He's left his eventual successor with a difficult hole to fill.Įven with that one exception, however, we can agree that the site's had a great year so far. He raised the level of discourse on the site between his own contributions and those of the talented freelancers he recruited, but also threw himself into every silly little digression Vinny set up on the Beastcast.

Giant Bomb is routinely and paradoxically considered one of the most intelligent and insightful homes of video game discussion as much as it is known for any number of incredibly dumb tangents, features and notions, and Austin was of a rare breed that was willing to contribute to both those aspects of the site's personality. 'Dope' and 'What's really good?' won't be leaving the GB lexicon any time soon.Īs for Giant Bomb itself, we're all of course saddened by the departure of Austin 'Professa Killah' Walker, who received an opportunity few would turn down in his position. Apologies for sparking off any backlog-related anxiety about all the great releases so far this year, incidentally, though I'm sure it's a net positive to consider all the wonderful games you've yet to play.

Then again, it's not like I'm particularly current with my gaming these days - in these past six months, I've only played one 2016 release, and that was the last chapter of a mostly 2014/2015 episodic adventure game and barely counts. I'm unsure where I'll find the time to play even half of them. On a personal note, I'm also both gratified and somewhat overwhelmed by the number of RPGs - both J and C - that are getting released this year. I'm sure I'm not alone in desperately wanting to get my hands on Persona 5, No Man's Sky, Dishonored 2, I Am Setsuna, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Mass Effect: Andromeda, NieR: Automata and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Perhaps more vitally, there's still a lot on the near horizon (as it were) to be excited for. I'd make a 'don't count your chickens' observation about the list of upcoming games on the right, but that would just make me want to play Stardew sooner. well, I don't imagine I'll get it running smoothly any time soon), Darkest Dungeon, The Banner Saga 2, Hyper Light Drifter, Firewatch, Jotun, Superhot, Lumo, Salt and Sanctuary, Enter the Gungeon and Ultimate Chicken Horse to name but a few I'm personally interested in. Then we have the deluge of Indies, and as always I've managed to bolt on another twenty games to a growing Steam/PSN wishlist: Stardew Valley (I own this now! Can't wait to get stuck in), The Witness (which I also own, but. The Beastcast brought up the fact that this has been a year where the 'AAA' side of the industry has been stepping up, along with the always busy Indie segment, and we've had a parade of mostly well-received big releases - Uncharted 4, Doom, Dark Souls III, The Division, Ratchet & Clank, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Hitman and Overwatch - as well as some promising Nintendo stuff like Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, Rhythm Heaven Megamix, Kirby: Planet Robobot, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Bravely Second: End Layer and Final Fantasy Explorers. Game-wise it's been a surprisingly packed six months. Instead, I'm going to specifically consider the past six months of game releases and Giant Bomb content: Thumbs up for all the shit I've yet to play.

Obviously, I'm not going to talk about general news and politics, because both have been depressing/scary as hell of late. I'm just going to indulge in some broader recollection a Sunday Summary but for the past six months, in so many words. The last Sunday Summaries for the first half of 2016.

Dreamfall chapters tropes