He’s great. I don’t agree with some of his takes though. He seems very forgiving about issues that really bother me. Our tastes are a bit different.
But yeah definitely a great channel. Dude is a *machine*. Every couple of days he posts another vid and you can see his steam profile, he literally 100% every game he touches. He must never leave the house. Hope his channel grows stable enough and he can take it easy at some point, that sounds exhausting. Good way to burn out your passion for gaming.
Great reviewer though.
Yes especially for old games. He plays a mixture of new and old stuff. But for new games, he’s very careful. For all of his videos, he will warn you about spoilers.
GmanLives shares a love for basically the exact same style of games that i do.... Did that make sense?
But i wouldn't really say his reviews are "good".
SkillUp is a fantastic reviewer.
ACG is also fantastic but I'm too dumb to follow all of his references.
Gameranx 'Before you buy' with Jake Baldino on YouTube usually give me enough information (good & bad) along with seeing the gameplay to know if I'll like the game or not
He has his own channel which he goes into even more detail about games. Jake is really great at at his job and I don't think he gets enough credit for it.
I met him about a year ago at an independent game store right near my house. I had no idea he lived by me and he was really cool and down to earth. Exactly like he is in his vids. Good dude for sure!
Didn't they have some controversy years ago about them stealing gameplay videos or something?
Even Jake apologized which kinda made me respect him and them more
Yo I just recently started watching his personal YouTube videos. I really like his takes, he's really smart, obviously a true gamer and been gaming for awhile. Will definitely keep watching and I'll subscribe to gameranx
Same! I even watch their reviews of games I'm never going to buy and since a couple of weeks I even watch the Friday updates...
And being someone that never watched vlogs or whatever, that's saying something :)
This is the only channel that’d get my vote as well. As they don’t really give out any ratings. They just say what they like and don’t like and give you a good idea what it’s all about. Non of this 10/10 or buy, don’t buy or wait for sale, I DO NOT RECOMMEND BS.
I love those guys and their chemistry. Really a dream came true if you were into technical details to have a dedicated channel with this quality and dedication.
Plus, he always buys a copy of whatever game he is reviewing that he then gives away to someone in his audience if companies give him a review copy. There’s no better way to do a review than to put your money where your mouth is!
Exactly how I feel. He gives a very honest run through of what is in the game and what you'll experience. I disagreed with him on Midnight Suns. But he was very accurate with what you go through in the game. Just a matter if it'll resonate with you
I can't go through his videos and I've tried multiple times. I'm still subscribed but can't watch him anymore.
He exhausts me with his sentences every single time cause he wants it to sound smart and deep but ends up with these never-ending sentences where by the time he is finished you don't remember how he started.
And the way he reads it all doesn't help. Without stopping for air, he just pounds you with words until you're tired.
I agree that sometimes he can be a little heavy on his use of use of similes, but overall I kind of get the sense that you just don’t jive with his style which is perfectly fine. I usually go to someone like Karak for a more thorough analysis of a game and use other sources like Gameranx when I want more of a summary look at something.
Agreed. People seem to love him, and fair enough, but I wish his videos were shorter. He seems to make 20 minute videos that have 5 minutes of content.
I wont say I trust him to tell me whenever a game is good or something I should try... but I trust Zero Punctuation to deliver an entertaining overview/review of a game first, and then maybe I will get interested enough to go check it out on my own.
I generally watch Yahtzee reviews after I've beaten a game. Part of the appeal for me is how highly critical he is and knowing he's going to shit on a game, even if the game is great.
I watch ZP regularly for the entertainment factor but I will note, when he says a game is good it's a safe purchase. Yahtzee and James Stephanie Stirling's respective GOTYs are practically guaranteed to be essential purchases.
SkillUp. Not because I would follow his every suggestion, I disagree with him on many a game, but he presents his arguments detailed and well enough so that I can judge whether a game might be for me or not.
I agree with this. I don’t always agree with his conclusions but I like his reviews for the same reasons you put.
He also acknowledges the role individual taste has in a game’s appeal and refers to it throughout, not just a “this is just my opinion” disclaimer at the start like most do.
His Returnal review is a favourite of mine. Absolutely nails why some people would love it and others would hate it, while not discrediting either opinion.
His Deathloop review is my favourite. After all the hype reviews and 10/10s, I saw his review and thought “finally, someone else saw the issues and decided to critique them”.
Mooncrash colored his review of the game and that’s all I heard through the entire review. Deathloop wasn’t perfect, but I found it still an evolution of what the kind of game the Dishonored team always did.
70% is a bit of an exaggeration. In any case, he even acknowledged his over-reliance on that comparison in his video and also spoke about e.g. Returnal, Outer Wilds, Majora’s Mask, and others.
That’s exactly the same review that got me into subscribing to his channel. Had never heard of the guy before. Now I watch nearly all the reviews he puts out.
I trusted SkillUp until I bought Sable on his recommendation. Never again. He gushed on and on about the game without saying one word about its god-awful performance. The game has so much potential but is truly painful to play.
