{{Honest_Trailer_infobox|image1 = MARIO KART (Honest Game Trailers)|movie/game = |title1 = Honest Game Trailers|caption1 = Since 2014, more than 220 episodes of Honest Game Trailers have been produced.}}'''''[https://smosh.fandom.com/wiki/Honest_Game_Trailers Honest Game Trailers]''''' is a weekly comedy web series that humorously reviews games. It is a '''[[Honest Trailers Spinoffs|spinoff]]''' of the original '''''[[Honest Trailer]]s''''' series. Like ''Honest Trailers,'' ''Honest Game Trailers'' is narrated by '''[[Jon Bailey]]'''. The first episode was''''' Mario Kart''', ''published on March 8, 2014. Since 2014, over 220 episodes of ''Honest Game Trailers'' have been produced. ''Honest Game Trailers'' usedtobe published on the Smosh Games channel, but from June 2019 will be published by FANDOM.
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[[File:Honest_Game_Trailers_Anthem_Open_Invideo_0-4_screenshot.png|thumb|Since 2014, more than 225 episodes of ''Honest Game Trailers'' have been produced.|330x330px]]'''Honest Game Trailers''' is a weekly comedy web series that humorously reviews games. It is a '''[[Honest Trailers Spinoffs|spinoff]]''' of the original '''''[[Honest Trailer]]s''''' series. Like ''Honest Trailers,'' ''Honest Game Trailers'' is narrated primarily by '''[[Jon Bailey]]'''. The first episode was''''' [[Honest Game Trailers - Mario Kart|Mario Kart]]''', ''published on March 8, 2014. Since 2014, [[List of Honest Game Trailers|over 220 episodes]] of ''Honest Game Trailers'' have been produced (see '''[[list of Honest Game Trailers]]''' for further information).
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''Honest Game Trailers'' used to be published on the Smosh Games channel, but since June 2019 (starting with '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Anthem|Anthem]]''''') is published on the '''[[Fandom Games]]''' channel.
'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2VUa-5utms&list=PLHkNwtRZFo2g74tWgElcOO2T3WWbN7Aga Watch Honest Game Trailers playlist on YouTube] '''
== Format ==
== Format ==
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[[File:Game trailer.jpg|thumb|258x258px|The original ''Honest Game Trailers'' logo was designed to resemble a game rating.|link=https://honest-trailers.wikia.com/wiki/File:Game_trailer.jpg]]''Honest Game Trailers'' uses a similar format to the original series '''[[Honest Trailer]]s'''[[Honest Trailer|.]] In their write-up on the '''''Mario Kart''''' video, [https://www.tubefilter.com/2014/03/09/smosh-games-honest-game-trailers-16-bit-high-school/ Tubefilter noted] that, "''Honest Game Trailers'' uses the exact same formula as [[Screen Junkies|Screen Junkies’]] smash hit. It features a deep-voiced narrator who purports to “sell” the games in question but only points out their flaws.... At first glance, ''Honest Game Trailers'' seems like a blatant rip-off of its filmic forbearer, but it is actually the latest partnership between united <strong>[[Defy Media]]</strong> brands. Screen Junkies is run by '''Break Media,''' while Smosh Games is part of the <strong>Alloy Digital</strong> network; those two companies merged last year. The decision to run ''Honest Game Trailers'' on Smosh Games is '''[[Defy Media|Defy’s]]''' latest attempt to take advantage of its properties’ related audiences."
