The best YouTube gaming channels you can watch right now Forget Let’s Play videos and ‘reaction footage’. If you’re after informative content that will genuinely enhance your love of gaming, […]

Forget Let’s Play videos and ‘reaction footage’. If you’re after informative content that will genuinely enhance your love of gaming, these are the people you should be following.

YouTube is home to some terrific video game critics, analysts and documentarians if you know where to look.

Here are nine of the very best YouTube gaming channels you can watch right now.

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Joseph Anderson

Anderson’s epic deconstructions of games such as Fallout 4, Dark Souls and the Uncharted series can run to several hours. But what results is some of the most in-depth and rewarding gaming analysis on the web. Delving deep into the experience and offering his own compelling take on gameplay, performance and story, you might not always agree with his opinions – but given how well he sets out his reasoning, you’ll certainly respect them.

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NoClip

This documentary project from former GameSpot journalist Danny O’Dwyer has wasted no time in telling a number of exhilarating stories. There’s John Romero talking about his career and move to Ireland, conversations with the designers who made the acclaimed new DOOM reboot, and the likes of Jonathan Blow discussing the resurgence of mystery in modern games. The standard of interviewing, editing and filmmaking is sublime.

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Game Maker’s Toolkit

Mark Brown’s forays into the world of game design offer tremendous insights into the systems and mechanics underlying memorable virtual experiences. Whether he’s explaining why a particular level of an iconic game worked so well, or how an ‘immersive sim’ operates, Brown’s breakdowns bring fresh context to the hobby, and wider industry.

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Noah Caldwell-Gervais

An extremely articulate and erudite voice in gaming, what Caldwell-Gervais has occasionally lacked in production values, he more than makes up for with his thoughtful, considered and extensive analysis. Touching on the philosophy and thematic weight of games as well as their more direct qualities, his video essays and retrospectives are thought-provoking and pleasing in equal measure.

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Super Bunnyhop

Offering the kind of fresh insights and alternative perspectives that’ll have you cooing with interest, George Weidman’s videos offer a treasure-trove of thoughtful opinion – as well as some razor-sharp humour. Ranging from reviews of the latest releases to fascinating investigative efforts and mammoth retrospectives, his is the kind of intelligent commentary that makes you think about gaming in a whole new light.

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Ahoy

Armed with one of the finest voices YouTube has to offer, Stuart Brown has gained a devoted following thanks to his exhaustive and compelling video essays. His weapon-specific creations are perhaps his most famous, but fascinating forays into the history of video game genres and classics abound. Brown’s feature-length documentary on the cold war’s influence on games, Nuclear Fruit, is a tremendous stand-out.

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Previously Recorded

A spin-off channel of sorts from Rich Evans and Jack Packard of Red Letter Media, there are copious Twitch recordings to wade through; but the real meat lies in their lengthy dissections of games both new and old. Skewering lazy mainstream releases and sacred cows while championing indie gems and games that go the extra mile, their forthright views are always interesting – and sometimes eyebrow-raising – to behold.

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Extra Credits

Distinctive, engaging and admirably academic in their approach, the smart minds behind this long-running series cast a light on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to game design, and the industry at large. Covering topics that make you realise just why some experiences leave you utterly spell-bound, and others leave you utterly cold. It’s intellectually stimulating stuff – but so cheerful and witty you won’t feel lectured to.

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Total Biscuit

A veritable titan of gaming analysis, John Bain rakes through everything from indie offerings to Triple A releases with a fine toothcomb. His popular ‘WTF is…’ series provides a rewarding mix of review and first impressions, as he plays through a new game and reports his feelings on the experience. Articulate and meticulously formed, his views are always worth listening to.

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A version of this article originally appeared here