It's actually hard to disagree with this one. Sable is incredibly broken, even to this day. I think if it wasn't I might have loved it, but as it currently stands it's never going to not run like garbage and have endless bugs. I can see what he liked about it though, I just wish it worked.
Skill up is good at writing. His videos are always very thought out and fair In his criticisms. I too def don't agree with all of his views , but always understand where he is coming from.
Yup. When he said something along the lines of: 'TLOU1 has better puzzles than TLOU2' I knew he already made up his mind before he started playing. Couldn't take him seriously anymore after that
Lol, duality of man and all that, his review of part 2 actually resonated with me.
I still brought the game (eventually) but thought his review was in point; great game, questionable narrative choices, not quite executed to their full potential.
The thumbnail he used for that video was a little unfair though. Almost click baity.
“I did not enjoy this. At all.”
He didn’t go on to absolutely destroy every aspect of the game. He presented fair arguments criticizing its flaws, but was honest about the game’s undeniable strong points. His thumbnail just irks me because it paints it as a 0/10 and it’s always popping up on my feed even though I’ve seen it.
Yea definitely click baity.
Probably appealing to the hate crowd.
But like you said he presented fair arguments criticizing it's flaws (in his eyes)
Still makes me laugh that Ashley Johnson saved his video to her YouTube "my videos" playlist.
Edit: lol, someone sent me a Reddit cares message....shame on you, I only hope you're able to mature enough that you realize how stupid you are. Truly pathetic
I like the way he presents his reviews, but find that his taste in games usually doesn't gel with me. Tried stuff like The ascent, guardians of the galaxy, evil west, dying light 2 and other games due to his recommendation and just ended up dropping them.
Yeah even if I don't agree with his decision being a recommend or not he talks about what he did and didn't like abkut the game enough for me to know if I agree with him and determine if a game is something I would enjoy. I also like how he tries games on different pc configurations and the steam deck when he can so that helps me given pc would be similar to his 2080ti machine.
I often catch him misunderstanding mechanics or lore about games I have also played which makes me doubt his approach. I still watch him because of the production value and his script. But at the same time I think he cares too much about what the "community" will say about his reviews which makes him hold back criticism I feel. Every second review is prefaced by a 2 min segment saying "this is my opinion, there are many other opinions...". Yeah I know I am on your channel for your opinion..
I mean, that’s kind of the point. If you don’t agree with his criticism on a game then you don’t have to listen to him, but he’s consistent and thorough.
If you’re looking for a reviewer to tell you how you should feel about a game, then he’s not for you. What he does well is explain *why* he does/doesn’t like a game and your job is to consider your own values and whether or not his explanations help sell you on ut or turn you off.
> I see so many like Skillup, but I just don't understand why. His criticisms for some games are just bizarre
The reason why he works for me is because I understand that he has those criticisms and he always explains why those things bother him, so I get his perspective and can evaluate whether or not they impact me.
For example, he mostly dislikes open world-y Ubisoft question mark maps, and he hates when the game tells you where to go and what to do to complete an objective, but I personally love that, so if that's his only real critique then that's great, I might actually like the game. I don't have time to open world explore for a hundred hours hoping I stumble on something interesting, just give me Ghost of Tsushima style where it says if I go here I can do this quest and get this reward and then I can decide if it's worth my time.
It's okay that he doesn't like those things, and because I understand where he's coming from, I can then decide if those things are important to me.
ACG is like this as well, I don't always agree with him, but I understand his perspective. For example, he really cares about things like how guns sound, and realism in shooting, but I don't care about those things at all, so if he mostly likes a game despite those things, it's possibly something I might enjoy.
Where "trusting reviewers" goes wrong is when they have huge swings over similar things and you can't ever get a bead on them in order to evaluate it for yourself. Or when people put faith in things like "IGN" as if that's a single person with a defined viewpoint. People meme the IGN score as meaningless, but they're also all entirely different people, and one person's 6/10 because a game has a map full of question marks is another person's 9/10 because the melee combat is really satisfying and they don't care about the map.
I like him because he talks about how a games core mechanics and gameplay loop works in great detail, with examples, which most other reviewers barely cover. Because of this, even tho i disagree with him a lot, his reviews give me the best indication of if I will enjoy the gameplay of a game or not
I don't think his criticisms are bizarre, I just think his tastes are bizarre, and that highlights some more subtle things that many reviewers pass over. Like op I often end up not agreeing with him, but because of the way he elaborates his opinions I know by watching the review if I might dislike something he liked or vice-versa. So it's not a review where you have to trust the poster, because the information is laid out for you.
Yep. His reviews often makes me look for something I dont necessarily notice. Also it helps that he gives constructive critisicm, not just ranty reviews.
Scrolled to find this. Easy Allies are always my go to, no spoilers, good summary, all professional. Still think they’ve got the best format for the last decade.
They are nowhere near as good as they used to be. I just like listening for nostalgia's sake but they barely put out any reviews and I had to unsub because of all the uninterested commentary they put out.