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[[File:Game trailer.jpg|thumb|258x258px|The original ''Honest Game Trailers'' logo was designed to resemble a game rating.|link=https://honest-trailers.wikia.com/wiki/File:Game_trailer.jpg]]''Honest Game Trailers'' uses a similar format to the original series '''[[Honest Trailer]]s'''[[Honest Trailer|.]] In their write-up on the '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Mario Kart|Mario Kart]]''''' video, [https://www.tubefilter.com/2014/03/09/smosh-games-honest-game-trailers-16-bit-high-school/ Tubefilter noted] that, "''Honest Game Trailers'' uses the exact same formula as [[Screen Junkies|Screen Junkies’]] smash hit. It features a deep-voiced narrator who purports to “sell” the games in question but only points out their flaws.... At first glance, ''Honest Game Trailers'' seems like a blatant rip-off of its filmic forbearer, but it is actually the latest partnership between united <strong>[[Defy Media]]</strong> brands. Screen Junkies is run by '''Break Media,''' while Smosh Games is part of the <strong>Alloy Digital</strong> network; those two companies merged last year. The decision to run ''Honest Game Trailers'' on Smosh Games is '''[[Defy Media|Defy’s]]''' latest attempt to take advantage of its properties’ related audiences."
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Some members of the ''Honest Trailers'' team are also involved in the production of ''Honest Game Trailers''. For instance, head writer of ''Honest Trailers'', '''[[Spencer Gilbert]]''' has been involved with ''Honest Game Trailers'' since its inception. Spencer is an avid gamer and is credited as a co-writer on all episodes of ''Honest Game Trailers''. Likewise, motion graphics artist '''[[Robert Holtby]]''' creates the '''[[Honest title|honest titles]]''' for both series.
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''Honest Game Trailers'' were a collaboration between '''[[Screen Junkies]]''' and Smosh. Some members of the ''Honest Trailers'' team are also involved in the production of ''Honest Game Trailers''. For instance, head writer of ''Honest Trailers'', '''[[Spencer Gilbert]]''' has been involved with ''Honest Game Trailers'' since its inception. Spencer is an avid gamer and is credited as a co-writer on all episodes of ''Honest Game Trailers''. Likewise, voice artist '''[[Jon Bailey]] '''(aka '''[[Epic Voice Guy]]''') does the narration both series. In addition, motion graphics artist '''[[Robert Holtby]]''' creates the '''[[Honest title|honest titles]]''' for both.
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== Creative innovations ==
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[[File:N64 (Honest Game Trailers)|thumb|330x330px|The ''[[Honest Game Trailers - N64|N64 Honest Game Trailer]]'' parodied an entire console generation. This concept is unique to ''Honest Game Trailers.'']]
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The ''Honest Game Trailers ''series has also developed several unique twists on the typical ''Honest Trailers'' formula. Unlike '''''[[Honest Trailer|Honest Movie Trailers]]''''' which usually only parody one movie at a time (even if it is part of a much larger franchise), ''Honest Game Trailers'' about long-running franchises typically discuss the evolution of the franchise across the years and may reference dozens of different versions of the game (for example, see '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Donkey Kong|Donkey Kong]]''''').
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Other creative innovations unique to the ''Honest Game Trailers'' series include:
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* '''Videos about console generations'''. So far, four ''Honest Game Trailers'' about consoles have been produced: '''[[Honest Game Trailers - Xbox One|Xbox One]]''', '''[[Honest Game Trailers - Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch]]''', '''[[Honest Game Trailers - PlayStation VR|PlayStation VR]]''' and '''[[Honest Game Trailers - N64|Nintendo 64.]] '''These videos highlight the technical developments of the console, summarize an entire generation of video games, and discuss the cultural significance of that console.
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* '''April Fool's Day joke about a non-existent game. '''The '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Half-Life 3|Honest Game Trailer for Half-Life 3]]''''' is unique in that the game ''Half-Life 3'' doesn't exist. The writers pretended the highly anticipated game was real and was the greatest game in the history of the world for humor purposes.
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* '''Year in review.''' So far, one year in review ''Honest Game Trailer'' has been released: '''[[Honest Game Trailers - 2017 in Review|2017]]'''. This video summarized stylistic trends in video games, discussed cultural shifts, highlighted changing market conditions and explored how they affected video game content.
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* '''Conference HGT.''' ''Honest Game Trailers'' have also released an episode parodying the '''[[Honest Game Trailers - E3|E3]]''' video game conference. This video highlighted the tedium of attending a crowded conference, and satirized over-hyped presentations and demos.
