I don’t want to repeat too much information, so if you’re after a comprehensive introduction to the Game Grumps, I strongly suggest you check out my Top 10 Game Grumps One-Offs which I’ll link later in the post. For now though on this piece discussing my Top 10 Game Grumps Extended Playthroughs I’ll give you a far briefer outline.
Game Grumps, is a YouTube Let’s Play channel, established on July 18th 2012 by co-hosts and co-founders Arin Hanson (also known as Egoraptor) and Jon Jafari (also known as JonTron).
Jafari left the channel in June 2013 to focus on his personal YouTube channel and he was subsequently replaced by Dan Avidan (also known as Danny Sexbang) the vocalist of the comedy musical duo, Ninja Sex Party, as well as the host of another series, on the Game Grumps channel called ‘Steam Train’ which he did alongside animator, YouTuber and voice actor Ross O’Donovan (also known as RubberRoss, RubberNinja or CondomRoss). The channel has run since then with Arin and Dan as the co-hosts, and during that period, they’ve produced almost 9,000 videos.
So below you’ll be able to read my personal Top 10 extended playthroughs from the Game Grumps, and oh while I remember, click here to read my One-Offs on the same topic.
1. House Party
So despite being a very graphic and lewd game which might not appeal to everyone, I found this playthrough to be incredibly enjoyable. It’s not just that the game itself actually seems quite fun, but also because it has that perfect blend of story choice, crazy hijinks and random glitches that make for a truly unpredictable and hilarious series. Also interestingly, the developer which makes House Party, Eek! Games, LLC ran a contest for members of the public to be added to the game, and The Grumps, as well as Lety of Lety Does Stuff were officially added to the game, prompting Arin and Dan to return to the series.
2. The Wacky World of Miniature Golf
This is incredibly funny, you can feel the both of them just deteriorate as the episode progresses. How despite doing different things each time they keep getting the same uncomfortably long failure animation. You can feel the point where it goes from funny to frustrating to just plain exasperated and then back to dejectedly funny.
So I didn’t actually watch this for at least a year or two after it was initially released. I’m not sure how exactly I missed it, but it’s a real shame because it’s exceptionally funny. I think it makes the top of the list because it can be appreciated fully even when on in the background because most of the humour comes from The Grumps bantering and doing voices. In particular Dan and Arin voice Ivan (tha main character of the game) and give him a thick Russian accent, and just having him deliver a monologue in a steady monotone as absolute chaos happens around him is just hilarious.
4. Sonic ’06
I think for a lot of fans, this is perhaps the most iconic series played during the Jon Era of Game Grumps. Firstly, it started the trend of them playing Sonic games on the channel, which has brought countless hours of fun for the Lovelies over the years. This series has everything that makes Game Grumps so great, from excessive glitches, to a totally bonkers ploy and of course a whole lot of ‘Real Talk’. Also can I just say that I am legitimately a fan of the music from Sonic ’06 which Arin famously called ‘Butt Rock’ during another Sonic playthrough. Speaking of the music though, one of the best things about this playthrough, was that songs such as ‘Escape from the City’ were sung by Jon and Arin, often with improved lyrics or with the music played at different speeds. Sadly Jon left the show before they completed the game, and they apparently have no intention of finishing it without him.
So I have such incredible nostalgia for this game, it’s what really got me into Mario. I like the dynamic between Arin who is returning to this game after a long time and Dan who has never played it before. I will admit that watching Arin make no progress in some episodes can be infuriating but it’s just hard to be mad with this game or this playthrough. It also is the origin of the much quoted Mark Zuckerberg moment. It’s sort of supplementary to the series but I also suggest watching the Green Demon Challenge, which is a player challenge Arin undertook where he attempted to get all the Red Coins in a level while being pursued by a 1Up mushroom. The concept is interesting on its own but Arin makes it so entertaining to watch.
6. A Way Out
This was such a brilliant and frankly hilarious playthrough that it outright convinced me to actually purchase the game for myself. Now it involves a LOT of focus and cooperation, which if you are a long term fan of Game Grumps you’ll know is not exactly their strong suit, which of course led to plenty of shenanigans. I think what I liked was that the plot and game design were relatively solid and grounded, so this wasn’t funny because it was a busted or otherwise ridiculous game but instead it manages to produce a high level of comedy just from their interactions and banter. It felt very fresh and authentic and I’ll still put on this series when I need to be cheered up. I also liked that they both seemed to genuinely enjoy the game, sometimes it seems like they play games for the audience or to appease the algorithm but this one really felt like they were having fun, which I think heightened my enjoyment.
So I initially avoided Rocket League because I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it but a few weeks ago I happened to click on one of them and was just sucked into the gameplay. Not only does it have cooperation, which as I’ve said before always makes for a fun game but because of the specific gameplay Rocket League can be quite unpredictable which makes for fun when watching. It’s also good that even when stacked against much better players they still manage to hold their own, proving that Rocket League isn’t entirely unwelcoming to new players.
Is a super early Dan Era series and it’s one that sticks out in my mind not just because of the obvious quality but also because it’s always nice to see Dan play, especially when it’s a game from his own childhood. I also like that despite the difficulty he does come back to complete the game. This is well worth a watch, and I also recommend watching Punch-Out!! the successor to this game on the Wii.
So often when the Game Grumps play a game they are having fun in spite of the game, the enjoyment comes from them and their chemistry and dynamic. However that’s not always the case, sometimes you get games like this which just sort of capture them both and provide an incredible amount of enjoyment. I especially enjoy games like this which require cooperation, as the back and forth is what makes it worth watching. This one is equally good either to sit down and watch or to have on in the background.
So I think it’s fair to say that Arin has something of a complicated relationship with Sonic the Hedgehog, and the franchise as a whole. He receives fair criticism for the negative attitude he’s taken to some of the games, deserved or otherwise. However in the case of Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, his opinion and criticism are totally 100% deserved. I mean even just the infinite jump glitch you can utilise as Knuckles is so game breaking that it begs the question of whether any testing was done before release. That being said, I am eternally grateful they didn’t fix it because watching Arin pausing and unpausing the game to just endlessly gain height and bypass obstacles is hilarious, not to mention that in doing so areas of the game completely broke and failed to load in. Another highlight of this playthrough is the whole Janeane Garofalo’s Expedition which just had me in hysterics.
Honourable Mentions go to Mother Simulator, M&M’s Beach Party and Nintendo Land which I also really enjoyed but didn’t quite make the list.
Make sure and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates from Game Grumps. Also if you’re in the mood for Game Grumps but have no idea what to watch then use this neat little site, RandomGrump, which you can use to find a completely random episode or series from the backlog of Grumps content.
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