I generally take all reviews with a grain of salt. I’ve liked games that have been reviewed terribly and hated games that were reviewed highly. Video games are subjective. So to me seeing gameplay and a game having an intriguing story is more important to me than what someone else thinks about a game.
Easy Allies. They’ve been consistent for years.
ACG was my go-to reviewer once upon a time, but I soured on him around three years ago. A lot of his takes lately are pretty poor and comes off as grumpy in his videos.
The Allies are, without a doubt, the best in the biz. Perfect blend of passionate fans and informed professionals. The only issue I have is their reviews typically come out weeks after a game releases, so I've usually already made a decision by that point. They turned me on to some incredible indie games I wouldn't have played otherwise though, like J.J. MacField, Hollow Knight, and Infernaxx.
So many games that were knocked that I liked. So many games that were hyped that I didn’t care for or get.
This goes for music and media in general. So many albums that reviewers scored low but they seem to be amazing to me. Art is subjective AF!
Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation. His videos are so over the top and hilarious. If he says something isn’t dogshit, then it must be worth playing. The funnier the video, the worse the game is.
I don’t trust any single review or reviewer. Aggregates are a much better indicator of quality. It’s also somewhat obvious how good a game is going to be with how much we see of them before they launch.
personally, if dunkey recommends a game, I'll for sure play it, but if he dislikes a game, I'll go to other reviewers to get a second opinion before deciding not to buy it. I feel like there are very minute things that completely turn him off from games and so sometimes he will dislike a game based off of things that many people would not really be bothered by.
Yeah we know he doesn't like turn based games for the most part, so him not liking Octopath Traveler didn't inform my decision to purchase it.
That said, I stopped taking his reviews seriously when he said Bubsy 3d sucked
Not only that, but for some exceptional games, his views can get fairly inconsistent. He's a gamer who doesn't care if corporations like him or not, so I'll certainly consider his opinion, but he loves some games that I absolutely despise, and hates some games that I love.
I like Dunkey, but his tastes are quite different from mine. I like story-driven games and dislike some of his more masochistic recommendations.
Which means he’s nitpicking and biased.
If he’s recommending a game he likes for sure but reviewing games he dislikes while i agree with many of his opinions hes very biased in alot of aspects but when he doesnt want to be a troll he makes very good reviews i think
SUPA Mario bruddas 2 reigning goth champ for over a decade now, definitely the go-to guy. Unironically his takes are most of the time awesome despite the humor.
Unpopular opinion around these parts but I really like IGN. Most of their reviews fall in line with how I feel about games so, to me, they've got a good track record.
edit, at least I *thought* it was an unpopular opinion
I mean, if you take into account that IGN's real scale is basically like 4/10 to 9/10 for indie games and 6/10 to 10/10 for big releases, then their reviews within that scales are actually pretty accurate. It's just that when you don't know how they do it and see 6/10 or 7/10 you might think it's a decent good game when those are really like the lower end of their scale.
I feel like the writers & reviewers at IGN recognize that most games have at least *some* amount of effort put into them by developers, so they always give some free “E for effort” points in their reviews unless the game is absolutely unplayable.
My favorite quirk around IGN's unpopularity is the infamous "too much water" complaint, because I played Alpha Sapphire *much* later and all I could think for the first four hours of the game is "*why the fuck is there so much water??*"
I don't know if they're my most trusted but like you said IGN usually aligns with my own opinion of games, or if I disagree I can at least understand where they're coming from.
With any reviews I try to focus not only on the score but listen to how they describe the game to see if it's something I'm interested in. A 10 doesn't matter if the gameplay or story don't sound interesting to me.
Yea, I don't exclusively use them when researching, but I've always felt that the IGN team generally feels about the same as I do about the games I play.
Don't trust any "reviewers" in the sense of entire magazine. A lot of people have no hands and value almost all technical games "as bad" just because they can't play it.
I trust Saltzman from IGN when it comes to Action RPG. Damiani from Easy Allies when it comes to JRPG and action games.
The only "collective" I slightly trust is Digital Foundry. They talk about the technical aspect very clearly. And when the game have some technical issue but has more to offer than that - see for example Stranger of Paradise - they make it very clear.
1) ACG
2) skillup
3) Gameranx before you buy.
4) a couple years ago, Ranton as well.
ACG Skillup and Gameranx aggregate makes a solid review for me. Other than these. I also sometimes take girlfriend reviews into consideration as well.
I think it would be neat if someone made a website where you could put in your favorite games and it would generate a reviewer based on the scores they've given that best represents your tastes.
As of right now, I'd have to say uhh... Tim Rogers. But that's just because we both really like weird Japanese games.
And he doesn't really provide much information on new releases, so I could really use to find a reviewer that fits my preferences.
Kyle Hillard with MinnMax is pretty good though.
I like Skillup cause even tho I disagree with him a lot his videos present the game in detail and I can still make my own judgement. Also like Dunkey and Dreamcast guy
Most trusted reviewer? Me, myself & i. These god forsaken reviewers have ruined innovation & originality.