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* [[File:Honest game trailer cuphead.jpg|thumb|220x220px|The ''[[Honest Game Trailers - Cuphead|Cuphead Honest Game Trailer]]'' used an innovative narration style.]]'''Retro 1930's style narration. '''Unlike most ''Honest Trailers ''which mimic the voice over style of trailers from the 1980's and 1990's, the '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Cuphead|Cuphead Honest Game Trailer]]''''' parodied an even earlier style of narration, that of old-fashioned American radio announcers. The script for this episode mimicked the language and conventions used in advertisements from this era, including hyperbolic appeals to patriotism. In addition, the voice artist used a Mid-Atlantic English accent with a very musical cadence to parody pre-WWII newsreel announcers.
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* '''Rotating roster of voice artists.''' Starting in 2019, ''Honest Game Trailers'' used a rotating roster of voice artists to capture the different styles of a variety of games. Previously, ''Honest Game Trailers'' and ''Honest Movie Trailers'' only changed voice artists when the original narrator became unavailable, or in order to accomplish a specific impression.
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* '''Special celebrity guest Jeff Goldblum'''. The '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Jurassic Park Games|Jurassic Park Games]]''''' episode of ''Honest Game Trailers'' featured a special guest appearance by actor Jeff Goldblum! For information on other celebrity guests, see the '''[[narrators]]''' page.
== Production ==
== Production ==
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The first batch of ''Honest Game Trailers'' were actually created by members of the YouTube channel '''The Warp Zone''' including Michael Adams Davis, Michael Schroeder and Ryan Tellez, in collaboration with '''[[Screen Junkies]]''' writer '''[[Spencer Gilbert]]'''[[Spencer Gilbert|.]] At the time, The Warp Zone, Smosh Games and Screen Junkies were all part of the same parent company, '''[[Defy Media]]'''. Later episodes were written by the Smosh Games team, including Max Song and Matt Raub.
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The first batch of ''Honest Game Trailers'' were actually created by members of the YouTube channel '''The Warp Zone''' including Michael Adams Davis, Michael Schroeder and Ryan Tellez, in collaboration with '''[[Screen Junkies]]''' writer '''[[Spencer Gilbert]]'''[[Spencer Gilbert|.]] At the time, The Warp Zone, Smosh Games and Screen Junkies were all part of the same parent company, '''[[Defy Media]]'''. Later episodes were written primarily by the Smosh Games team, including '''[[Max Song]]''', '''[[Andrew Bird]]''', Matt Raub, '''[[Spencer Gilbert]]''' and many other people.
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When the series was revived in 2019, '''[[Fandom Games]]''' brought back three members of the old team to create new episodes: editor/writer '''[[Max Song]]''', writer '''[[Andrew Bird]]''', and writer '''[[Spencer Gilbert]]'''. FANDOM chose to use a rotating roster of voice artists, including original narrator '''[[Jon Bailey]]''' as well as new narrators such as '''[[Mark Peeples]]'''. FANDOM wrote that multiple narrators allowed them to capture the personality of a wider variety of games.
== Publication ==
== Publication ==
[[File:Smosh games honest game trailers.png|thumb|Newer ''Honest Game Trailers'' logo.]]
[[File:Smosh games honest game trailers.png|thumb|Newer ''Honest Game Trailers'' logo.]]
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''Honest Game Trailers'' was originally published by YouTube channel '''[https://smosh.fandom.com/wiki/Smosh_Games Smosh Games,] '''which, at the time of the series' conception, was owned by the same parent company as '''[[Screen Junkies]]'''. The series was Smosh Games' highest-viewed series. ''Honest Game Trailers'' was originally released on Saturdays, but is currently released on Tuesdays.Like'''[[HonestTrailer]]s''', views have declined somewhat with changes to the YouTube algorithm and increased competition in the digital space.
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''Honest Game Trailers'' was originally published by YouTube channel '''[https://smosh.fandom.com/wiki/Smosh_Games Smosh Games,] '''which, at the time of the series' conception, was owned by the same parent company as '''[[Screen Junkies]]'''. The series was Smosh Games' highest-viewed series. ''Honest Game Trailers'' was originally released on Saturdays, but is currently released on Tuesdays at 10am PST.
