Godlike Gaming, reviewed by Jen Bush

From the simplistic Pong created by a physicist in 1958 to full immersion in platforms like Oculus Quest, video games have been entertaining children and adults for decades. As an occasional gamer who possesses a Steam account and has proudly fought Darth Vader in virtual reality, I could relate to Godlike Gaming. One might think a YouTube series about video gamers might not be of interest to the general public. Gamers are first and foremost people. If you think about it as a web series about people, you’re one step closer to liking it. Add in high quality production value, stunning visuals and knee slapping humor, it is sure to be enjoyed by all.

Sky is the ringleader of the MOBA, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena for those not hip to the gaming lingo. She has epic aspirations of winning a gaming world championship with her team. When a team member quits suddenly, the rest of the team has the arduous task of filling the open spot. The interviews of the potential members who represent madcap caricatures of millennials are absolutely hilarious. In episode two, they end up choosing Boxxxy, a seemingly dim-witted flake who I suspect has more to her than meets the eye.

Thus far there are two episodes of this comedically satisfying series. The 20-minute episodes are keenly written by Eli Sundler and Joshua Wallace with expert pacing. The cinematography is rich in bold bright colors and graphics. The set design and props department knocked it out of the park. They created authentic gamer paradises complete with pricey gaming chairs, Funko Pops, obligatory action figures and superhero posters. Speaking of living spaces, I’m hoping some questions can be answered in the episodes to come. Do the characters live at home? The apartments are a bit upscale and neat for these young gamers. Perhaps the creators of the show are tired of gamers being depicted living in their parents’ basements with empty pizza boxes and dirty socks strewn about. Maybe a breaking of stereotypes is happening here.

All the characters in Godlike Gaming are fully realized and have deliciously distinct personalities. Nicole Murray’s Sky is a stormy and turbulent character who is driven and obsessed. She scores high points with her performance. Will Maizel shined as the even keel happy go lucky voice of reason, Fruitcake. There is usually someone angry with an edge on a gaming team. In this case it’s Bash, very well played by Jamie Bauch. It takes a lot of acting skill to portray someone so strange that she might just be from another planet. Maddy Murphy has that skill in her portrayal of Boxxxy. We should keep a close eye on Boxxxy because I suspect some character transformation coming. The high score is awarded to Omari Williams for his hilarious portrayal of Pinkbr3ak. He really nailed it! From his unwavering devotion to Batman to his concern about which version of Dungeons and Dragons the new team member favors, he brought his A game. His portrayal was reminiscent of a low key and less neurotic version of Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory

If you think Super Mario is the super in your building, maybe this is not for you. In terms of future episodes, I’m game to see what comes next.