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Top 10 Let's Play YouTube Channels -TopX Ep. 2

Top 10 Let's Play YouTube Channels -TopX Ep. 2
VOICE OVER: Dan Paradis
Script Written by Angela Fafard

Welcome to the second episode of TopX, the brand new WatchMojo show where we countdown the very best that YouTube has to offer! Today we're doing a topic that's taking over YouTube, Top 10 Let's Play Video Game channels, you know those channels where guys upload footage of them playing a video game along with their own brand of commentary and comedy. While we've excluded reviewers, so don't look for those, many of the channels you'll see below expand upon the common definition of Let's Play videos to include unique skits, animations and discussions and general weirdness. Although views and subscribers are obviously a major factor in our ranking, we're also taking into consideration votes from our users, personal preference and general impact on the YouTube community.
Script Written by Angela Fafard

Top 10 YouTube Let's Play - TopX Ep. 2


#10 – Mr. Stampy Cat
Channel: stampylonghead


- Much to my disappointment, this channel is actually not run by a cheerful British cat named Stampy, but rather by a cheerful British human named Joseph Garett.
- Stampy is Mr. Minecraft. His most famous series, Lovely World and more recently Minecraft Xbox, centers entirely on Minecraft.
- He posts a minimum of 1 Minecraft related video a day. Seeing that these are 20 minutes long, If you ever needed proof that you are not a creative person, just watch one and then remind yourself that he does one every day.
- He also covers a number of other games in between Minecraft content. This is usually lighter fare, like Disney Infinity, Mario Kart 8, Terraria.
- If I were to say there was a unifying theme in his videos, it’s whimsy. All the videos have a cheerful tone and fun vibe, which is really solidified by his personality.


#9 - The Rad Brad
Channel: TheRadBrad


- Known as the King of the YouTube Walkthrough, as well as a self described professional chair thrower, it should come as no surprise that RadBrad focuses on walkthrough content.
- He does the new, big name, AAA releases. If you’re looking for walkthroughs of indie titles, he might not be your thing, but if you want extensive, in depth walkthroughs of the new hotness, he’s your man.
- When he says walkthroughs, he really means just that. For example, his Shadow of Mordor review series was 30 parts, and that’s a relatively short game, as these things go.
- As you can expect, he talks throughout the videos, making frequent reference to his corgi chubs. His commentary is best during horror games, as he does blind playthroughs so you are right there with him when something jumps out and scares you both.
- Good for a number of reasons. Whether you want to see the game in action quickly, want a quick bit of help in a specific spot, or if you’re lazy and you want someone to play the whole game for you, these videos should have the whole thing covered.

#8 - CaptainSparklez
Channel: CaptainSparklez


- CaptainSparklez, much like Mr. Stampy Cat has a channel that’s heavily focused on Minecraft
- You maaay have seen one of his video: MinecraftStyle, which is a parody of the inexplicably popular Gangnam style. This video is insanely well produced and written: even if it’s not your thing, it serves as a great example of the quality and production value that goes into the channel as a whole. But this is not the only video he’s got. He has a whole playlist full of these videos, parodying Usher, Coldplay, Maroon 5, etc.
- Although he does conventional Let’s Play’s, aside from the Music Videos the most unique part of his channel are his themed videos. For example, he has a series where him and his friends do a Minecraft version of the Hunger games.
- Lastly, another fun thing that he does are challenges, where he will try to play some seemingly impossible or silly game and then eat or drink something awful every time he loses or fails. Like almost all of his videos, he films himself during these challenges, making for pretty hilarious facial expressions.

#7 – Smosh Games
Channel: Smoshgames


- Smosh Games is actually the 7th Channel to be created under the Smosh Company brand. So, as you can probably gather from that, there’s a fair amount of polish and production value that goes into their videos because they started with a more established base.
- This production value helps because they’re a channel that has multiple personalities. Not only do these personalities play the games, and they do, but they also do a number of other videos and segments that let you “get to know the gang” so to speak.
- Now, these personalities are what carry a lot of the content. For example, their countdowns are all host driven, off the cuff sorta deals, which showcase the eccentricities of the host in question as much as they do the games they are talking about.
- Even their let’s plays that feature only 1 player playing at a time will often have the whole “Gang” in the room, reacting to what’s happening to the player. As with a lot of lets play channels, most of the fun comes not from whats happening in game, but from the reactions and freakouts of the hosts.
- In the latest partnership between united Defy Media brands, a perfect mashup between Screen Junkies and Smoshgames ensues. Screen Junkies, as you’ll know if you watched last week’s show, do the honest trailers videos for film, and as such, Smosh Games feature the same trailers except they’re focused on games. IF you haven’t seen these, go check em’ out, they’re awesome.

#6 - SeaNanners Gaming Channel
Channel: SeaNanners Gaming Channel


- Compared to all the guys we’ve checked out so far, SeaNanners might seem a bit fast and loose on the production side. For the bulk of his content, it’s generally a live feed of his face, along with the voices of his fellow players, along with the footage of the game he’s currently playing, obviously.
- So where does the fun come in? From the craziness, duh. The videos are a chaotic, irreverent mix of people laughing hysterically and having an all round crazy time playing these games.
- For example, his most popular video is current a clip in which he’s playing a HL2 total conversion called The Hidden, where a buddy of his pretends to be Morgan Freeman while he stalks the other players.
- While you won’t find detailed walkthroughs here, there’s a lot to love about these. They showcase lesser known games and mods, content that often doesn’t get a lot of attention. But more importantly, the videos really carry the overall spirit of gaming as a social aspect. They serve as a good reminder that games are often best enjoyed with your friends, and that fun should be the #1 priority.