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When '''[[Defy Media]]''' sold '''[[Screen Junkies]]''' in July 2018, the ''Honest Game Trailers'' series remained with Smosh Games. '''[[Jon Bailey]]''' continued to do the voiceover narration for both shows,even though they were being owned by separate companies.
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When '''[[Defy Media]]''' sold '''[[Screen Junkies]]''' in July 2018, the ''Honest Game Trailers'' series remained with Smosh Games. '''[[Jon Bailey]]''' continued to do the voiceover narration for both shows, even though they were now owned by separate companies.
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In November 2018, when '''[[Defy Media]]''' shuttered abruptly, ''Honest Game Trailers'' went on hiatus for 6 months while Smosh secured a new owner. In February 2019, Smosh was purchased by Rhett & Link's Mythical Entertainment and almost all staff were re-employed. However, shortly after the acquisition, the entire ''Honest Game Trailers'' YouTube playlist on Smosh Games was set to private. In May 2019, it was revealed that FANDOM (the owners of '''[[Screen Junkies]]''') had acquired the rights to ''Honest Game Trailers.'' The series will return on Tuesday June 4, 2019.
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In November 2018, when '''[[Defy Media]]''' shuttered abruptly, ''Honest Game Trailers'' went on hiatus for 6 months while Smosh secured a new owner. In February 2019, Smosh was purchased by Rhett & Link's Mythical Entertainment and almost all staff were re-employed. However, shortly after the acquisition, the entire ''Honest Game Trailers'' YouTube playlist on Smosh Games was set to private. In May 2019, it was revealed that FANDOM (the owners of '''[[Screen Junkies]]''') had acquired the rights to ''Honest Game Trailers.'' The series returned on Tuesday June 4, 2019 on the '''[[Fandom Games]]''' channel (formerly Curse Entertainment) with the episode '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Anthem|Anthem]]'''''. Almost all episodes of the series were transferred to the new channel (except for 4 missing remaining episodes: '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Friday the 13th (NES)|Friday the 13th (NES version)]]''''', '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - PlayStation VR|PlayStation VR]]''''', '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Payday 2|Payday 2]]''''', and '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Horizon Zero Dawn|Horizon Zero Dawn]]''''').
[[File:Honest game trailer pokemon red and blue.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Published in 2014, ''[[Honest Game Trailers - Pokemon Red and Blue|Pokemon Red and Blue]]'' is the highest-viewed episode of ''Honest Game Trailers.'']]
[[File:Honest game trailers commentaries.jpg|thumb]]
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From 2014 - 2018, ''Honest Game Trailers'' was the highest viewed series on ''Smosh Games''. It is currently the highest viewed series on '''[[Fandom Games|Fandom Games.]] '''The highest viewed episodes of the series, each with over 10 million views, are '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Pokemon Red and Blue|Pokemon Red and Blue]]''''', '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Minecraft|Minecraft]]''''', '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Elder Scrolls: Skyrim|Elder Scrolls: Skyrim]]''''', '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Grand Theft Auto V|Grand Theft Auto V]]''''' and '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Five Nights at Freddy's|Five Nights at Freddy's]]'''''. All these videos are among the earliest episodes ever produced. ''Honest Game Trailers'' have never been as popular as the original ''Honest Trailers ''series.
Many episodes of ''Honest Game Trailers'' received an ''Honest Game Trailers Commentary'' video, where the writers watched the trailer and discussed their thoughts on the game in more detail. Writers '''Matt Raub''', '''[[Spencer Gilbert]]''' and others hosted the commentary videos. ''Honest Game Trailers Commentaries'' videos were available on the paid subscription service '''[[Screen Junkies Plus]] '''from 2015 - 2017.
