Spawn Wave
Spawn Wave covers your typical daily gaming news stories and hosts the SpawnCast podcast every weekend on his YouTube channel. But, it’s the teardowns that put him on the map.
He has numerous teardown videos of consoles, controllers, and other gaming paraphernalia that are just downright interesting to watch. His extensive console repair background also helps to make these videos as informational as they are intriguing.
Spawn Wave media truly started blowing up post Switch launch and is currently sitting around just over 350 thousand subs. With plenty of upcoming hardware to tear down the future is looking bright.
The Game Theorists
Fan theories have always been a huge part of gaming culture and The Game Theorists take them the next level. The research they do for their videos is extremely thorough and it’s incredibly evident in their content.
Matt Patrick (MatPat) is the main face of the channel, but Stephanie Patrick, Michael Sundman (Gaijin Goombah), Ryder Burgin (FootofaFerret), Kenny Landefeld (DBZKenny) and others also host multiple series on the channel.
Not only do they do excellent research, but they’re extremely responsive to fan feedback. This lets them take a fresh look at past topics and dig even deeper into the nitty-gritty of their fan theories.
videogamedunkey
Videogamedunkey is just downright one of the most entertaining gaming channels on YouTube. Channel creator, Jason Gastrow, has an unmistakable voice and a fantastic sense of humor that is ridiculously goofy.
Whether it’s his ironic obsession with Knack 2 (baybee) or his perennial GOTY choice of Super Mario Bros. 2, there’s just something about the way Dunkey delivers a joke. He doesn’t hold back on any single line.
Dunkey also occasionally posts non-comedic reviews which are always impressive. It’s almost shocking to hear him speak seriously about anything. Once you get past that, then you can truly appreciate his articulate arguments.
Markiplier
Mark Fischbach (Markiplier) has one of the most successful let’s play channels of all time. His loud antics and silky smooth voice have pulled in about 24.5 million subscribers.
Markiplier has multiple videos with tens of millions of views, but none seem to be more popular than his let’s plays of the wildly popular horror franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Whether he’s getting the crap scared out of him by FNAF or raging at Super Mario Maker, Markiplier’s commentary is so relatable. It almost feels like he’s just one of your buddies that gets very emotional about video games.
GameGrumps
Speaking of playing games with your buddies, that’s kind of the whole shtick of GameGrumps. These two friends play a bunch of different games together and insert their distinct brand of comedy.
The current team of Arin Hanson (Egoraptor) and Dan Avidan are the main faces of the channel, but other personalities like Ross O’Donovan (RubberNinja) and Suzy Berhow also contribute to to the channel as well.
One of the original founders, Jon Jafari (JonTron), left GameGrumps in 2013 to work on his own channel. However, the GameGrumps didn’t miss a beat with their hilarious antics and now have nearly 5.2 million subscribers.
Funhaus
This fantastic group of YouTube jokesters started out as Inside Gaming with Machinima. Then, thanks to some differences between the two, the group left Machinima and started up Funhaus with Rooster Teeth.
Their unique videos like Demo Disc and Wheelhaus make for some of the most chaotic and entertaining gaming content you can find on YouTube. Their gameplay videos are also always filled to the brim with humor.
The roster of Funhaus has changed throughout the years, but right now the main members are James Willems, Elyse Willems, Adam Kovic, Alanah Pearce, and Lawrence Sonntag. Joel Rubin and Bruce Greene were also long-time parts of the crew, but have since moved on to other endeavors.
Author’s Note: Founder of Twinfinite, Yamilia Avendaño, has appeared on multiple Funhaus videos. However this fact did not play any part in the selection of Funhaus for this list.
AngryJoeShow
If you want to see a someone truly unload on a game dev or company for mistakes that they make, then AngryJoeShow is for you. He doesn’t pull any punches and there’s never a question about his opinion is on a game.
Joe’s high energy in his review videos keeps you listening and interested in hearing his opinion. Not only that but the skits that accompany the reviews are also consistently funny.
But reviews and funny skits aren’t all you’ll see here. AngryJoeShow also frequently features Joe Lopez (Other Joe), and Alex Tune in their many reaction and news videos on the channel.
Cinemassacre
If you think you don’t know this channel, then ask yourself if you’re familiar with the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) series. James Rolfe is certainly the star of the channel, but he has a solid supporting cast of Mike Matei, Kyle Justin, and many more.
