The 25 Raddest Games Journalists To Follow On Twitter

Journalists, reviewers, critics, newsies, "that idiot I don't agree with." Whatever you want to call 'em, the editors, freelancers, and loudmouths writing about games are an interesting bunch. Video game writers are some of the most active and entertaining people on Twitter (for a lot of the same reasons).

They share your interests, they tweet about cool stuff (sometimes it's not even gaming-related!) and they want to talk to you. These are genuinely cool human beings who talk about stuff worth talking about, whether or not it's about games, and you should follow each and every one of 'em.

Oh, and, ahem, don't forget to follow our handsome author and his lovely editor.

As host of the Three Moves Ahead strategy games podcast, Rob Zacny's required to have the rocket-science smarts he humbly hides until deep discussions arise. Watching Zacny cram such quietly hilarious wit into 140 characters of conversation is admirable.

These tweets are absent of negativity and drama, and he can even tweet about sports and politics in a way that doesn't make your eyes roll out of your head.

Follow @RobZacny

You're likely to hear as much about games on Greg Miller's Twitter feed as you are Superman and adorable dogs. IGN's go-to guy for all things PlayStation is as charismatic as they come -- just look at those charming glasses. You'll find little game biz drama surrounding Greg, who's more concerned about linking to cool IGN content and making witty replies to other press folks.

Greg is also one of the most actively involved press folks you'll see in a site's online community. Go ahead, tweet at 'em. He'll reply. In fact, tweet at him all day. Don't stop. Overwhelm him and tell him Mitch sent you.

Follow @GameOverGreggy

Twitter and the gaming community has a strange overlap with those who care about sports. There's a split between the athletic-obsessed and everyone else. (The latter usually complains about, thus ironically contributes to, the sports-related tweets they can't stand.) Samit Sarkar is a great bridge between these parties.

If you care about NFL, NHL, or MLB in any fashion, his Twitter is as informed as they come. His tweets extend beyond this niche, of course, so even if he is a Yankees fan, Sarkar is a fellow worth following.

Follow @SamitSarkar

When Patrick Klepek isn't breaking big news stories, he's probably tweeting about Lost, horror movies, Lost, Chihuahuas, football, beer, and Lost. Really, though, Klepek is one of the best journalists in the business.

He goes for the throat in terms of research, talks to plenty of sources, and regularly gets more information than most can dig up. He's also got crazier, cooler hair than most everyone on the planet, and it deserves its own Twitter ID.

Follow @PatrickKlepek

Tina Palacios' Twitter is busy, fun, inviting, and full of links to goofy pictures. What else is Twitter for? Perfect nonsense like "I bet Locust smell like fritos #Gears3" that makes 1UP and IGN's community queen the best at Twitter.

If that doesn't click with you, then maybe you'll appreciate her fine drawing skills? No? Be sure to let her know. That way the rest of us can watch her troll you into oblivion. Really, she's an artist.

Follow @Teanah

Posting pictures of puppies is practically cheating when it comes to tweeting. Lizzie Cuevas' dog photos have nothing to do with nerd stuff, but are adorable and amazing anyway. She's a shutterbug all around, really, and her pictures give followers a peek inside industry events and the @Gamer office.

Beyond pictures, you'll see Lizzie pimping her chiptunes band and, if you're watching carefully, talking about games. She's also who you tweet at when you want your name, letters, or reader reviews in the magazine. Go, go, go!

Follow @LizzieCuevas

Founder of Offworld, an atypical games blog with seriously strong writing and lots of awesome coverage, Brandon Boyer recently started raising money for a new venture called Venus Patrol. You can find him tweeting about what the cool project is about and the kind of excellent indie games he's currently into.

Keep an eye out for great discussions between Boyer and various game devs and links to music you didn't know you'd love, too. If you don't already follow him, ensure you do; Boyer is about to become one of the most important people writing about and reporting on games.

Follow @brandonnn

As the man in charge of the gaming's best academic magazine, Kill Screen's Chris Dahlen is an intelligent dude. He tweets all sorts of wonderful stuff, most of it relating to Real Life stuff rather than internet shenanigans. (You'll see comics, games, and tech come up, too, don't fret.)

Hilarious quotes from his kid and thoughts on important writings dominate his feed, which is active enough to remain interesting while making you wish he'd tweet more.

Follow @SaveTheRobot

Most game journalist-folk talk a lot, but few are as good at Twitter as Francesca Reyes. She corners a market we didn't know existed, and her followers become an audience they didn't realize they were part of.

Reyes' interest in out-there TV, movies, and other entertainment leads to plenty of oddball discoveries of awesome things. Her RTs alone bring out the best of the internet,

Follow @tomobiki

A man of fine taste, Xav mixes up his game jibber-jabber with hockey talk and Tim Hortons tweets. Is he Canadian? Oh, you betcha. Like Gretzky before him Xav is a national treasure who defected to Los Angeles. Like any good...tweeter? Twitterer?

Like any person who uses Twitter well, Xav snaps some swell photos, throws out thoughts on movies, and gives EA's NHL games the attention they deserve. But wait, there's more! His industry evaluations and conjecture are among the funniest and smartest bits of industry commentary you'll come across.

Follow @xav

As one of the busiest freelance critics and feature-writers in the press, Andrew Hayward tends to write about, research, and play damn near every release to come along. The man knows his stuff, and his light-hearted and friendly voice is on the opposite end of the abrasive norm.