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Like the original '''[[Honest Trailer]]s''' series, ''Honest Game Trailers'' has declined in viewership over the years. Episodes released in 2014 have averaged over 5 million views each, but in 2018-2019 many episodes achieved less than 1 million views. Like ''Honest Trailers'', the decline in views is due with changes to the YouTube algorithm, increased competition in the digital space, and the fact that all the "big" games have already been done.
[[File:Gamer_fights_logo.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Movie Fights#Gamer Fights|Gamer Fights]] was a show produced by Screen Junkies in collaboration with Smosh]]'''[[Screen Junkies Plus]]''' was also home to '''[[Movie Fights#Gamer Fights|Gamer Fights]]''''', ''a weekly 60 minute debate show hosted by Matt Raub. ''Gamer Fights'' was a spinoff of Screen Junkies' '''[[Movie Fights]]''', but with a focus on game-related topics. 22 episodes of ''Gamer Fights ''were produced as a collaboration between Screen Junkies and Smosh, all in 2016.
Screen Junkies Plus stopped producing new content in July 2017, and all content was removed in early 2018. The commentaries and ''Gamer Fights'' videos are no longer available on any channel or service, though they still exist and could be released at a later date. An example of the commentary format can be seen in '''[https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154227675532403 this short Facebook video which is an excerpt from the full Mario Kart commentary.] '''A couple of episodes of ''Gamer Fights'' were uploaded to the Smosh Games YouTube channel.
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''Honest Game Trailers'' has received mixed-to-positive reviews across its run. Some of the best-received episodes include '''[[Honest Game Trailers - No Man's Sky|''No Man's Sky'']]''', '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Minecraft|Minecraft]]''''', '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Candy Crush Saga|Candy Crush Saga]]''''' and '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Street Fighter V|Street Fighter V.]]''''' [https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/09/honest-game-trailers-take-on-destiny-2-is-its-most-honest-trailer-yet/ Logan Booker of Kotaku describes] the ''Honest Game Trailers s''eries like this, "Honest Game Trailers feels like it's transitioned from being a pure gag machine to actually providing solid, if brief, reviews of video games. The latest instalment, which looks at Bungie's '''''[[Honest Game Trailers - Destiny 2|Destiny 2]]''''' is probably the best example of what HGT is doing these days."
== Reaction videos and fan fiction ==
== Reaction videos and fan fiction ==
[[File:POKEMON RED & BLUE - HONEST GAME TRAILER REACTION!!!|thumb|An example of an ''Honest Game Trailers'' reaction video.]]
[[File:POKEMON RED & BLUE - HONEST GAME TRAILER REACTION!!!|thumb|An example of an ''Honest Game Trailers'' reaction video.]]
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Like the original ''Honest Trailers'' series, ''Honest Game Trailers'' has been the subject of numerous '''[[Honest Trailers reaction videos|reaction videos]]''' and '''[[Honest Trailers fan fiction|fan-made copies]]'''. The reaction video channel ''The Reel Rejects'' has published several highly viewed reaction videos for both ''Honest Trailers'' and ''Honest Game Trailers.'' For example, The Reel Rejects' ''Honest Game Trailers - Pokemon Red & Blue'' reaction video has been viewed over 450k times.
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Like the original ''Honest Trailers'' series, ''Honest Game Trailers'' has been the subject of numerous '''[[Honest Trailers reaction videos|reaction videos]]''' and '''[[Honest Trailers fan fiction|fan-made copies]]'''. The reaction video channel ''The Reel Rejects'' has published several highly viewed reaction videos for both ''Honest Trailers'' and ''Honest Game Trailers.'' For example, The Reel Rejects' ''Honest Game Trailers - Pokemon Red & Blue'' reaction video has been viewed over 450k times!
[[File:Smosh.jpg|thumb|185x185px|Smosh Games logo|link=https://honest-trailers.wikia.com/wiki/File:Smosh.jpg]]Executive Producers: [[Andy Signore]] and Smosh
Many episodes of ''Honest Game Trailers'' received a '''[[Honest Trailers Commentaries|commentary]]''' video, where the writers watched the trailer and discussed their thoughts on the game in more detail. Writers '''Matt Raub''', '''[[Spencer Gilbert]]''', '''Max Song '''and others hosted the commentary videos. They were around 20 minutes in length. ''Honest Game Trailers Commentaries'' videos were available on the paid subscription service '''[[Screen Junkies Plus]] '''from 2015 - 2017. At least 33 episodes were produced.