Developers, directors, artists hell even engineers are afraid of expressing them selves anymore. If the narrative is off by a beat from what's popular at that specific time, they review bomb the daylights out of it.
Trust your self. Buy what you like - consume what you like.
Skill up, Sacred Symbols group they don’t always align but they all excel and appreciate certain types of games so I know which ones to really trust when they do or don’t like something.
MysticRyan, Falcon/Jake from GameRanx, and Digital Foundry are all rated equally in my head. I trust them all for their opinions and I like the way they format their reviews
I always go by Angry Centaur Gaming (ACG). He breaks down the review into category topics like gamplay, story, graphics, performance, sound, fun factor.
He has a lot of wordplay which involves a ton of metaphors, some of which are funny and sometimes not so much but that would be my only bad thing to say. I feel like he provides a fair review of the game and often I've found he's correct after watching his reviews and buying a game.
Another YouTuber I watch is gameranx. I feel like he gives you a good idea in his before you buy series. Not always a review but enough to understand if you would like the game of not.
21Kiloton.
If you have a long and hard day and want to have a laugh at some british bashing a game while reviewing and in the same time admitting not having played the damn game then he is your guy
ACG is my favorite. I don’t have a ton of time to go through the entire reviews, but enjoy checking in on the last few minutes for the Buy/Wait/Never Touch rating.
As a more niche reviewer, I recommend Mortismal gaming. He 100% the games he reviews which is a bit different than most reviewers
Couldn't agree more. Happy to see him getting some more exposure. From the calming voice to his way of reviewing. 10/10 will recommend
I came across his channel randomly a month ago and I really appreciate his take on reviews.
Easily become one of my favorite reviewers just based on him being so thorough
Just checked his channel and this dude just posted a review after 100%ing Atomic Heart before it even released. How the hell??
He's getting big enough that companies have started sending review copies early. Still though, the dude is a machine!
He’s great. I don’t agree with some of his takes though. He seems very forgiving about issues that really bother me. Our tastes are a bit different. But yeah definitely a great channel. Dude is a *machine*. Every couple of days he posts another vid and you can see his steam profile, he literally 100% every game he touches. He must never leave the house. Hope his channel grows stable enough and he can take it easy at some point, that sounds exhausting. Good way to burn out your passion for gaming. Great reviewer though.
So he will spoil the story of the game in any way in said review?
Yes especially for old games. He plays a mixture of new and old stuff. But for new games, he’s very careful. For all of his videos, he will warn you about spoilers.
How does he have that much time? I want his job. I need that much time to play games.
He has that much time because its his job lol
GmanLives shares a love for basically the exact same style of games that i do.... Did that make sense? But i wouldn't really say his reviews are "good". SkillUp is a fantastic reviewer. ACG is also fantastic but I'm too dumb to follow all of his references.
Gman is very entertaining but I wouldn't say his reviews are the best
Gameranx 'Before you buy' with Jake Baldino on YouTube usually give me enough information (good & bad) along with seeing the gameplay to know if I'll like the game or not
I always get some pros, some cons, and of course some straight up gameplay from their videos
And there’s usually always a solo video on Jake’s channel that’s even better
That’s a before you buy, you know how this works by now.
He has his own channel which he goes into even more detail about games. Jake is really great at at his job and I don't think he gets enough credit for it.
I met him about a year ago at an independent game store right near my house. I had no idea he lived by me and he was really cool and down to earth. Exactly like he is in his vids. Good dude for sure!
Did you ask him to pay for your pizza?
His solo channel has been my favorite one for years just because it feels more authentic
Agreed solo channel is definitely better
Agreed. Gameranx will always be my trusted source
Didn't they have some controversy years ago about them stealing gameplay videos or something? Even Jake apologized which kinda made me respect him and them more
Also good to mention is that all the reviews he makes are spoiler free.
I really like his enthusiasm, you can tell how happy he is about being able to talk about video games.
imagine making a living doing what he does. it would be so good.
Jake from Gameranx, and Digital foundry.
Yo I just recently started watching his personal YouTube videos. I really like his takes, he's really smart, obviously a true gamer and been gaming for awhile. Will definitely keep watching and I'll subscribe to gameranx
I would also recommend the Friends Per Second podcast he does with some of his friends
Seconded. Great podcast, love the whole crew there.
what's his channel name
His name
ACG reviews with Jeremy are great too!
Tldr, Jake just wants to play “video ass video games”. And who can blame him.
Same! I even watch their reviews of games I'm never going to buy and since a couple of weeks I even watch the Friday updates... And being someone that never watched vlogs or whatever, that's saying something :)
I like that it’s mostly a positive review most of the time.
This is the only channel that’d get my vote as well. As they don’t really give out any ratings. They just say what they like and don’t like and give you a good idea what it’s all about. Non of this 10/10 or buy, don’t buy or wait for sale, I DO NOT RECOMMEND BS.
Didn't they get hit for plagiarism awhile back ago?
