A Pithy YouTube Celebrity’s Plea: Buy This Video Game

Freewheeling assessments of the gaming industry have attracted millions of fans to the YouTube reviews of the personality nicknamed Dunkey, whose self-deprecating humor sweetens his critiques of popular video games.

“Kirby is a lot like me,” he said while reviewing the pink puffball’s latest adventure. “He is a big fat guy that sucks up all the food.”

“I’m just a referee on this one so you cannot get mad,” he explained in a middling review of Spider-Man 2, aware of the game’s rabid fan base.

“This is an evil game made by an evil man,” he proclaimed about Elden Ring’s difficulty. “And whoever’s job it was to balance the damage-scaling on enemies did not show up for work.”

Now Dunkey, whose real name is Jason Gastrow, is hoping to parlay his 14-year rise as an entertaining critic into a serious business publishing indie games, something few influencers have attempted.

On Thursday, his publishing company, Bigmode, released its first game, Animal Well, in which a mysterious blob explores a complex labyrinth while encountering animals that might help or hinder its journey. Billy Basso spent seven years making the game, which relies on well-designed puzzles and hidden secrets to motivate players and has generated extra attention because of Dunkey.