Why I Watch John Wolfe

John Wolfe's Thumbnail For His "Best of 2022" Video

As an avid consumer of YouTube content with a vested interest in gaming, it should come as no surprise that many of the people I subscribe to are gamers like myself. However, I typically followed people who produced longform video essays, and avoided the "let's play" genre like the plague. 

Around 2021 I began to come across let's play videos focusing on horror games. Now, these are not games I like to play myself (I get scared easily in games). But I enjoyed seeing others play and to take in their reactions. It was difficult though, at first, to find someone authentic to watch. Why? Because the horror game let's play genre is dominated by fake personalities and contrived spectacle. Creators build entire brands around exaggerated jump-scare reactions, face-stretching thumbnails, and a relentless volume of slop designed to play with the YouTube algorithm. 

While commercially successful, this trend created a market saturated with content that feels hollow. In this environment, finding a creator who offers an authentic, measured, and intelligent perspective was essential for my enjoyment.

My search for a horror game YouTuber quickly became a frustrating exercise. Video after video presented me with creators shrieking at jump scares that wouldn't even scare me (and my tolerance is low, trust me). They seemed more concerned with generating a viral clip than engaging with the atmosphere or design of the game. 

Eventually, and, quite randomly, I discovered John Wolfe's YouTube channel.

Wolfe was the antithesis of everything I despised. His style was calm and measured. There were no forced screams. Instead he maintained a thoughtful, sardonic voice guiding the viewer through a game and providing his genuine analysis. 

The first series of his I watched was his playthrough of House of Ashes, the third installment in The Dark Pictures Anthology. Instead of feigning terror at every turn, he approached the game with a high level of discernment. He wasn't reacting to the horror so much as he was breaking down the genre's tropes and injecting humorous sarcastic commentary that contrasted with the scary atmosphere.  

In a way, I saw a bit of myself in him, or at least, the me that I imagine I would be if I were more interested in playing rather than watching the horror game genre. In short, his ability to take horror games seriously, rather than as simple fuel to quickly attract viewers, attracted me to his channel. That, combined with his straightforward, intelligent, and funny critiques of games, quickly sold me on him as a creator. 

I remember listening to his House of Ashes videos while doing a 6-hour drive (they were a welcome distraction considering driving stresses me out). From that point on, I became a daily consumer of his content.

Evaluating John Wolfe's Content

Wolfe's YouTube library covers the fringe and the mainstream, ranging from bizarre, low-budget indie titles to major AAA releases. Regardless of the game's budget, he approaches all of his let's play videos with a critical lens, finding meaning and observational humor in places most would ignore.

Wolfe has a talent for covering games that are simple or even objectively "bad." In his playthrough of the mobile horror game Granny (which was the second game I watched him play), he begins by noting the frustrating controls and repetitive gameplay. That initial reaction gives way to a methodical determination to solve the game's surprisingly deep puzzles. His perspective of the games shifts with the discovery of a tranquilizer crossbow, an item that allows him to temporarily incapacitate his pursuer, and his uncovering of a passage in the game's map that allows you to loop Granny and buy yourself more time to explore.

After successfully staving off Granny long enough to figure out the game's puzzles, he is able to quickly beat it. Whereas other horror YouTubers might scream into the mic upon seeing Granny and fail the puzzles entirely. In a way, Wolfe subverts the horror let's play genre by taking control of the atmosphere instead of letting it dominate him. As with Granny, he often finds humor and fun in beating or approaching the horror aspects directly. That bravado, combined with his delivery and analysis, make for an incredibly unique watch in this genre. 

As he does in all his videos, Wolfe ends his playthrough of Granny with an evaluation. He concludes that, while the game could benefit from more dynamic chases and fewer opportunities to cheese the antagonist, the game was "not bad for a mobile game." Wolfe's critiques are always constructive, even when the developer falls short in several areas. 