#5 - Rooster Teeth
Channel: Rooster Teeth


- Trying to surmise Rooster Teeth into a quick blurb is difficult: they have so. Much. Content.
- Post videos 5 days a week, usually at least 2 or 3, and these are countdowns, Easter eggs showcases, and a laundry list of different host driven segments and podcast style discussions.
- Buried in all this high content is Achievement Hunter, which is a devision of Rooster Teeth and now makes up a decent portion of their programing. While these began as a relatively self explanatory series devoted to ing-game Achievements, these now have now evolved into a variety of sub-shows. For example, Achievement Hunt is an in game variation of HORSE, where 2 players perform challenges in an effort to avoid accumulating the letters of the word HUNT.
- They have such a variety of stuff published at such a incredible rate that it’d be surprising if there wasn’t something for every gamer.


#4 – jacksepticeye
Channel: jacksepticeye


- Okay, so after a lot of high production value, fancy host driven stuff, now we’re getting back to basics, back to that Old Time let’s play content: 1 game being played by 1 crazy person yelling into a microphone. Petridge Farm Remembers.
- Do you remember a time when Let’s Play Channels were just a crazy person screaming into a microphone while playing a game? Jacksepticyee remembers.
- Since his manic, vocal reactions are the best part of his videos, its often his Best Bits montages which garner the most views, as these are smash cuts of freakout after freakout, all delivered in a delightfully Irish flavor. The Oculus Rift one is my personal favorite, probably because the eyes he’s glued to his headset are awesome.
- Of course, it’s not all montages. The Best Bits are obviously drawn from his regular “Let’s Play” clips, and these cover a really wide variety of games. What’s nice is he seems to do an equal portion of more obscure indie games alongside the more mainstream AAA stuff. He does seem to have a preference for games where people crash or fall down though…

#3 – Markiplier
Channel: Markiplier


- Markiplier is Mark Fischbach, or as I like to think of him, the guy with the voice. While Youtube, and this list, is overflowing with crazy personalities, Markiplier stands out for his clear delivery consistent humor. He is instantly recognizable by his great microphone voice. He’s also recognizable by his face, but that’s not always in the videos.
- Speaking of which, one of his most popular segments are his animated bits, which are reverent and random, but always pretty hilarious as long as you don’t mind a few eff bombs. It’s important to note that he does these animations with the help of LixianTV, another YouTube channel. The animation provident by Lixian meshes with Mark’s delivery brilliantly.
- One of his most popular segments is Drunk Minecraft, which is exactly what it sounds like. This is a good bit to follow if you’ve ever been watching a Minecraft playthru and thought to yourself: Man, this would be better if everyone playing was wasted.


#2 – VanossGaming
Channel: VanossGaming

- We hope you weren’t looking for a whole lot more serious walkthrough stuff, because VanossGaming is definitely not that.
- Vanoss and his buddies mostly Garry’s Mod and GTA5, where they screw around incessantly. As stated on their channel, they’re just trying to have a good time. Videos often devolve quickly into a veritable mishmash of epic fails and laughter, laden with a fair amount of cursing. Good natured cursing though.
- Despite their seemingly disorganized style, these guys are extremely popular, and even overtook our pick for #1 as the most subscribed YouTube Channel, for a time.
- It should also be mentioned that for a channel with such a staggeringly large subscriber base, they’re super well respected in the community: a quick scan of their comments shows that they’re beloved by their fans, something that’s not easy to maintain when you’re pushing the 10 million mark.


#1 – PewDiePie
Channel: PewdiePie

- If you know YouTube, this will probably not come as a surprise. PewDiePie is not only the biggest Let’s Play channel, he’s got the biggest YouTube Channel in the world, period. By a HUGE margin. Even popstars like Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj haven’t been able to knock him outta the top spot. And it’s not like this happened last week, he’s been at the top for a long time now, not bad for a channel founded by a guy in his early 20s.
- He actually has a style of content that’s pretty common. He’ll show footage of him playing a game, with a small feed of his face capturing his reactions in a corner of the video. Like a lot of other channels, he like’s to play a lot of horror games, meaning the jump scares often make for the best parts. He then will cut the best parts into montages that garner insane amounts of views.
- While his style is by no means unique to YouTube, it’s in one of the best ways we’ve ever seen. He’s legitimately funny, and the editing of his montages is super tight meaning you really don’t have time to stop laughing before the next joke hits you. While other montages and let’s play videos may take a while to warm up to, the appeal of PewDiePie’s videos are often evident much faster.
- If all this wasn’t enough to earn him the top spot, he’s also a guy who gives back, as his charities “Save the Children” and “Water Captain” have together raised a total of over a million clams.
- We’re aware that he has a fair amount of haters, but all these credentials are impossible to ignore, making PewDiePie an easy pick for #1.


Comments
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User
Didn't you guys mention something in the first video about not counting Youtube channels by subscriber count and more on quality and production?
User
this is not what i want to see i suggest this top 10 for real let's play channels like GameGrumps, Two Best Friends Play, ScrewAttackLive, Super Beard Bros, Proton Jon & Jesse Cox! non of the users votes even count in this top 10
User
tobuscus should have at least been an honorable mention.
User
I thought Lets Play meant people who primarily do walkthrough said of games, like TheRadBrad. Most of these channels are comedy gaming channels (no one would call Vanoss and lets player)
User
Pretty much the only channels I watch are Rooster Teeth and some PewDiePie... This video mentioned some other good ones as well
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