There are times when, for whatever reason, a game releases and doesn’t quite make the splash that the developers expected. Perhaps it needed a little longer in the oven, or maybe the target audience just wasn’t there. Sometimes, in a case like Fortnite, they needed to borrow from others to achieve true popularity.
However, just because a game isn’t popular on release, that doesn’t mean that it can’t become great over time. In many cases, YouTubers will pick up a struggling game and raise it high into the air for the whole world to see. And with that added attention, a game can finally get the attention it truly deserves.
Sometimes great games are found and simply given space to breathe through livestreams and let’s plays, increasing their audience and allowing folks to emulate and participate. Here are some great games that might not have achieved their highest highs without the help of YouTubers.
10 Happy Wheels
Spikes, Spikes And More Spikes
|
Developer |
Fancy Force |
|---|---|
|
Release Date |
June 4, 2010 |
|
Platform |
Browser |
|
Genre |
Platform, Racing |
Now this is a real blast from the past. If you ever used to watch YouTube back in the Glory days – alright, it wasn’t that long ago – you might remember seeing Happy Wheels absolutely everywhere. And, of course, the copious amounts of pain, blood and screaming that came with it.
While Happy Wheels certainly wasn’t the most complex or graphically intensive game of all time, the huge amount of short and wacky player-created content available made it easy for anyone to quickly jump in. YouTubers like PewDiePie took full advantage of this, giving characters voices and putting them through the worst torture you could imagine.
And once one YouTuber gets in on the action, more come to follow, expanding the playerbase even more. Oh, and did I mention, it’s free too! What’s not to love?
9 Papers, Please
Keeping Arstotzka Safe, One Passport At A Time
Can a game be art? A form of social commentary, perhaps? Well, a game can be anything you want it to be and more. Here, Papers, Please employs a completely different style of gameplay, forcing players into a role never before seen in the gaming format.
It’s a weird game that’s for sure, and something that, from the outside looking in, would seem utterly bizarre. And yet, it totally works. It worked so well, in fact, that YouTubers like JackSepticEye quickly latched onto it, and the project was quickly dashed through the Steam Greenlight program.
There’s something weirdly addictive about sitting behind a desk, in a fictional country, processing passports. It trains your eyes and your brain, teaches you pattern recognition, and even tells a unique story, all the while. It’s no wonder this game went on to sell millions of copies.
8 Jump King
Ascend To Greatness
These past few years have seen another type of game explode in popularity. You might have seen folks crashing out on stream or in compilations as they fall from ridiculous heights, only to find themselves right back at the beginning. These games are truly rage-inducing, and Jump King certainly struck while the iron was hot.
But why on earth are these games that cause such frustration so popular? Could it be the bragging rights of completion? Maybe. Or perhaps it’s just hilarious to see someone lose all their progress and watch them lose their mind, one fall at a time.
In reality, Jump King stood out for its unique art style and tricky, but addictive gameplay. Once you’ve seen a YouTuber like Ludwig reach the top, there is a certain fire that starts within you, a voice that says, “If he can do it, why can’t I?” And then, you delve into the world of speedrunning, and then it’s too late. You’re trapped, and the rage genre won’t let you go.
7 Five Nights at Freddy’s
Jump Scares Galore
Creepypasta Horror Games. . And if you hate them, maybe you’ll instead love watching others get scared so you don’t have to go through the experience yourself!
This craze really kicked off with games like Slender: The Eight Pages or even Sonic.exe scaring young teens senseless with their bizarre and messed-up storylines. It was easy for YouTubers to turn these short stories into Creepypastas, even though, under the spotlight, they’re utterly ridiculous.
Five Nights at Freddy’s came along and blew all the others out of the water, offering extremely simple gameplay and a weirdly captivating universe. YouTubers like Markiplier provided compelling videos with huge reactions, while others like Game Theory attempted to unravel the bizarre story threaded throughout the games.
It hit multiple fanbases, spawned novels and even a movie. And all from a tiny indie game, no less! At this point, FNAF is a titan, and its legacy is etched into the history of the internet.
6 Among Us
Emergency Meeting!
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- Released
- June 5, 2018
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Mild Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Engine
- Unity
- Cross-Platform Play
- Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
- Franchise
- Among Us
- How Long To Beat
- N/A
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 1005 MB (November 2023)
- Metascore
- 85
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- Mobile Devices, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Steam User Rating
- 92%
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Does anyone actually remember when Among Us came out? I remember watching a trailer or video in its initial release, and no one really cared. I mean, it was a sweet concept, a bit of multiplayer fun, but not enough to capture the world.
And then the pandemic hit. People were stuck inside, desperately trying to find a way to communicate and have fun without needing to leave the house. YouTubers like The Sidemen and DisguisedToast, having more time than ever to make content, jumped on Among Us, collaborating and generally just having a blast.
