time Fire Emblem fans? Also, how accessible is the game to people who are newer Fire Emblem fans?

Wiki Of The Week

The Legend of Dragoon

Coming up on the 25th anniversary of its North American release, The Legend of Dragoon is a game that many people, especially those with a lot of love for the PS1, hold in high regard. You can feel that tangible passion on our wiki page for the game which leaves no stone unturned.