Some time ago now I was asked for any works on games I recommended that fall into the realm of art criticism or media studies, and really enjoyed putting a list together! So, here that is: my favorite video essays on games, in no particular order. These are not “““analysis””” videos that recount the plot in excruciating detail accompanied by a smattering of development facts. These are videos which treat games as an art form worthy of criticism, sincerely examine narratives, and acknowledge the real world politics which influence everything from individual lines of dialogue to overarching development decisions.
“Yellow Paint” and “Remaking Silent Hill 2 is a Complete Waste of Time Sorry” by Caleb Gamman. Gamman is another really talented creator whose disaffected delivery, marked by his quiet sarcasm, both speaks to me deeply as a terminal hater of games; gamers; games media; the games industry; YouTube; all media, actually; and perhaps all creators, and contrasts well with his obvious and latent passion for games as an artistic medium. I guess that’s relatable to me, too. I love both of these videos, with the one on SH2R landing more on the contained criticism end of the spectrum, while “Yellow Paint” necessarily (for us and Gamman) blows up into something much greater than itself. The ending third of the video in particular is permanently tattooed on my brain as a beautifully written soliloquy to the entire ecosystem of video games which I understand and internalize more deeply with every listen.
"Zombies are political?! A VERY Deep Dive into Telltale's The Walking Dead” and ““Everything is Political”: Institutional Racism in Life is Strange 2” by Game Assist. Game Assist is one of few to delve so unflinchingly into deep political readings of games, as these titles more than imply. From essays on ableism and misogyny in Life is Strange to de/colonization in Assassin's Creed III, they meet games where they are and examine their narratives earnestly while still acknowledging their shortcomings. I recommend virtually everything they make, and I only add that “virtually” caveat because I don’t think I’ve actually watched everything just yet.
“Phyrexia is Hell | A 30-Year History of Magic's Most Sinister Villains” by Rhystic Studies covers the design and evolution in design of the cultish and body horrific Phyrexians, some of Magic: The Gathering’s most important villains. Rhystic Studies makes some excellent videos on Magic, largely focused on or at least concerning themselves conceptually with visual art and its creation. This is my favorite, but his entire body of work is worth a watch — particularly “The Zugzwang Machine | A History of Lantern Control” for something more mechanically- and competitively-minded.
“In Search of Undersea Wildness in My Octopus Teacher, Abzu, and In Other Waters” and “What Is the Games Industry Missing?” by Pixel A Day. Kat at Pixel A Day is one of the sharpest in this field and these two videos show exactly why, in two very different ways. The former obsesses over both the beauty of oceans and humanity's tendency towards anthropomorphism, while the latter digs personally into the ugliness of both the games and games media industries.
“Shinobi & The Art of Vengeance” by SpidersSTG. Spiders’ shotgun blast approach to making videos immediately drew me in, although this one in particular is probably best known (and, sometimes, mistakenly maligned) for jokingly introducing the term “consentroidvania” to deride Shinobi: Art of Vengeance’s slow, shallow enemy design. A ceaselessly thorough arcade pervert, Spiders does his due diligence tracing the entire lineage of the Shinobi franchise, to and far through 1986’s Rolling Thunder, and uses this framework to go much deeper than a simple game review would’ve. Further than that, though, the breadth of ideas Spiders works through, and the pace at which he works through them, does good to transmit his reverence for arcade era design philosophy and his bitterness at its unforced decline directly into the viewer.
“Prey - A Critique of the Mind Game” by Joseph Anderson. Joseph Anderson is one of the better known independent game critics, mostly owing to his extraordinarily popular series of videos on From Software's games and his propensity to have opinions. I don't always agree with him, but I find his critiques to be interesting, close-up examinations of games which are well-written and with good intent (although I do think they can get overlong, to the point of bloat). He often has the effect of making me want to play a game (again) after watching his critiques — even the overwhelmingly negative ones.
“The Most Abused Term in Videogame Criticism” by SolePorpoise. An interesting exploration of the original “ludonarrative dissonance” essay.
“Animal Crossing and the Ideology of Chill” by Yaz Minsky. An examination of “cozy games” and what our view of relaxation reveals about our cultures via Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
“Why I haven't played Hades ⚱” by LambHoot. Probably the most personal essay on here, this one is about the complicated feelings a game like Hades stirs in its Greek-Canadian host. This goes largely into contemporary Greek — and especially diaspora — culture and identity and some of Hades’ shortcomings regarding it.
“The Problem with Greek Myth Retellings” and “The Endless Reinvention of Greek Mythology” by Kate Alexandra. While not technically about video games, Greek myth's constant presence in games (as seen above) makes them pertinent. A fascinating look at Greek myth retellings/inspiration from someone with clearly deep knowledge and passion for the subject.