[[File:Gamer_fights_logo.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Movie Fights#Gamer Fights|Gamer Fights]] was a show produced by Screen Junkies in collaboration with Smosh]]'''[[Screen Junkies Plus]]''' was also home to '''[[Movie Fights#Gamer Fights|Gamer Fights]]''''', ''a weekly 60 minute debate show hosted by Matt Raub. ''Gamer Fights'' was a spinoff of Screen Junkies' '''[[Movie Fights]]''', but with a focus on game-related topics. 22 episodes of ''Gamer Fights ''were produced as a collaboration between Screen Junkies and Smosh, all in 2016.
Screen Junkies Plus stopped producing new content in July 2017, and all content was removed in early 2018. The commentaries and ''Gamer Fights'' videos are no longer available on any channel or service, though they still exist and could be released at a later date. An example of the commentary format can be seen in '''[https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154227675532403 this short Facebook video which is an excerpt from the full Mario Kart commentary.] '''A couple of episodes of ''Gamer Fights'' were uploaded to the Smosh Games YouTube channel.
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Episode Written by Michael Adams Davis, Michael Schroeder, and [[Spencer Gilbert]]
* Please visit the '''[https://smosh.fandom.com/wiki/Honest_Game_Trailers Smosh Fandom Wiki] '''formore information about ''Honest Game Trailers.''The Smosh Wiki is a wonderful resource that includes a complete list of all ''Honest Game Trailers'' and dozens of full scripts for individual videos.
* The '''[https://smosh.fandom.com/wiki/Honest_Game_Trailers Smosh Fandom Wiki] '''also has information about ''Honest Game Trailers.''
* '''[[Honest Trailers Anime]]'''
* '''[[Honest Trailers Anime]]'''
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* '''[[Fandom Games]]'''
* '''[[Other Honest Trailers]]''' - featuring the one-off ''Flick Bait'' ''Honest Trailer'' and the one-off ''NewFronts Honest Trailer''
* '''[[Other Honest Trailers]]''' - featuring the one-off ''Flick Bait'' ''Honest Trailer'' and the one-off ''NewFronts Honest Trailer''
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[[Category:Shows]]
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[[Category:Fandom Games]]
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[[Category:Smosh Games]]
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[[Category:Smosh]]
Revision as of 00:40, 10 May 2020
Since 2014, more than 225 episodes of Honest Game Trailers have been produced.
Honest Game Trailers is a weekly comedy web series that humorously reviews games. It is a spinoff of the original Honest Trailers series. Like Honest Trailers,Honest Game Trailers is narrated primarily by Jon Bailey. The first episode wasMario Kart, published on March 8, 2014. Since 2014, over 220 episodes of Honest Game Trailers have been produced (see list of Honest Game Trailers for further information).
Honest Game Trailers used to be published on the Smosh Games channel, but since June 2019 (starting with Anthem) is published on the Fandom Games channel.
The original Honest Game Trailers logo was designed to resemble a game rating.
Honest Game Trailers uses a similar format to the original series Honest Trailers. In their write-up on the Mario Kart video, Tubefilter noted that, "Honest Game Trailers uses the exact same formula as Screen Junkies’ smash hit. It features a deep-voiced narrator who purports to “sell” the games in question but only points out their flaws.... At first glance, Honest Game Trailers seems like a blatant rip-off of its filmic forbearer, but it is actually the latest partnership between united Defy Media brands. Screen Junkies is run by Break Media, while Smosh Games is part of the Alloy Digital network; those two companies merged last year. The decision to run Honest Game Trailers on Smosh Games is Defy’s latest attempt to take advantage of its properties’ related audiences."