The most popular video series on the channel, AVGN, is a mix of comedy, retro nostalgia, and unabashed destruction of all things horrible in retro game cash grabs.
Besides that, Cinemassacre also features many let’s play including the weekly James and Mike Mondays which features a widely varied mix of retro and current-gen video games.
Gaming Historian
Whether you’re looking to learn about something as obscure as a sonar fish finder peripheral for the original Game Boy or just the history of Super Smash Bros., Gaming Historian is the channel to check out.
Norman Caruso is the mind behind Gaming Historian and he does some of the best research on the origins of individual games, game franchises, game consoles, and just about anything else that has to do with video games.
At 659 thousand subscribers, this channel is a bit smaller than some of the others on the list, but his content speaks for itself with multiple videos breaking well past one million views.
Inside Gaming
For the longest time, Inside Gaming was run by the group of Bruce Greene, Adam Kovic, Lawrence Sonntag, Sean Poole (Spoole), and Joel Rubin. The group was famous for hilarious video series Steam Roulette, drunk gameplay, as well as Adam coining the phrase “Skyrim with guns”.
Sadly, their original videos with Machinima were lost to history after the original group left for Rooster Teeth while different faces came and went through the years as IG reformatted into a gaming news channel.
Rooster Teeth recently acquired IG and many Funhaus members returned along with sugar Pine 7’s Autumn Farrell to join the current roster of Aaron Porter, Brian Gaar, Conor McGrath, Kdin Jenzen, Nick Cramer, Patrick Brown, and Zach Niblick.
Super Bunnyhop
Super Bunnyhop is another relatively smaller channel, but channel creator, George Weidman, always delivers with excellently structered and edited videos.
Even if some of his reviews aren’t right up to the embargo date, they always eloquently walk you through all that is good or bad in any given title. Whatsmore, Super Bunnyhop’s other videos about a myriad of gaming topics are just as comprehensive.
Super Bunnyhop doesn’t have a massive following, but his fans are a loyal bunch and they take his words to heart. This is likely because of the immense care he puts into crafting each video and forming his opinions.
Mega64
Mega64 is one of the original gaming content creators that even predates YouTube. Their skits where they would dress up as video game characters and cause general havoc completely in character are classics.
They’ve even managed to wrangle the likes of Hideo Kojima to appear in their videos. Nintendo fans are also sure to recognize the work of this channel since the Nintendo’s E3 2014 and 2015 announcement videos were created by Mega64.
More recently, they started a new comedic video series called Flameware Theater where Rocco Botte, Derrick Acosta, Shawn Chatfield, and others do dramatic readings of old gaming forum conversations.
GameXplain
From humble beginnings on his own dedicated website, Andre Segers has managed to amass a large following on YouTube with GameXplain‘s guides, reviews, and trademark analyses, fresh from the “analysis machine”.
Andre certainly doesn’t do it alone though. Derrick Bitner, Ash Paulson, Jon Cartwright, Tom Arnold, and many other contributors do an excellent job of making GameXplain a great YouTube channel.
Going back to the “analysis machine”, you could say that this is actually the GameXplain team as a whole. If Nintendo releases a three-minute trailer on Animal Crossing you know for damn sure a 30-minute analysis from these guys isn’t far behind.
Scott the Woz
Scott Wozniak (Scott the Woz) is one of the funniest YouTubers in the gaming space. He hasn’t quite hit the one million subscriber mark, but he’s well on his way with about 764 thousand subs.
His videos are a balanced mix of gaming history and his trademark nonchalant joke delivery. The content is mostly Nintendo-related, but he also sprinkles in other videos that go outside of this sphere.
What makes this channel even more charming is its self-aware nature of how lame the intro to each video is. His delivery of the line, “Hey y’all, Scott here,” is always delivered with just enough cheese to induce a mild chuckle.
Girlfriend Reviews
Girlfriend Reviews is one of the last true enigmas of YouTube. Is she the girl in the channel’s banner, or is she that dog in the same banner? Either way, it’s one of the best game review channels on YouTube.
The idea is truly unique as each video review is done through the eyes of someone watching another person play the game. Don’t let that discourage you from checking this channel out.
The reviews are exceptionally well thought out, side-splittingly funny, and to top it all off the editing is masterfully done. Seriously, just go to YouTube and watch one of these videos right now. They’re so good.