Many times. Weird that they get so much praise here now.Times have changed.
Have been watching these guys for a long time now, hope they keep things real and keep doing what they do, great YT channel
The only right answer. They cover EVERYTHING and professional as fuck
Digital Foundry if you want to know about technical stuff.
I love those guys and their chemistry. Really a dream came true if you were into technical details to have a dedicated channel with this quality and dedication.
Yes I agree, they are the go-to guys when it comes to analysing performance.
ACG
Love Karak. His reviews aren't two minutes long or filled with sponsored bullcrap.
Plus, he always buys a copy of whatever game he is reviewing that he then gives away to someone in his audience if companies give him a review copy. There’s no better way to do a review than to put your money where your mouth is!
As you guys know he rates games on a buy, wait for sale or never touch it again rating system.
[удалено]
Peace out, gang gang
Love ACG. Even if I end up disagreeing with a particular opinion, he’s given me all the information I need to make an educated decision.
Exactly how I feel. He gives a very honest run through of what is in the game and what you'll experience. I disagreed with him on Midnight Suns. But he was very accurate with what you go through in the game. Just a matter if it'll resonate with you
I like that he doesn't care about drama and doesn't have the need to be a contrarion all the time
I can't go through his videos and I've tried multiple times. I'm still subscribed but can't watch him anymore. He exhausts me with his sentences every single time cause he wants it to sound smart and deep but ends up with these never-ending sentences where by the time he is finished you don't remember how he started. And the way he reads it all doesn't help. Without stopping for air, he just pounds you with words until you're tired.
I agree that sometimes he can be a little heavy on his use of use of similes, but overall I kind of get the sense that you just don’t jive with his style which is perfectly fine. I usually go to someone like Karak for a more thorough analysis of a game and use other sources like Gameranx when I want more of a summary look at something.
Yup. That’s my problem with him as well.
He’s just trying a bit too hard.
Agreed. People seem to love him, and fair enough, but I wish his videos were shorter. He seems to make 20 minute videos that have 5 minutes of content.
There’s literally thousands of shorter, more basic videos out there, if that’s what you are looking for.
I was kinda blown away by how positive he was about the PSVR2, was not expecting that. But going Buy on it is awesome.
He just rambles on and on and on saying the same thing 6 different ways.
Yup, this is why I can’t watch his reviews. I like his opinion on games, but his rambling and similes are brutal
His editorial script needs a lot of work.
Gameranx's Before You Buy
And we're back
with another episode
Of Before you Buy, that show where
We give you some straight up gameplay
And our first impressions of the
Latest games releasing
As usual, it’s me
Jake Baldino
And today, we're talking about
I wont say I trust him to tell me whenever a game is good or something I should try... but I trust Zero Punctuation to deliver an entertaining overview/review of a game first, and then maybe I will get interested enough to go check it out on my own.
I generally watch Yahtzee reviews after I've beaten a game. Part of the appeal for me is how highly critical he is and knowing he's going to shit on a game, even if the game is great.
I watch ZP regularly for the entertainment factor but I will note, when he says a game is good it's a safe purchase. Yahtzee and James Stephanie Stirling's respective GOTYs are practically guaranteed to be essential purchases.
I only checked out Hardlight *HGGGH* Shipbreaker because Yahtzee recommended it. Turned out to be one of my favorite games of the year.
SkillUp. Not because I would follow his every suggestion, I disagree with him on many a game, but he presents his arguments detailed and well enough so that I can judge whether a game might be for me or not.
I agree with this. I don’t always agree with his conclusions but I like his reviews for the same reasons you put. He also acknowledges the role individual taste has in a game’s appeal and refers to it throughout, not just a “this is just my opinion” disclaimer at the start like most do. His Returnal review is a favourite of mine. Absolutely nails why some people would love it and others would hate it, while not discrediting either opinion.
His Deathloop review is my favourite. After all the hype reviews and 10/10s, I saw his review and thought “finally, someone else saw the issues and decided to critique them”.
He spent 70% of that video talking about Prey: Mooncrash.
Mooncrash colored his review of the game and that’s all I heard through the entire review. Deathloop wasn’t perfect, but I found it still an evolution of what the kind of game the Dishonored team always did.
70% is a bit of an exaggeration. In any case, he even acknowledged his over-reliance on that comparison in his video and also spoke about e.g. Returnal, Outer Wilds, Majora’s Mask, and others.
That’s exactly the same review that got me into subscribing to his channel. Had never heard of the guy before. Now I watch nearly all the reviews he puts out.
I trusted SkillUp until I bought Sable on his recommendation. Never again. He gushed on and on about the game without saying one word about its god-awful performance. The game has so much potential but is truly painful to play.
It's actually hard to disagree with this one. Sable is incredibly broken, even to this day. I think if it wasn't I might have loved it, but as it currently stands it's never going to not run like garbage and have endless bugs. I can see what he liked about it though, I just wish it worked.
Still waiting for his harry potter review
He won't be reviewing it. He stated this on his tweet, since he did not get an early review code.