Honest Game Trailers were a collaboration between Screen Junkies and Smosh. Some members of the Honest Trailers team are also involved in the production of Honest Game Trailers. For instance, head writer of Honest Trailers, Spencer Gilbert has been involved with Honest Game Trailers since its inception. Spencer is an avid gamer and is credited as a co-writer on all episodes of Honest Game Trailers. Likewise, voice artist Jon Bailey(aka Epic Voice Guy) does the narration both series. In addition, motion graphics artist Robert Holtby creates the honest titles for both.
Creative innovations
N64 (Honest Game Trailers)
The N64 Honest Game Trailer parodied an entire console generation. This concept is unique to Honest Game Trailers.
The Honest Game Trailers series has also developed several unique twists on the typical Honest Trailers formula. Unlike Honest Movie Trailers which usually only parody one movie at a time (even if it is part of a much larger franchise), Honest Game Trailers about long-running franchises typically discuss the evolution of the franchise across the years and may reference dozens of different versions of the game (for example, see Donkey Kong).
Other creative innovations unique to the Honest Game Trailers series include:
Videos about console generations. So far, four Honest Game Trailers about consoles have been produced: Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation VR and Nintendo 64.These videos highlight the technical developments of the console, summarize an entire generation of video games, and discuss the cultural significance of that console.
April Fool's Day joke about a non-existent game. The Honest Game Trailer for Half-Life 3 is unique in that the game Half-Life 3 doesn't exist. The writers pretended the highly anticipated game was real and was the greatest game in the history of the world for humor purposes.
Year in review. So far, one year in review Honest Game Trailer has been released: 2017. This video summarized stylistic trends in video games, discussed cultural shifts, highlighted changing market conditions and explored how they affected video game content.
Conference HGT.Honest Game Trailers have also released an episode parodying the E3 video game conference. This video highlighted the tedium of attending a crowded conference, and satirized over-hyped presentations and demos.
Retro 1930's style narration. Unlike most Honest Trailers which mimic the voice over style of trailers from the 1980's and 1990's, the Cuphead Honest Game Trailer parodied an even earlier style of narration, that of old-fashioned American radio announcers. The script for this episode mimicked the language and conventions used in advertisements from this era, including hyperbolic appeals to patriotism. In addition, the voice artist used a Mid-Atlantic English accent with a very musical cadence to parody pre-WWII newsreel announcers.
Rotating roster of voice artists. Starting in 2019, Honest Game Trailers used a rotating roster of voice artists to capture the different styles of a variety of games. Previously, Honest Game Trailers and Honest Movie Trailers only changed voice artists when the original narrator became unavailable, or in order to accomplish a specific impression.
Special celebrity guest Jeff Goldblum. The Jurassic Park Games episode of Honest Game Trailers featured a special guest appearance by actor Jeff Goldblum! For information on other celebrity guests, see the narrators page.
Production
The first batch of Honest Game Trailers were actually created by members of the YouTube channel The Warp Zone including Michael Adams Davis, Michael Schroeder and Ryan Tellez, in collaboration with Screen Junkies writer Spencer Gilbert. At the time, The Warp Zone, Smosh Games and Screen Junkies were all part of the same parent company, Defy Media. Later episodes were written primarily by the Smosh Games team, including Max Song, Andrew Bird, Matt Raub, Spencer Gilbert and many other people.
When the series was revived in 2019, Fandom Games brought back three members of the old team to create new episodes: editor/writer Max Song, writer Andrew Bird, and writer Spencer Gilbert. FANDOM chose to use a rotating roster of voice artists, including original narrator Jon Bailey as well as new narrators such as Mark Peeples. FANDOM wrote that multiple narrators allowed them to capture the personality of a wider variety of games.
Publication
Newer Honest Game Trailers logo.
Honest Game Trailers was originally published by YouTube channel Smosh Games,which, at the time of the series' conception, was owned by the same parent company as Screen Junkies. The series was Smosh Games' highest-viewed series. Honest Game Trailers was originally released on Saturdays, but is currently released on Tuesdays at 10am PST.
