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Introduction
Along with Twitch, YouTube is a fantastic resource for walkthroughs, play tips and game previews. Presenting many of them are seasoned YouTubers, a curious group of internet dwellers that spend day and night filming videos to keep you entertained.
While many YouTubers film themselves playing console games, some of the most interesting videos come from when they're playing on the PC. Thanks to mod support in games, higher-quality recording equipment and a general enthusiasm for gaming that you don't often find in console-only YouTubers, such videos usually make for better viewing.
We have included the odd YouTube superstar in here, partly because it's good to know how they started and why they're so popular. If you visit their channel, just remember to hit subscribe or they might actually cry.
1. GameKiller346
Preferred games: Sneak-em-ups, Far Cry 4, Thief
We kick things off with the sneakiest player of the group, GameKiller346. Known to his friends as Mersin, we're banking that his second name is Ninja. Hailing from Bulgaria he specialises in sneak kills and is particularly entertaining in his his Far Cry 4 videos.
One in particular is a delight; set in the frozen wastes of Kyrat he performs two quick snipes before dropping down upon a parker-clad enemy with a knife to the throat. When he's not being a bloodthirsty maniac he's sneaking around in Thief, a game where he always knows exactly where to go and who to take down next. He's mastered the art of quick silent kills, one after the other with breathtaking skill.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0j2j9C3QDVI_nvpAbwyQLw
2. theRadBrad
Preferred games: Big blockbusters, GTA V, Fallout 4, CoD
Type in 'YouTube Game Walkthrough' into Google Videos and pretty much all the top hits will be from this guy. theRadBrad AKA Bradley Colburn is, simply put, a walkthrough machine. Although not PC-specific he'll take you through the toughest GTA V missions, give you tips on hunting a woolly mammoth in Far Cry Primal and or teach you how to shoot straight at the Call of Duty games.
If you're stuck on a big title game, he'll have made a video to help out. He's popular too, amassing nearly 6 million subscribers since his first video in 2006.
3. LilyPichu
Preferred games: RPGs & Indie: League Of Legends, Undertale
Don't let her cute demeanor deceive you, as LilyPichu sounds like Pikachu spouting Malcolm Tucker levels of profanity. (If you've just Googled that name - yes - the actor that portrays Mr Tucker is now playing Dr. Who.)
In one entertaining video LilyPichu plays League Of Legends, quickly switching from friendly chit chat - and a promise not to steal her friend's drops - to an all-out cursing war when they encounter their first foes. She's also a keen pianist and does renditions of her favourite gaming themes.
4. PewDiePie
Preferred games: Survival Horrors: Walking Dead, Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Swedish born Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, or PewDiePie, was one of the earliest proponents of Let's Play videos, which are essentially long videos of someone playing a game with commentary. He started back in 2010 playing survival horror title Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
Let's Play videos themselves have been criticised as they apparently encourage people not to buy games as they can be viewed for free on YouTube. This hasn't harmed PewDiePie's popularity however as he's one of the most successful YouTube gamers ever, reportedly earning $4 million in 2013.
Style-wise, he's cocky when playing horror games, a contrast to many of us who scream like small children when confronted with a horde of zombies.
5. videogamedunkey
Preferred games: Anything he make fun of: Skyrim, Dark Souls III
Milwaukee resident Jason Gastrow, videogamedunkey, has a surreal and witty take on mods and game reviews. He recently described Tom Clancy's new post apocalyptic vision The Division as taking place "about a week after Donald Trump gets elected president". (At the time of writing, it might not be too long before we find out if there's any truth in that.)
Gastrow started his YouTube career in 2010 with a speedrun of Battletoads and his most recent work is a Dark Souls III video where every time he dies he thanks the game. Needless to say, he expresses a lot of gratitude.
6. Robbaz
Preferred games: Modable games: The Sims 3, Far Cry 3, Hitman
Robert Öberg of Sweden, AKA Robbaz, is king of the surreal sandbox sitcom. His characters, the Redneck Brothers, are the Trailer Park Boys of The Sims 3. Öberg's work is episodic and features long running storylines and in-jokes, with his other series including the Viking Space Program and Goat Island which takes Far Cry 4 and infests it with killer goats.
When he's not being weird, Robbaz also makes cookery videos entitled Cooking With The Kock, or CWTK for short. He's brewed honey mead, made a kangaroo taco and more disturbingly, blood pancakes. Tasty.
7. stampylonghead
Preferred game: All Minecraft all the time
One for the younger gamers is Mr. Stampy Cat (stampylonghead), a Minecraft specialist who takes the form of a bipedal custard-coloured cat. He's incredibly successful at what he does, amassing over 7 million subscribers. When he's not feline, he's Joseph Garrett from Havant in Hampshire.
Watching his videos from early on you can see how his style has progressed from simple Let's Play videos to developing the character Stampy. Joseph realised his viewers were mainly from the 6 - 14 age group so he altered his style to be more family friendly and Mr. Stampy Cat was born.
8. vinesauce
Preferred games: The weird, classic and games he can corrupt: Half Life, Fallout 4, emulated Nintendo games
Vincent Lange, usually known as Vinny is the founder of the vinesauce website. He plays a lot of emulated retro games and likes to discover the weirder side of gaming.
Recently he hit the news with a brilliant and chilling return to Active Worlds - an abandoned online virtual world which appears to be populated by just one person, Hitomi Fujiko. At first Vinny thinks he's an NPC, but as the video progresses it's clear that he's more than that: an actual ghost in the machine.
9. Markiplier
Preferred games: Forgotten games: Toss The Turtle, Road Of The Dead, Bear Simulator
Markiplier is a relative newcomer to YouTube, joining only in 2012. In that time he's amassed over 12.5 million subscribers. Many of his videos are Let's Play but he also branches out into comedy and animated parodies.
What's interesting in Mark's videos are the games he plays, as he likes to unearth forgotten and innovative Flash games such as Road Of The Dead. While not PC exclusive - he plays iOS and console games too - we enjoy his light presenting style, gentle humour and choice of left-field titles.