Writing on Games
Video games on their surface are a fun toy that helps pass the time after work or school. Going slightly deeper, they’re a form of escapism into a different world. Writing on Games goes even deeper with his video think pieces.
If you’re looking for a channel that will change your opinion on a game or make you think about a title in a completely new way, then Writing on Games can do that for you.
His videos are well-presented, thought-provoking video essays that are always a delight to take in. At 138 thousand subs, the fantastic channel had plenty of space to grow.
YongYea
YongYea is a constant fountain of gaming news videos, discussions, reviews, reactions, and opinions. Yet, his unfiltered delivery and opinions can sometimes make him the center of controversy.
YongYea’s upload frequency is quite impressive, but the simple format helps him push out multiple videos each day.
Now don’t get me wrong, just because the editing isn’t as flashy and there’s no colorful intro doesn’t mean that his videos are boring. He makes up for the lack of spectacle by always being right on top of important gaming-related topics.
What truly makes YongYea special is that he’s unafraid to speak his mind. This can sometimes rub people the wrong way, but if you agree with his views, then it can be extremely refreshing to watch someone who gets you.
DidYouKnowGaming?
DidYouKnowGaming? an encyclopedic bounty of video game facts. Any gaming topic that you can think of has been covered by this channel and the depth of their videos is astounding.
Founded by Shane Gill in the early 2010s, DidYouKnowGaming? has quickly grown into the go-to channel for comprehensive gaming videos with over two million subscribers to date.
Shane Gill may have had created the original site, but many big names like JonTron, Egoraptor, Markiplier, Dazz, Gaming Historian, and many more have passed through the channel as hosts over the years.
Unseen64
Okay, so the full name of this channel is Unseen64: an Archive for Beta & Cancelled Games. That kind of gives away what this channel focuses on, but they’re truly doing a crucial part of video game preservation.
Many people worry about losing physical software when talking about gaming preservation, but the even more complex part of gaming history preservation that Unseen64 focuses on is early game builds.
It’s always interesting to see where some of your favorite games began. Just as crappy recordings of the Beatles need to be preserved, so do the crappy early versions of games and Unseen64 lets you take that trip back down memory lane.
TotalBiscuit
TotalBiscuit was a fixture in the gaming commentary space for the longest time. He was well-respected by his fans and peers alike and was sadly taken from this world far too soon.
Fortunately, his YouTube channel has been preserved and it’s a somber experience to look back on his work. However, it’s easy to see why he was so well-loved in the gaming community.
John Bain (TotalBiscuit) didn’t mince words and he held very strong opinions, but what endeared the TotalBiscuit channel to so many people was his genuine love for gaming and his love for boosting others in the community around him.
The Completionist
This channel is pretty straightforward. Jirad Khalil (The Completionist) is a supremely skilled video game player who obsesses over not just finishing games but completing everything there is to do in them.
On top of getting 100% completion in every game he plays, The Completionist also does great review videos that focus on the content in the game.
Of course, Khalil is still The Completionist, so he also goes into detail on what it’s like to 100% games in his reviews. Breath of the Wild might be his masterpiece in this respect since it’s so big, but all his reviews are quite meticulous.
Digital Foundry
Digital Foundry is the YouTube channel that all graphical analysis channels aspire to be. Their professionalism and detailed break-downs of how a game’s visuals work is just downright the best.
The small team of Richard Leadbetter, Thomas Morgan, and John Linneman make up the core of Digital Foundry and each contributes their unique knowledge to make the channel one of the best on YouTube.
Some of their videos are likely to go over the heads of the casual video game player, but the meat of their videos is always explained in a welcoming manner with easy to interpret visuals.
Summoning Salt
There are plenty of channels that focus on speedrunning, but none that look as in-depth at the community as Summoning Salt. His angle is undeniably popular since over half of his videos have received more than 1 million views.
Summoning Salt is hands-down the best YouTuber when it comes to the niche space of video game speedruns. He has some runs of his own, but his bread and butter is the history of speedrun video series.
This series digs deep into the history of the people who try to push video games to their limits as well as the evolution of the different “strats” or strategies to beat a game as fast as possible.
For some awesome video game podcasts, click right here.
Spawn Wave
He has numerous teardown videos of consoles, controllers, and other gaming paraphernalia that are just downright interesting to watch. His extensive console repair background also helps to make these videos as informational as they are intriguing.
