Who are Your Favorite Video Game Reviewers/Critics?

[TychoCelchuuu]

Now that I'm a bona fide hobbyist video game reviewer I've started to think more about reviews (and criticism, which I lump into the "review" category when the criticism is specifically about one game, basically) and reviewers.

I don't really read a lot of reviews. For games I think I'll like, I wait until they go on sale, or preorder them if they're multiplayer games. By the time they go on sale I have a pretty good idea of what they're about and I don't need to read many reviews (maybe just Rock Paper Shotgun and one other, or whatever).

I do, though, have some favorite reviewers, but while thinking about this I realized that my favorites don't really write a lot of reviews (or at least not many I've read). I like Ian Bogost, but I can't remember reading any reviews of his besides Gone Home and Proteus. I like Tom Bissell but ditto for Spec Ops and Dishonored. There are also some reviewers I like who I read more reviews from but who I basically often or always disagree with, which is pretty weird: I like James Allen because he reviews games others don't and Tom Chick because at least he says what he thinks and he thinks interesting things.

As for more prolific reviewers, though, aside from the people at Action Button Dot Net, the Idle Thumbs crew, and Campster, I can't even think of many people whose names (or Internet Brands) come to mind when I think "cool reviews." Cara Ellison for sure, and... I don't know.

I feel like I pay attention to games writing, generally: I read Good Games Writing, for instance, and much of what Rock Paper Shotgun links in its Sunday Papers. So this makes me think either not enough people write interesting reviews consistently, or more likely, I just am not paying attention.

So, I turn to you folks. Who are your favorite game reviewers? We have our Reading About Games thread for just general games stuff (which I feel like I have much more of a handle on), so please only post things that can (at least broadly) be considered as games reviews. I want to read some good ones, and more importantly find some people who I can keep an eye on.

[Bjorn]

The Idle Thumbs (both the show and the forums) have really guided my gaming ever since the show came back.  I hardly ever read reviews anymore except for a bit of entertainment about a game I already own, or one I know I'll never play. 

 

That said I like Danielle Riendeau over at Polygon.  Philip Kollar over there also got my attention with his Last of Us review, though I can't say that I have read more than a few of his reviews.  And when he was at Joystiq, I really liked Justin McElroy's takes on games (I can't honestly remember if I've read a review of his since he went to Polygon).  Mostly because he could really advocate for why a broken game, or a game with some problems, was worth your time playing when everyone else would just slap a 6 on it and be done. 

 

Weird, 3 Polygon staff, and I actually don't even read that site very often.

[SiN]

I grew up reading PC Gamer UK, and the journalists I love to read reflect that.

 

By far and away, Kieron Gillen is my fave. He always struck the right balance of deeply analyzing game mechanics, while throwing in (seemingly) irrelevant anecdotes, and generally being hilarious. He's never lead my astray, even with the games that weren't necessarily "my thing".

 

(aside: one of the highlights of my game development career was forever ago, when he reviewed one of my games and gave it the proper Gillen treatment)

 

When he "retired" I naturally gravitated toward the journalists who followed his style: Quintin Smith and, more recently, Cara Ellison.

 

Apart from them, Leigh Alexander has a distinct writing style that's a joy to read. This is especially noticeable on Gamasutra, where her analysis of the industry is thoughtful and spot on, without the typical dryness or (conversely) hyperbole.

 

Finally, the long form journalist Simon Parkin has been working on lately has been consistently engaging. I love stories about creative people doing their thing (in any medium, really) and Parkin has been finding the right people, asking the right questions and framing the narrative in a compelling manner.

[Ucantalas]

Honestly, I don't really read or watch (serious) reviews of new games. The closest I come to that is listening to Idle Thumbs. My gaming choices are influenced either by them or by my friends.

 

...although I quite like watching the sort of comedic "reviewers" on YouTube... probably most famously done by James Rolfe (the "Angry Video Game Nerd" or AVGN), I also watch people like JonTron, PeanutButterGamer, The Completionist, Continue, ProJared, Spoony, etc. I'm really there more for any humor and ridiculousness that may ensue more than actually trying to pay attention to what they're saying about the games. In addition, most spend their time making videos about older games that I am probably never going to play.

[dibs]

It is uuu TychoCluuu.

 

I don't read much criticism. I will just skim the reviews and comments for things I like, make sure there is nothing outrageously wrong with the game and then get it if it tickles my fancy/price-point.

[Twig]

Cara Ellison is far and away my favorite right now. She's quite entertaining and interesting WHILE being entertaining, which is a goddamn gift.

 

Um, I used to be a big fan of Jeff Green, but since he's basically both stopped games writing these days... ): (Though I think I remember reading he's gonna start again soon/somewhere? HERE'S HOPIN'!)