The clear thing was that Among Us could be played by anyone. It was simple enough for an older generation who didn’t know games, and for young people, getting into gaming for the first time. And what’s more, it was extremely memeable. Naturally, it blew up to a ridiculous extent. Even now, when I see an innocuous Trash Can, something in my brain whispers “Amogus”.
5 Rust
A Tale Of Betrayal
Oh, the joys of promixity chat. While you might not like it in practice, it creates some absolutely stellar moments in videos.
Survival games have always made for killer YouTube content. Building yourself up from nothing, creating bases, hoarding supplies, and fending for yourself. It’s compelling stuff.
Losing yourself in another world is a rare thing indeed. But what happens when someone comes along and burns everything you accomplished to the ground? Hilarious clips, that’s what.
Rust is famous for its back-stabbing, rage-inducing experiences, bringing out the very best and very worst of the human race. It heightens emotions to such a degree that it’s just ridiculously entertaining to watch. I know I’ve sunk a worrying number of hours into Rust Moments and rage compilations. Do I regret those hours? Not a chance.
4 Cuphead
Rubber Hose Glory
It’s easy to make an unfair game. To skew the difficulty and cause a bit of rage. What’s not so easy is how to foster natural difficulty, challenge that scales and blossoms, not causing players to quit, but to simply evolve and git-gud.
Cuphead is a fantastic example of a difficult game that’s harsh but fair. It forces players to re-evaluate, to try new strategies, to learn attack patterns and expertly handle their character. It’s not for the faint of heart, and yet it’s another game that, when you see it played, causes a rush of FOMO to surge through your veins.
YouTubers introduced the game to the masses, and boss tutorials kept them playing. And when they were done, speedrunners like EazySpeezy took over to perfect every aspect of Cuphead possible.
And what’s more, it’s one of the most graphically unique games out there. You can tell simply by looking at the boss designs, the fluidity of the animations, that countless hours of love were poured into this game, and that love resulted in serious sales.
3 Vampire Survivors
Chaos Incarnate
Vampire Survivors looks like a game that should have come out 30 years ago. This shouldn’t work, and yet, believe me, it does. I’ve spent so many hours on this game, and I recommend it to anyone who wants a simple yet utterly addictive experience.
In truth, I found this by browsing YouTube one day, noticing the endless hordes of the Undead, a screen full of projectiles and sleek but stunning characters that look straight out of Castlevania. It has a wonderfully simplistic art style and replayability that just goes nuts. And for an extremely reasonable price.
In all honesty, this game was great for YouTubers because you can kind of turn your brain off a little bit. You can have a chill stream, talk to chat, while everything just dies on screen.
Or, on the other hand, you can lock in and discover all the mysteries and characters the game has to offer, get high scores and push the limits of what’s possible. It doesn’t need to be complex; it just needs to have charm, and Vampire Survivors has this in spades.
2 Minecraft
The Children Yearn For The Mines
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- Released
- November 18, 2011
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Engine
- LWJGL, PROPRIETARY ENGINE
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Platform(s)
- 3DS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360
- How Long To Beat
- 129 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- No
- File Size Xbox Series
- 1.42 GB (August 2024)
- Metascore
- 93
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Oh, come on, you knew this was going to be on the list. How can you talk about YouTube and gaming without mentioning Minecraft? This absolute gem burst onto the scene from out of nowhere, and even now, it’s as popular as ever.
I’m not sure how many hours I’ve sunk into Minecraft, but it’s hundreds at least. Playing with a small survival group or being inspired by designs found on building channels, Minecraft has a little of everything for everyone.
And the YouTube space even has its own categories. Hardcore Survival, Mega builds, Modding, Speedrunning, Mini-game servers, you name it, Minecraft has it! I can’t even name the most popular YouTubers here, because honestly, there are too many to count. Minecraft has literally springboarded hundreds of people’s careers.
And yet still, even aging fans like me come crawling back when a new update launches to experience the wonder and nostalgia all over again.
1 Undertale
Despite Everything, It’s Still You
If there’s a pattern that links many of the games on this list, I would say it’s all about heightening certain emotions and making the most of a tiny budget. Whether it’s rage, fear, or hilarity, these games all show you that you can conquer the world with a little heart.
And if we’re talking about heart, it’s hard to beat Undertale. Crafted by a single developer, Undertale captured the attention of the internet and was subsequently shot into the stratosphere by its millions of fans.
Whether it was tear-inducing longplays, countless pieces of fan art, or even beautiful animations that breathe life into the Underground’s many colourful characters, Undertale undoubtedly took the world by storm. And for good reason.
It’s a beautiful game, subverting tropes and expectations, injecting humor and sadness and everything in between. It’s simple, but complex, joyous yet soul-crushing. And even now, when the dust has settled, fans create content because, maybe for a short period of time, Undertale changed their lives. It certainly changed mine.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