Spawn Wave media truly started blowing up post Switch launch and is currently sitting around just over 350 thousand subs. With plenty of upcoming hardware to tear down, the future is looking bright.
The Game Theorists
Matt Patrick (MatPat) is the main face of the channel, but Stephanie Patrick, Michael Sundman (Gaijin Goombah), Ryder Burgin (FootofaFerret), Kenny Landefeld (DBZKenny) and others also host multiple series on the channel.
Not only do they do excellent research, but they're extremely responsive to fan feedback. This lets them take a fresh look at past topics and dig even deeper into the nitty-gritty of their fan theories.
videogamedunkey
Whether it's his ironic obsession with Knack 2 (baybee) or his perennial GOTY choice of Super Mario Bros. 2, there's just something about the way Dunkey delivers a joke. He doesn't hold back on any single line.
Dunkey also occasionally posts non-comedic reviews which are always impressive. It's almost shocking to hear him speak seriously about anything. Once you get past that, then you can truly appreciate his articulate arguments.
Markiplier
Markiplier has multiple videos with tens of millions of views, but none seem to be more popular than his let's plays of the wildly popular horror franchise Five Nights at Freddy's.
Whether he's getting the crap scared out of him by FNAF or raging at Super Mario Maker, Markiplier's commentary is so relatable. It almost feels like he's just one of your buddies that gets very emotional about video games.
GameGrumps
The current team of Arin Hanson (Egoraptor) and Dan Avidan are the main faces of the channel, but other personalities like Ross O'Donovan (RubberNinja) and Suzy Berhow also contribute to to the channel as well.
One of the original founders, Jon Jafari (JonTron), left GameGrumps in 2013 to work on his own channel. However, the GameGrumps didn't miss a beat with their hilarious antics and now have nearly 5.2 million subscribers.
Funhaus
Their unique videos like Demo Disc and Wheelhaus make for some of the most chaotic and entertaining gaming content you can find on YouTube. Their gameplay videos are also always filled to the brim with humor.
The roster of Funhaus has changed throughout the years, but right now the main members are James Willems, Elyse Willems, Adam Kovic, Alanah Pearce, and Lawrence Sonntag. Joel Rubin and Bruce Greene were also long-time parts of the crew, but have since moved on to other endeavors.
Author's Note: Founder of Twinfinite, Yamilia Avendaño, has appeared on multiple Funhaus videos. However, this fact did not play any part in the selection of Funhaus for this list.
AngryJoeShow
Joe's high energy in his review videos keeps you listening and interested in hearing his opinion. Not only that but the skits that accompany the reviews are also consistently funny.
But reviews and funny skits aren't all you'll see here. AngryJoeShow also frequently features Joe Lopez (Other Joe), and Alex Tune in their many reactions and news videos on the channel.
Cinemassacre
The most popular video series on the channel, AVGN, is a mix of comedy, retro nostalgia, and unabashed destruction of all things horrible in retro game cash grabs.
Besides that, Cinemassacre also features many let's play including the weekly James and Mike Mondays which features a widely varied mix of retro and current-gen video games.
Gaming Historian
Norman Caruso is the mind behind Gaming Historian and he does some of the best research on the origins of individual games, game franchises, game consoles, and just about anything else that has to do with video games.
At 659 thousand subscribers, this channel is a bit smaller than some of the others on the list, but his content speaks for itself with multiple videos breaking well past one million views.
Inside Gaming
Sadly, their original videos with Machinima were lost to history after the original group left for Rooster Teeth while different faces came and went through the years as IG reformatted into a gaming news channel.
Rooster Teeth recently acquired Inside Gaming and many Funhaus members returned along with sugar Pine 7's Autumn Farrell to join the roster of Aaron Porter, Brian Gaar, Conor McGrath, Kdin Jenzen, Nick Cramer, Patrick Brown, and Zach Niblick.
Super Bunnyhop
Even if some of his reviews aren't right up to the embargo date, they always eloquently walk you through all that is good or bad in any given title. Whatsmore, Super Bunnyhop's other videos about a myriad of gaming topics are just as comprehensive.
He doesn't have a massive following, but his fans are a loyal bunch and they take his words to heart. This is likely because of the immense care he puts into crafting each video and forming his opinions.
Mega64
They've even managed to wrangle the likes of Hideo Kojima to appear in their videos. Nintendo fans are also sure to recognize the work of this channel since the Nintendo's E3 2014 and 2015 announcement videos were created by Mega64.