When Defy Media sold Screen Junkies in July 2018, the Honest Game Trailers series remained with Smosh Games. Jon Bailey continued to do the voiceover narration for both shows, even though they were now owned by separate companies.
In November 2018, when Defy Media shuttered abruptly, Honest Game Trailers went on hiatus for 6 months while Smosh secured a new owner. In February 2019, Smosh was purchased by Rhett & Link's Mythical Entertainment and almost all staff were re-employed. However, shortly after the acquisition, the entire Honest Game Trailers YouTube playlist on Smosh Games was set to private. In May 2019, it was revealed that FANDOM (the owners of Screen Junkies) had acquired the rights to Honest Game Trailers. The series returned on Tuesday June 4, 2019 on the Fandom Games channel (formerly Curse Entertainment) with the episode Anthem. Almost all episodes of the series were transferred to the new channel (except for 4 missing remaining episodes: Friday the 13th (NES version), PlayStation VR, Payday 2, and Horizon Zero Dawn).
Popularity
Published in 2014, Pokemon Red and Blue is the highest-viewed episode of Honest Game Trailers.
From 2014 - 2018, Honest Game Trailers was the highest viewed series on Smosh Games. It is currently the highest viewed series on Fandom Games.The highest viewed episodes of the series, each with over 10 million views, are Pokemon Red and Blue, Minecraft, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto V and Five Nights at Freddy's. All these videos are among the earliest episodes ever produced. Honest Game Trailers have never been as popular as the original Honest Trailers series.
Like the original Honest Trailers series, Honest Game Trailers has declined in viewership over the years. Episodes released in 2014 have averaged over 5 million views each, but in 2018-2019 many episodes achieved less than 1 million views. Like Honest Trailers, the decline in views is due with changes to the YouTube algorithm, increased competition in the digital space, and the fact that all the "big" games have already been done.
Critical reception
Honest Game Trailers has received mixed-to-positive reviews across its run. Some of the best-received episodes include No Man's Sky, Minecraft, Candy Crush Saga and Street Fighter V.Logan Booker of Kotaku describes the Honest Game Trailers series like this, "Honest Game Trailers feels like it's transitioned from being a pure gag machine to actually providing solid, if brief, reviews of video games. The latest instalment, which looks at Bungie's Destiny 2 is probably the best example of what HGT is doing these days."
Reaction videos and fan fiction
POKEMON RED & BLUE - HONEST GAME TRAILER REACTION!!!
An example of an Honest Game Trailers reaction video.
Like the original Honest Trailers series, Honest Game Trailers has been the subject of numerous reaction videos and fan-made copies. The reaction video channel The Reel Rejects has published several highly viewed reaction videos for both Honest Trailers and Honest Game Trailers. For example, The Reel Rejects' Honest Game Trailers - Pokemon Red & Blue reaction video has been viewed over 450k times!
Honest Game Trailers Commentaries
Many episodes of Honest Game Trailers received a commentary video, where the writers watched the trailer and discussed their thoughts on the game in more detail. Writers Matt Raub, Spencer Gilbert, Max Song and others hosted the commentary videos. They were around 20 minutes in length. Honest Game Trailers Commentaries videos were available on the paid subscription service Screen Junkies Plusfrom 2015 - 2017. At least 33 episodes were produced.
Gamer Fights was a show produced by Screen Junkies in collaboration with Smosh
Screen Junkies Plus was also home to Gamer Fights, a weekly 60 minute debate show hosted by Matt Raub. Gamer Fights was a spinoff of Screen Junkies' Movie Fights, but with a focus on game-related topics. 22 episodes of Gamer Fights were produced as a collaboration between Screen Junkies and Smosh, all in 2016.
Screen Junkies Plus stopped producing new content in July 2017, and all content was removed in early 2018. The commentaries and Gamer Fights videos are no longer available on any channel or service, though they still exist and could be released at a later date. An example of the commentary format can be seen in this short Facebook video which is an excerpt from the full Mario Kart commentary.A couple of episodes of Gamer Fights were uploaded to the Smosh Games YouTube channel.