 

Tom chick is definitely up there. Not because I agree with everything he says. In fact, I disagree with a lot of it, some of it very strongly. But I find his brutal honesty pretty endearing.

 

Honestly those are the only names I know, really. I guess, gun to my head, I like most RPS articles. I'm bad with names!

[DaveC]

Always was a big fan of Tom Francis' reviews on PC Gamer UK. He makes games instead of reviewing them now, though. After quitting games journalism he posted a nice article on some general guidelines he found useful. 

 

Agreed on Tom Chick. He has strong opinions but always articulates them well. 

[Roderick]

Next to the opinions on the Idle forums and on the podcast, I rarely read reviews. Recently, I've taken a liking to the casual, speak-easy writing style of RPS, which seems to home in on the important points of the experience of a game and does away with all the fluff.

[twmac]

By far my favourite in terms of entertaining reads (that still write) are Ellie Gibson and Cara Ellison. I am definitely a fan of Danielle Riendeau after hearing her on the Idle Thumbs.

 

Christian Donlan on Eurogamer is great, his review for Mindjack convinced me to buy the game and his article on LA Noire made me appreciate it from a different perspective, even though I think that game is hot dog shit.

 

Kieron Gillen would be my favourite of all time though. Guy was a joy to read; his Earth Defence Force 2017 is still the milestone of games review for me.

 

I will also say that I absolutely love one of the writers on Arcadian Rhythms's stuff (yes I know I write there too but bear with me), he goes by 'Dylan' and isn't massively prolific but his pieces on Portal 2 Co-Op, LA Noire, Dark Souls and Ryse have had me in stitches. I won't link them or else I will feel like an utter shill.

[Gamemore]

Tim Stone over at RPS and Eurogamer and others, since he manages to articulate what a game feels like at its best without disregarding the moment-to-moment experience of actually playing the game.

Other than that, the german language blog "These Nerds" doesn't do reviews all that often but if they do, it's obvious they know their shit and better yet, know how to articulate it. Plus their frame of reference doesn't end with the Alien-trilogy and yet they don't constantly whine about ludonarrative dissonance.

[TheLastBaron]

I'll add another vote for Tom Chick, though I don't really read any reviews these days.

[sclpls]

Danielle Riendeau, Rob Zacny (although I like his journalism with a capital J even more), Chris Thursten, Leigh Alexander, and Tom Chick.

 

I also like the reviews at RPS.

 

Also, not video games, but shout out to the Shut Up & Sit Down crew. I don't like most board game reviews, and I don't like most video reviews, but somehow they manage to combine both these things into something I actually enjoy checking out.

[Trip Hazard]

Cara Ellison, Leigh Alexander, Adam Smith at RPS (my fave from that team), Richard Cobbett who writes loads about adventure games and is always entertaining, and lastly Stewart Campbell who used to write an awful lot about arcade games and iOS gaming.

[Griddlelol]

The thumbs guys usually like games that I then go on to like (especially Mr Gaynor). I'd also say Kirk Hamilton on Kotaku. His tastes are almost exactly the same as mine, although I lie a little bit more towards the strategy side of things.

 

If either of those two like a game, there's a good chance I'll go and watch a let's play, or if I've been interested in it, I'll probably buy it.

 

I'm aware this is the antithesis of this topic but I generally disagree with anything the people at Polygon say. My tastes and theirs don't mesh very well, so it's interesting to see people here saying how much they like them.

 

For sheer enjoyment, I loved Charlie Brooker's old PC gamer articles. 

[prettyunsmart]

And when he was at Joystiq, I really liked Justin McElroy's takes on games (I can't honestly remember if I've read a review of his since he went to Polygon).  Mostly because he could really advocate for why a broken game, or a game with some problems, was worth your time playing when everyone else would just slap a 6 on it and be done. 

 

It's kind of a shame, but it seems like his duties on Polygon lately have shifted toward the editorial side of things rather than writing reviews. On his Tone Control episode, Tom Francis talked about how that seems to be the way it always goes. Good writers get promoted and don't get to write as much. 

 

As for other reviews I read, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Giant Bomb yet. They haven't been doing as many lately, but I generally tend to find their reviews honest and insightful, even if I sometimes feel differently about games than they do.

[Trip Hazard]

For sheer enjoyment, I loved Charlie Brooker's old PC gamer articles. 

 

Yeah, they were brill. And his Sick Notes column always cracked me up. Didn't he somehow land Half-Life to review, way back when? 

 

Edit: Mind, I suppose nobody had any clue how important/great it would turn out to be

[Roderick]

If we're speaking past reviewers, look no further than the guys from Consolevania/Videogaiden, Rab Florence and Ryan Macleod. Amazing video reviews.

[deadmoscow]

My main source of gaming discussion / news is generally Giant Bomb.  I like those dudes a lot even if they're not into the whole "criticism" thing as much.  Patrick Klepek, maybe, but he's more of a news guy anyways.