More recently, they started a new comedic video series called Flameware Theater where Rocco Botte, Derrick Acosta, Shawn Chatfield, and others do dramatic readings of old gaming forum conversations.
GameXplain
br> Andre certainly doesn't do it alone though. Derrick Bitner, Ash Paulson, Jon Cartwright, Tom Arnold, and many other contributors do an excellent job of making GameXplain a great YouTube channel.
Going back to the "analysis machine," you could say that this is actually the GameXplain team as a whole. If Nintendo releases a three-minute trailer on Animal Crossing you know for damn sure a 30-minute analysis from these guys isn't far behind.
Scott the Woz
His videos are a balanced mix of gaming history and his trademark nonchalant joke delivery. The content is mostly Nintendo-related, but he also sprinkles in other videos that go outside of this sphere.
What makes this channel even more charming is its self-aware nature of how lame the intro to each video is. His delivery of the line, "Hey y'all, Scott here," is always delivered with just enough cheese to induce a mild chuckle.
Girlfriend Reviews
The idea is truly unique as each video review is done through the eyes of someone watching another person play the game. Don't let that discourage you from checking this channel out.
The reviews are exceptionally well thought out, side-splittingly funny, and to top it all off, the editing is masterfully done. Seriously, just go to YouTube and watch one of these videos right now. They're so good.
Writing on Games
If you're looking for a channel that will change your opinion on a game or make you think about a title in a completely new way, then Writing on Games can do that for you.
His videos are well-presented, thought-provoking video essays that are always a delight to take in. At 138 thousand subs, the fantastic channel had plenty of space to grow.
YongYea
YongYea's upload frequency is quite impressive, but the simple format helps him push out multiple videos each day.
Now don't get me wrong, just because the editing isn't as flashy and there's no colorful intro doesn't mean that his videos are boring. He makes up for the lack of spectacle by always being right on top of important gaming-related topics.
What truly makes YongYea special is that he's unafraid to speak his mind. This can sometimes rub people the wrong way, but if you agree with his views, then it can be extremely refreshing to watch someone who gets you.
DidYouKnowGaming?
Founded by Shane Gill in the early 2010s, DidYouKnowGaming? has quickly grown into the go-to channel for comprehensive gaming videos with over two million subscribers to date.
Shane Gill may have had created the original site, but many big names like JonTron, Egoraptor, Markiplier, Dazz, Gaming Historian, and many more have passed through the channel as hosts over the years.
Unseen64
Many people worry about the original cartridges and discs breaking down over time when talking about gaming preservation, but the even more complex part of gaming history preservation that Unseen64 focuses on is early game builds.
It's always interesting to see where some of your favorite games began. Just as crappy recordings of the Beatles need to be preserved, so do the crappy early versions of games and Unseen64 lets you take that trip back down memory lane.
TotalBiscuit
Fortunately, his YouTube channel has been preserved and it's a somber experience to look back on his work. However, it's easy to see why he was so well-loved in the gaming community.
John Bain (TotalBiscuit) didn't mince words and he held very strong opinions, but what endeared the TotalBiscuit channel to so many people was his genuine love for gaming and his love for boosting others in the community around him.
The Completionist
On top of getting 100% completion in every game he plays, The Completionist also does great review videos that focus on the content in the game.
Of course, Khalil is still The Completionist, so he also goes into detail on what it's like to 100% games in his reviews. Breath of the Wild might be his masterpiece in this respect since it's so big, but all his reviews are quite meticulous.
Digital Foundry
The small team of Richard Leadbetter, Thomas Morgan, and John Linneman make up the core of Digital Foundry and each contributes their unique knowledge to make the channel one of the best on YouTube.
Some of their videos are likely to go over the heads of the casual video game player, but the meat of their videos is always explained in a welcoming manner with easy to interpret visuals.
Summoning Salt
Summoning Salt is hands-down the best YouTuber when it comes to the niche space of video game speedruns. He has some runs of his own, but his bread and butter is the history of speedrun video series.
This series digs deep into the history of the people who try to push video games to their limits as well as the evolution of the different "strats" or strategies to beat a game as fast as possible.
About the author
Omar Banat
Omar is a UofM Duluth graduate who is obsessed with Smash Bros. Video games are life, but life is not video games. Playing Games Since: 1991, Favorite Genres: Puzzle, Platformer, Action-Adventure (mainly Metroidvanias)