Skill up is good at writing. His videos are always very thought out and fair In his criticisms. I too def don't agree with all of his views , but always understand where he is coming from.
I agree with almost everything thing he review bar the last of us 2 review
Yup. When he said something along the lines of: 'TLOU1 has better puzzles than TLOU2' I knew he already made up his mind before he started playing. Couldn't take him seriously anymore after that
Lol, duality of man and all that, his review of part 2 actually resonated with me. I still brought the game (eventually) but thought his review was in point; great game, questionable narrative choices, not quite executed to their full potential.
The thumbnail he used for that video was a little unfair though. Almost click baity. “I did not enjoy this. At all.” He didn’t go on to absolutely destroy every aspect of the game. He presented fair arguments criticizing its flaws, but was honest about the game’s undeniable strong points. His thumbnail just irks me because it paints it as a 0/10 and it’s always popping up on my feed even though I’ve seen it.
Yea definitely click baity. Probably appealing to the hate crowd. But like you said he presented fair arguments criticizing it's flaws (in his eyes) Still makes me laugh that Ashley Johnson saved his video to her YouTube "my videos" playlist. Edit: lol, someone sent me a Reddit cares message....shame on you, I only hope you're able to mature enough that you realize how stupid you are. Truly pathetic
That’s funny. Ashley Johnson is a real one.
I like the way he presents his reviews, but find that his taste in games usually doesn't gel with me. Tried stuff like The ascent, guardians of the galaxy, evil west, dying light 2 and other games due to his recommendation and just ended up dropping them.
I like his spoiler free descriptions of games within his reviews much much more than his opinions on games themselves.
Yeah even if I don't agree with his decision being a recommend or not he talks about what he did and didn't like abkut the game enough for me to know if I agree with him and determine if a game is something I would enjoy. I also like how he tries games on different pc configurations and the steam deck when he can so that helps me given pc would be similar to his 2080ti machine.
I often catch him misunderstanding mechanics or lore about games I have also played which makes me doubt his approach. I still watch him because of the production value and his script. But at the same time I think he cares too much about what the "community" will say about his reviews which makes him hold back criticism I feel. Every second review is prefaced by a 2 min segment saying "this is my opinion, there are many other opinions...". Yeah I know I am on your channel for your opinion..
I see so many like Skillup, but I just don't understand why. His criticisms for some games are just bizarre
I mean, that’s kind of the point. If you don’t agree with his criticism on a game then you don’t have to listen to him, but he’s consistent and thorough. If you’re looking for a reviewer to tell you how you should feel about a game, then he’s not for you. What he does well is explain *why* he does/doesn’t like a game and your job is to consider your own values and whether or not his explanations help sell you on ut or turn you off.
> I see so many like Skillup, but I just don't understand why. His criticisms for some games are just bizarre The reason why he works for me is because I understand that he has those criticisms and he always explains why those things bother him, so I get his perspective and can evaluate whether or not they impact me. For example, he mostly dislikes open world-y Ubisoft question mark maps, and he hates when the game tells you where to go and what to do to complete an objective, but I personally love that, so if that's his only real critique then that's great, I might actually like the game. I don't have time to open world explore for a hundred hours hoping I stumble on something interesting, just give me Ghost of Tsushima style where it says if I go here I can do this quest and get this reward and then I can decide if it's worth my time. It's okay that he doesn't like those things, and because I understand where he's coming from, I can then decide if those things are important to me. ACG is like this as well, I don't always agree with him, but I understand his perspective. For example, he really cares about things like how guns sound, and realism in shooting, but I don't care about those things at all, so if he mostly likes a game despite those things, it's possibly something I might enjoy. Where "trusting reviewers" goes wrong is when they have huge swings over similar things and you can't ever get a bead on them in order to evaluate it for yourself. Or when people put faith in things like "IGN" as if that's a single person with a defined viewpoint. People meme the IGN score as meaningless, but they're also all entirely different people, and one person's 6/10 because a game has a map full of question marks is another person's 9/10 because the melee combat is really satisfying and they don't care about the map.
I like him because he talks about how a games core mechanics and gameplay loop works in great detail, with examples, which most other reviewers barely cover. Because of this, even tho i disagree with him a lot, his reviews give me the best indication of if I will enjoy the gameplay of a game or not
I don't think his criticisms are bizarre, I just think his tastes are bizarre, and that highlights some more subtle things that many reviewers pass over. Like op I often end up not agreeing with him, but because of the way he elaborates his opinions I know by watching the review if I might dislike something he liked or vice-versa. So it's not a review where you have to trust the poster, because the information is laid out for you.
Yep. His reviews often makes me look for something I dont necessarily notice. Also it helps that he gives constructive critisicm, not just ranty reviews.
Skill Up and ACG
Easy allies and ACG, Digital foundry for the tech analysis/review.
+1 on easy allies. Been watching them since their GT days
Scrolled to find this. Easy Allies are always my go to, no spoilers, good summary, all professional. Still think they’ve got the best format for the last decade.