 

I really like Leigh Alexander, Tom Bissell, Ian Bogost, and Tim Rogers.  I'll generally read anything they write, regardless of where it's posted.

 

Consolevania was pretty rad!  I liked their stuff.  And I can't fucking stand Zero Punctuation - even if the points he makes are relevant, his style is so obnoxious that I generally just tune out.

[Roderick]

I have for years now been bored and annoyed by reviewers whose cheap schtick it is to get really angry and sarcastic. Yahtzee should've quit after the first year instead of making it 100% of his entire persona, always. The same goes for the Jimquisition and the entire host of Angry Video Game Nerd clones. At least James Rolfe always struck a balance between comedic anger and moments of no slight introspection, much like how Red Letter Media excellently performed the Plinkett Star Wars reviews (and only rarely relies on them, rather than it becoming their crutch). The only way you can get away with flaming rants is by being so meta you head into Francis territory.

 

This is, for all intents and purposes, or at least for people my age, the post-ironic era. Thank Zeus. We can just come out and enjoy a thing with utter frankness and not feel obliged to hide it with self-hatred or by becoming cartoons.

 

Rant's over!

[bkbroiler]

I'm a big fan of Alex Navarro. I love reading his reviews on sports games, even though I never play sports games. His tastes generally reflect my own, and he's always reasonable, finding the good parts in bad games and the bad parts in good games. I think he's an incredible writer, with really great turns-of-phrase and creativity, and watching him take down bad games is really hilarious.

[bkbroiler]

I have for years now been bored and annoyed by reviewers whose cheap schtick it is to get really angry and sarcastic. Yahtzee should've quit after the first year instead of making it 100% of his entire persona, always. The same goes for the Jimquisition and the entire host of Angry Video Game Nerd clones. At least James Rolfe always struck a balance between comedic anger and moments of no slight introspection, much like how Red Letter Media excellently performed the Plinkett Star Wars reviews (and only rarely relies on them, rather than it becoming their crutch). The only way you can get away with flaming rants is by being so meta you head into Francis territory.

 

This is, for all intents and purposes, or at least for people my age, the post-ironic era. Thank Zeus. We can just come out and enjoy a thing with utter frankness and not feel obliged to hide it with self-hatred or by becoming cartoons.

 

Rant's over!

I pretty much agree with you, though I think Yahtzee has a lot of legitimate insight that often makes me go "why is no one else talking about that part?" He's not all shtick.

[Griddlelol]

Yahtzee is a guy I watch after I've played the game so I can laugh at the ridiculous video game bullshit he points out. He does have occasional gems of insight, but most of it is Blackadder-esque insult-analogies which I find amusing. Not a guy to take seriously on any level.

Jimquisition is utter garbage. That guy is like the personification of Internet outrage. I find him unwatchable.

[Architecture]

The only piece of games criticism that's really stuck with me was Junot Diaz's critique of GTA IV in the WSJ:

 

So it's 2008 and the latest edition of the GTA franchise has come upon us like corporate lightning. The new game took in more than $500 million in world-wide sales in its first week. The critical reaction has been widespread and adulatory and in certain corners beyond over-the-top: GTA IV is better than "The Godfather," better than "The Sopranos," better than say, a novel!

GTA IV's wild acclaim is something that's been in the air, something I've been thinking about as I play the game, shooting digital cops, creating traffic jams, and robbing ATM users. The gaming news and review Web site GameSpy said GTA IV "is on par with the finest films by directors like Martin Scorcese [sic] or Francis Ford Coppola" and also compared the game to novelist E.L. Doctorow's "Ragtime." Game Informer's Andrew Reiner wrote "I now know how film critics felt after screening 'The Godfather.' " And an artist declared on New York magazine's Web site that the GTA series was "the most important artwork of our time." OK, let me be clear: I love GTA IV and I have no doubt that it is art, but an equal to "The Sopranos" or "The Godfather"? Narrative art of that caliber is distinguished by its ability to re-organize our preconceptions, to shift us into a world that's always been there but that we've been afraid to acknowledge, and I'm not convinced that GTA IV pulls off that miracle.

Most of the writing around games is fucking atrocious, however.

[Socker]

Jimquisition is utter garbage. That guy is like the personification of Internet outrage. I find him unwatchable.

I like Jim but I agree that he can be a click baiter, as for good reviewers I like Ray Barnholt and Jeremy Parish.

[catfishmaw]

I don't read reviews, but if I'm to give shoutouts to the criminally underappreciated, I think I'd like to draw attention to Dan Bruno. I read a lot of bullshit video game blogs, and a lot of them are pretty smart or whatever. Dan's is mostly about music theory in video games. I recommend the stuff on Mother 3 if you want to really bake your noodle.