The rise of video game critics on YouTube is one of the most significant shifts in gaming media of the last two decades. Traditional journalists working for big gaming websites no longer dictate the conversation about video games, as gamers themselves are making their voices heard and paving their own way with video content, commentary, and criticism. Here are six that are essential for their information and entertainment value:

Nintendo Minute

In 2013, Nintendo introduced the YouTube community to a new video series called Nintendo Minute. While it focuses mostly on Nintendo’s own games for their platforms, they feature third-party games as well.

The hosts Kit and Krysta compliment each other well. Krysta’s upbeat positivity coupled with Kit’s game master, know-everything attitude always brings a smile. The videos are usually bite-size in length, but sometimes go longer.

Most of the videos are shot in-house at San Francisco, but sometimes they go on the road for conventions and special events – and sometimes, they get actual Nintendo developers from Japan on their show. Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma, and other famous Nintendo game developers have made appearances on Nintendo Minute.

Yes, the videos are a clever form of marketing by Nintendo, but if you’re a big Nintendo fan, these videos are a must.

TotalBiscuit – The Cynical Brit

If there has been a more authoritative and respected voice on PC gaming than Mr. John Bain, a.k.a. TotalBiscuit, over the last ten years, I haven’t heard of them.

Otherwise known as The Cynical Brit, you will be hard-pressed to find anyone on YouTube who knows more about PC gaming than the mighty TB. He’s an oracle of knowledge and opinions on the subject. If you’re looking for a channel about PC gaming, this is where to go. From his Co-Optional Podcast to his WTF Is series to his StarCraft commentary, TotalBiscuit has provided an incredible amount of coverage for games over the years.

Sadly, TotalBiscuit recently announced his retirement from YouTube outside of his podcast. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and his health has recently taken a turn for the worse. I know I’m not alone when I say that I hope he finds a way to pull through. His is a great voice in the video game industry and it would be a terrible loss if it were to be silenced. Even though he’s not making videos regularly anymore, he still has a ton of content on his channel worth checking out.

Jirard The Completionist

As far as pure gamer cred goes, Jirard, otherwise known as The Completionist, is the real deal. His schtick is not to just play games, nor to merely beat them. When he plays a game, he completes it. As in, he does everything there is to do in the game, no matter what – and then recommends to you the viewer whether the game is worth just playing, worth beating, or worth completing.

He doesn’t pick just short indie games to play either. Jirard takes his completionist moniker seriously. He plays everything from shorter games to long RPGs. He’s done Super Mario Bros. 3, but he’s also done Skyrim and Hyrule Warriors.

Due to legal wranglings with his former partner, Jirard was recently forced to remove a large portion of his videos of games he’s completed from YouTube. He’s going back and re-completing them in a new segment he calls New Game Plus. How he finds the time to put that much time into his games and make YouTube videos is impressive. He puts out at least one game a week, and thanks to New Game Plus, he’s now doing two a week. He must not sleep. His videos are thorough and always entertaining.

Digital Foundry

The guys at Digital Foundry are the tech heads of the YouTube video game community. If you want to know how well a game runs, this is the place to go. They break a game’s technical capabilities down to ridiculous degrees so you can see how it performs. Their comparison videos are especially helpful when you’re interested in a game’s frame rate, or how well a game is being ported to a different system.

Digital Foundry is all substance. Their videos are well-produced and very informative, but don’t expect any on-screen antics. If you’re looking for a “YouTube personality”, Digital Foundry isn’t for you, but if you want well-made videos that provide detailed spec info and great game footage, check them out.

Angry Joe

Angry Joe has the ‘angry’ moniker that a few other YouTubers out there have, but he’s always struck me as anything but. He has a passion for games and movies that comes through in his videos, and he usually does it with a smile.

Angry Joe’s videos are long-form – thirty to forty minute game reviews are the standard for him, and he throws everything he has into his videos. Costumes, graphical effects, plus the good, the bad, and the ugly of the game he’s reviewing. He pulls no punches and does an excellent, and usually hilarious, job of breaking a game down, especially anything related to the DCEU and Superman. He may not be as prolific as other popular YouTubers, but given the quality of his content, he’s definitely one of the best.

Angry Video Game Nerd

Mr. James Rolfe a.k.a. the Angry Video Game Nerd, is the original video game YouTuber. He was doing it years before it was popular and people were becoming YouTube millionaires.

When AVGN started in 2006, retro gaming was on the rise. The Wii’s Virtual Console was still a new thing, and a whole new generation was being introduced to video games the way they used to be back in the ’80s and ’90s. Old-school games, and new-school games done in an old-school way (Mega Man 9), were the hotness. AVGN’s videos did a masterful job of tapping into that zeitgeist.

His videos are angry, but thoughtful, entertaining, and funny. He’s the Mystery Science Theater for classic video games. If you grew up playing video games in the ’80s and ’90s, AVGN should already be a staple of your YouTube diet. Over a decade later, he has over 150 videos and a full-length film featuring some of the worst classic games ever released.