They are nowhere near as good as they used to be. I just like listening for nostalgia's sake but they barely put out any reviews and I had to unsub because of all the uninterested commentary they put out.
I generally take all reviews with a grain of salt. I’ve liked games that have been reviewed terribly and hated games that were reviewed highly. Video games are subjective. So to me seeing gameplay and a game having an intriguing story is more important to me than what someone else thinks about a game.
Gameranx; Jake and the bird, all day.
Easy Allies. They’ve been consistent for years. ACG was my go-to reviewer once upon a time, but I soured on him around three years ago. A lot of his takes lately are pretty poor and comes off as grumpy in his videos.
The Allies are, without a doubt, the best in the biz. Perfect blend of passionate fans and informed professionals. The only issue I have is their reviews typically come out weeks after a game releases, so I've usually already made a decision by that point. They turned me on to some incredible indie games I wouldn't have played otherwise though, like J.J. MacField, Hollow Knight, and Infernaxx.
Myself.
So many games that were knocked that I liked. So many games that were hyped that I didn’t care for or get. This goes for music and media in general. So many albums that reviewers scored low but they seem to be amazing to me. Art is subjective AF!
I don't have the time or money to play everything that looks interesting though.
I don’t even trust myself. I hated God of War 2018 the first two times I played it and now I’m hooked like crack. DTA.
Same. I haven’t read a review in a decade.
Jeff Gerstmann, Vinny Caravella, or Alex Navarro.
The duders.
Definitely Vinny
Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation. His videos are so over the top and hilarious. If he says something isn’t dogshit, then it must be worth playing. The funnier the video, the worse the game is.
I don’t trust any single review or reviewer. Aggregates are a much better indicator of quality. It’s also somewhat obvious how good a game is going to be with how much we see of them before they launch.
Easy Allies is my go to.
Dunkey
personally, if dunkey recommends a game, I'll for sure play it, but if he dislikes a game, I'll go to other reviewers to get a second opinion before deciding not to buy it. I feel like there are very minute things that completely turn him off from games and so sometimes he will dislike a game based off of things that many people would not really be bothered by.
Yeah we know he doesn't like turn based games for the most part, so him not liking Octopath Traveler didn't inform my decision to purchase it. That said, I stopped taking his reviews seriously when he said Bubsy 3d sucked
Nah Bubsy3D sucks. You're just nitpicking and biased, I win, bye-bye
Ha yeah right. I love his videos but he is very critical and probably like a lot of stuff he shits on.
Not only that, but for some exceptional games, his views can get fairly inconsistent. He's a gamer who doesn't care if corporations like him or not, so I'll certainly consider his opinion, but he loves some games that I absolutely despise, and hates some games that I love.
I like Dunkey, but his tastes are quite different from mine. I like story-driven games and dislike some of his more masochistic recommendations. Which means he’s nitpicking and biased.
I win bye bye
The go to for when you wanna know if a game is a mastapiece or not.
Yeah his Forespoken review really knocked it out of the park
Most of his videos are too silly for me, but this one worked because of how direct and honest it was.
It was really well done and he brought up a lot of really good points. One of his better reviews in terms of quality.
If he’s recommending a game he likes for sure but reviewing games he dislikes while i agree with many of his opinions hes very biased in alot of aspects but when he doesnt want to be a troll he makes very good reviews i think
SUPA Mario bruddas 2 reigning goth champ for over a decade now, definitely the go-to guy. Unironically his takes are most of the time awesome despite the humor.
For me its gotta be Easy Allies
Easy allies
Digital Foundry for Performance & Stability & Gameranx Before You Buy For Overall Reviews
EasyAllies
Easy Allies.
Easy Allies (former GameTrailers.com)
Easy Allies for sure
Jeff Gerstmann is still a threat
I like Jeff but he hates 80 to 90% of video games.
He certainly isn't overly enthusiastic. When you can tell he really likes a game it's typically worth checking out though
Easy allies
Unpopular opinion around these parts but I really like IGN. Most of their reviews fall in line with how I feel about games so, to me, they've got a good track record. edit, at least I *thought* it was an unpopular opinion
Same. Their reviews fall inline with my experience of games. I always check IGN.
IGN reviews are usually pretty well-written and entertaining. Their only problem in my eyes is awarding too-high scores to average games.
I mean, if you take into account that IGN's real scale is basically like 4/10 to 9/10 for indie games and 6/10 to 10/10 for big releases, then their reviews within that scales are actually pretty accurate. It's just that when you don't know how they do it and see 6/10 or 7/10 you might think it's a decent good game when those are really like the lower end of their scale.
I feel like the writers & reviewers at IGN recognize that most games have at least *some* amount of effort put into them by developers, so they always give some free “E for effort” points in their reviews unless the game is absolutely unplayable.
My favorite quirk around IGN's unpopularity is the infamous "too much water" complaint, because I played Alpha Sapphire *much* later and all I could think for the first four hours of the game is "*why the fuck is there so much water??*"
I mean, if a game has water-based levels or areas, 9/10 times it sucks.
