I’m looking for sites not owned by Fandom, Ziff Davis, Tencent, etc., who still cover news and reviews.
I stuck with Giantbomb for years, even after Red Ventures acquired it, but, like others, drifted away from the site when its core members left/got fired.
I followed Easy Allies for awhile, but after Bowman moved on, it wasn’t the same.
Anyone have any recommendations?
I know it’s not quite what you’re asking for, but it’s where I get my gaming news from at least. I have subbed to SkillUp on YT for a very long time, and he covers loads of games and does weekly news videos where he covers the latest. The vids are very genuine and authentic, imo.
He, and a few of his friends also started a very chill and good podcast called Friends Per Second going more in depth on different gaming topics.
Highly recommended 🙌
Am a fan too. I’d mention YongYea here, but the unorganized unscripted way in which he makes 20 minute videos on every topic really kills it for me.
SkillUp’s weekly summary is much nicer.
Edit: remembered a word
YongYea just reads reddit threads without providing any actual commentary or context of his own. He repeats himself until he crosses the video length threshold for monetization.
He also had a nasty case where rushed his Cyberpunk 2077 review to be one of the first to monetize, and then monetized his apology video where he stated he didn’t really play the game enough to review it. And he admits he “went way too easy on this game in a way that I wouldn’t have with other games or companies and the review shouldn’t be up”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WeCfKzwaV0
I also remember when I used to watch him before Final Fantasy 7 Remake came out and he acted like he was a longtime huge fan of the original game, but when he watched the ff7r trailer he seemed like he barely knew the basics.
Yeah unfortunately I agree. I think Yong seems like a cool guy but his videos always start with a lengthy recap which anyone who watches his channel already knows from his previous video on whatever is recapped, and then he takes the longest possible route to explain the topic too.
I reckon if he made 5 min videos without all the fluff he’d be great.
I mostly just follow the nextlander crew and Jeff Gerstmann. They aren’t much more than podcasts, there’s little to no written work produced, and they don’t really consider themselves gaming journalists, but that’s pretty much what we’re left with.
“Influencers” and corporate cash have largely killed games journalism.
Following this up with Remap Radio, the folks who were recently fired from Vice. They are Nextlander-adjacent.
EDIT: just saw @bogdugg recommended them a little further down
I’d like to know too. Just me realize I don’t have a go to reviewer or site anymore, but been mainly relying on just user submitted trailers to know about new games and word of mouth when it comes to if I want to buy it.
My suggestion for YouTube video reviews currently is ACG. He states that he buys every game he reviews and if the studio sends him a copy for free he gives a copy away to the community out of his own pocket to try and reduce the bias.
He also seems to do a good job of testing on a variety of difficulty levels and platforms.
Does Rock Paper Shotgun count?
No, they are owned by Relx (fka Reed Elsevier), known for PAX and the scam which is the academic publishing industry.