One of my other favorite subgenres that Wolfe tends to play is Japanese indie horror games, like those produced by Chilla’s Art. These titles usually have you performing mundane tasks, like a convenience store or barista job, or visiting a karaoke bar. As you go about these tasks, creepy events start occurring more and more frequently, eventually building to a terrifying climax. It's fun seeing Wolfe react to the horror as per usual, but it's also enjoyable listening to his critiques of the mechanics in these games (and ridiculing or making fun of the side characters). 

As an aside, it is also relevant to note that Wolfe maintains a respect for other cultures portrayed in videogames. Whether it's Japanese, Korean, or Filipino, Wolfe never makes culturally insensitive comments or relies on stereotypes to judge what he is seeing. I couldn't stand watching some other YouTubers who can't get through an Asian videogame without reducing it to stereotypical tropes or referencing some variety of "East vs. West" discourse. 

The EZSmall Videos and the Wolfe Multiverse

While much of his content is a serious solitary affair, his collaborative videos reveal a more lighthearted dimension to his work. In a co-op playthrough of the horror roguelike R.E.P.O. with a group of friends self-dubbed "Easy Small" (or EZSmall, which I believe is a reference to them choosing that map size and difficulty in the game Lethal Company), the atmosphere is chaotic fun. Wolfe and his friends "accidentally" kill each other, struggle to coordinate carrying valuable items, and break into laughter over several ridiculous scenarios. While these videos are still technically within the horror genre, they are a nice change of pace from Wolfe's solo content.

Much of this has to do with the three other YouTubers featured in the EZSmall videos: Sinow, Gary "The Hot Cross," and Gab Smolders. Besides R.E.P.O., they've played a bunch of other games like Lethal Company, Sketchy's Contract, and Nuclear Nightmare to name a few. I highly recommend this series for anyone interested in likeable, sincere, and non-toxic videogame YouTubers. 

Beyond gaming, Wolfe has a talent for dissecting other forms of media, as revealed by his long-form videos that debunk paranormal investigators. In his analysis of what he calls "the most controversial ghost hunting series on YouTube," he moves beyond gaming critiques to debunk the supposed paranormal discoveries of YouTubers Sam and Colby. To give one example of how Wolfe goes about this, at one point Sam claims that ghosts caused the batteries in his walkie-talkie to die. Wolfe ripostes by arguing that "It looks like he's pretty clearly holding the high power push to talk button... This would easily explain why Sam ran out of battery and Colby did not... Case closed." He then concludes the video not with smugness or a bombastic, mean-spirited takedown, but with a call for viewers to approach all media with a healthy dose of skepticism, closing with his signature sign-off: "think critically."

Why You Should Support John Wolfe

What ultimately separates Wolfe from his peers is not merely what and how he plays, but the ethical framework he brings to his platform. Unlike most videogame YouTubers, Wolfe uses his popularity to advance positive societal change, and maintains that philosophy in terms of how he moderates his community of followers as well. 

Wolfe is committed to progressive causes and activism in the form of direct action. He has hosted numerous charity streams, raising tens of thousands of dollars for a wide range of organizations. His fundraising efforts have supported critical LGBTQ+ services like The Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline, humanitarian aid through Direct Relief, and animal welfare via the Animal Defense League of Texas. This makes clear what his values are, and I believe that he views these efforts as a core component of his work.

His approach extends to how he manages his followers. Wolfe maintains a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry, harassment, or bad-faith arguments in his live chats and comments sections. Users who engage in transphobic, racist, or otherwise hateful rhetoric are banned instantly. By refusing to tolerate hateful rhetoric and internet "edgelords," he has cultivated a community that is mature, respectful, and progressive, creating a space that stands in stark contrast to the often toxic (i.e. racist, sexist, etc.) environments common in other gaming communities.

In a world where we too often reward the loudest, angriest, and most inflammatory voices, Wolfe's value as a content creator is clear. He has cultivated a space for viewers who seek something more than the standard YouTube fare. He stands as an important voice who prioritizes critical thought over fake reactions and surface-level conclusions, and direct social activism over empty gestures. For all these reasons and more, I highly recommend that you follow John Wolfe and support his work.