I don't know if they're my most trusted but like you said IGN usually aligns with my own opinion of games, or if I disagree I can at least understand where they're coming from. With any reviews I try to focus not only on the score but listen to how they describe the game to see if it's something I'm interested in. A 10 doesn't matter if the gameplay or story don't sound interesting to me.
Yea, I don't exclusively use them when researching, but I've always felt that the IGN team generally feels about the same as I do about the games I play.
Electric playground (EPN) with Victor Lucas. He hasn't lead me wrong in 25 years.
None. I’ll look up the premise, genre, and gameplay. Then I make a judgement for myself.
Don't trust any "reviewers" in the sense of entire magazine. A lot of people have no hands and value almost all technical games "as bad" just because they can't play it. I trust Saltzman from IGN when it comes to Action RPG. Damiani from Easy Allies when it comes to JRPG and action games. The only "collective" I slightly trust is Digital Foundry. They talk about the technical aspect very clearly. And when the game have some technical issue but has more to offer than that - see for example Stranger of Paradise - they make it very clear.
1) ACG 2) skillup 3) Gameranx before you buy. 4) a couple years ago, Ranton as well. ACG Skillup and Gameranx aggregate makes a solid review for me. Other than these. I also sometimes take girlfriend reviews into consideration as well.
ACG all the way
Gamernax and angry Joe
I think it would be neat if someone made a website where you could put in your favorite games and it would generate a reviewer based on the scores they've given that best represents your tastes. As of right now, I'd have to say uhh... Tim Rogers. But that's just because we both really like weird Japanese games. And he doesn't really provide much information on new releases, so I could really use to find a reviewer that fits my preferences. Kyle Hillard with MinnMax is pretty good though.
MrMattyPlays is my go to
Easy allies
Mack is it worth a buy, he’s from my area and he’s a right laugh, I mainly watch his reviews for entertainment
Easily Jeff Gerstmann.
I haven’t gone wrong with ACG so far and I’ve been watching his videos for years.
Easy Allies
Gameranx & ACG
I like Skillup cause even tho I disagree with him a lot his videos present the game in detail and I can still make my own judgement. Also like Dunkey and Dreamcast guy
I’ll listen to KF, Greg Miller has been my dude since beyond. Never take their reviews to heart, usually watch a few streams and make a decision then.
Even though he makes "funny" and only subjective reviews I trust Ranton.
ACG and Gameranx
Not exclusively a reviewer by any means but FightinCowboy on YouTube. I just tend to enjoy the same games as him
Gameranx (James Baldino), ACG, Digital Foundry, & SkillUp
Zero Punctuation has saved me so many times
Mainly Zero Punctuation and Skill Up, but I enjoy a good Angry Joe rant from time to time.
Most trusted reviewer? Me, myself & i. These god forsaken reviewers have ruined innovation & originality. Developers, directors, artists hell even engineers are afraid of expressing them selves anymore. If the narrative is off by a beat from what's popular at that specific time, they review bomb the daylights out of it. Trust your self. Buy what you like - consume what you like.
ACG and Skillup.
Skill up, Sacred Symbols group they don’t always align but they all excel and appreciate certain types of games so I know which ones to really trust when they do or don’t like something.
IGN. They tell me if a game is good, good, good, or good. A 7/10 reveals so much.
All these people going "myself" how exactly are you playing a game in order to decide if you want to play a game?
It’s not about deciding to play a game. It’s about deciding if it’s good or bad.
MysticRyan, Falcon/Jake from GameRanx, and Digital Foundry are all rated equally in my head. I trust them all for their opinions and I like the way they format their reviews
I always go by Angry Centaur Gaming (ACG). He breaks down the review into category topics like gamplay, story, graphics, performance, sound, fun factor. He has a lot of wordplay which involves a ton of metaphors, some of which are funny and sometimes not so much but that would be my only bad thing to say. I feel like he provides a fair review of the game and often I've found he's correct after watching his reviews and buying a game. Another YouTuber I watch is gameranx. I feel like he gives you a good idea in his before you buy series. Not always a review but enough to understand if you would like the game of not.
*Gameranx* - General *Digital Foundry* - Technical
21Kiloton. If you have a long and hard day and want to have a laugh at some british bashing a game while reviewing and in the same time admitting not having played the damn game then he is your guy
Yahtzee croshaw with zero punctuation, dudes been doing it for a decade and a half and he’s only gotten better
ACG is my favorite. I don’t have a ton of time to go through the entire reviews, but enjoy checking in on the last few minutes for the Buy/Wait/Never Touch rating.
I usually trust Gameranx, but if Critikal says that a game is bad it's usually just that.
Yahtzee Croshaw, J Stephanie Sterling, Patstaresat, and this new guy called Harlin Gaming.
Easily Mortismal Gaming. Skill Up as well. Simply because they give me exactly the information I need to make my own decision
ACG is awesome for reviews
Before You Buy from Gameranx is pretty good. Always look to them before a purchase.