Readers looking to learn about what it takes to be a great freelancer should use Andrew as an example. How he finds the time to tweet opinions and links between word doc-ing, game-playing, and life-living is a mystery.

Follow @ahaywa

An Australian academic, Ben Abraham is the person you follow while making sure to follow everyone he talks to. When you feel the tremors of intellectual conversation, the best thing you can do is open Ben's tweets.

You'll learn, especially if you reply with contrarian thoughts -- he'll open your mind to alternative opinions and consider your input attentively. He's a smart guy, a real thinker, and the sort of Twitter person that's worth following for more reasons than a desire to waste time online.

Follow @10rdBen

Another one of the games industry's busiest freelance press people, Andrew Groen is the kind of writer you follow to feel smarter. His love of science means he drops a lot of real-world knowledge between thoughts on what the press can do to improve.

He has, um, a lot of ideas about what the press can do to improve, and they're all quite good. Groen has his head on straight. He'll champion great work as quickly as he'll point out something that's gone awry, in games or elsewhere, and he's a good metric if you're want to avoid doing sloppy work.

Follow @ScienceGroen

You know that one guy, whether it's in class or in a meeting, who's really quiet? Then when he speaks up, everyone shuts up and listens? That's Gary Steinman. A long-time veteran of the games press, Steinman knows his games, he knows his games journalism.

Really, though, Gary spends most of his Twitter time talking about great GamesRadar stories, hilarious stuff said around the office, and replying to other awesome writers you should follow.

Follow @GarySteinman

Even if you only click his retweets, follow Gus Mastrapa. He's like an aggregator for awesome, intelligent things on the internet. He's also one of the geekiest guys around.

Gus talks board games and books as often as he does gaming and music, and it's always edutaining. Mastrapa likes cool things, and he'll likely broaden your mind or help you discover something you didn't know you'd love.

Follow @triphibian

Killingsworth would be great if only for his UK charms and wit, but the man has a lot to say about the games he's playing and the stuff he's reporting on. Look for his late-September tweets: His nonstop obsession with Dark Souls should give you an idea of the kind of stuff running through his mind when he plays games. You may even start thinking like that after you've followed him for a bit.

Oh, and you should definitely click any link he chucks onto his Twitter, probably because it's something he wrote.

Follow @JasonKill

Never mind games. OK, real quick about games: Dan Ryckert does some great stuff with Game Informer, like that time he filmed GWAR (yeah, that wild metal band) playing Dance Central on Kinect in the offices. Never mind games.

Ryckert's Twitter feed rules because of everything else he talks about. He's an action movie nerd who tweets about Terminator 2 and Die Hard as often as he does whatever games he's reviewed that week. The guy also has the worst luck traveling, which results in hilarious horror stories about bus and plane rides. Best of all, though, are the quotes from Dan's dad. It's basically a lot of this (which brings us back to games!) but 140 characters at a time.

Follow @DanRyckert

If you find yourself short on indie game knowledge, great burrito joints, or Kids in the Hall quotes, freelance writer Taylor Cocke has you covered. His feed is a bastion of hilarious, clever, and absurd commentary on all of the above.

Heated discussions about various aspects of the games industry see strong input from Taylor, too, so you're bound to learn a thing or two about freelance writing or game design from him. Also he retweets himself, which is hysterical. Also also, he has, like, the funniest last name.

Follow @TaylorCocke

Listen. We could sit here and pretend like Logan is a great guy to follow because of his position as Editor in Chief at PC Gamer. Sure, Decker has plenty of gaming-related tweets. Yes, he gives away more Steam codes than most anyone. Fine, yes, he's open to engaging anyone on Twitter, and will invariably talk to those with stuff to say to him. Whatever. Yeah. He's awesome at Twitter.

But let's not fool ourselves, here. Links to animated gifs, delicious foods, and wacko news stories are the real reasons to follow Logan Decker, EIC of Adorable Animal Links.

Follow @LoganDecker

Justin McElroy is the kind of guy who can build a rapport with anyone, and Twitter is the easiest place to see this. He's a frank speaker when it comes to voicing his opinions about something, and his seething sarcasm toward online idiots is peerless.

McElroy is open and honest in a way that's endearing and entertaining rather than douchey. Also, his tweets about games he's just reviewed negatively are just...magical.

Follow @JustinMcElroy

Profane and to the point, Jason Schreier is a journalist who isn't afraid to speak his mind in public. Don't mistake him as an unprofessional fellow, though. Schreier frequently discusses how to actually do great journalism, as well as why we should have higher standards for news stories.

Whether you're interested in following the press, becoming a member of it, or are already a vetted editor, Schreier is an inspirational dude who has a lot of smart things to say.

Follow @JasonSchreier

Ah, Jim Sterling, the star of almost every poorly manufactured controversy you're bound to find on the Internet. As a critic with harsher judgments than most, Jim is often scrutinized for his hateful negativity and a bunch of profanity unfit for this page. Twitter is where Jim gets to use his hilarious wit to fight against the horde of angry Internet trolls and their idiotic claims. It's also where he live-tweets his impressions of awful films and shares his sickening love for Sonic the Hedgehog.

This may all sound a bit weird and crazy, but Jim's Twitter may the best one of all. He's a realist who understands games, his job, and the goofy things happening in both. He's also just really, really good at Twitter. The man's open, honest, willing to talk about everything to anyone, and, best of all, incredibly British.

Follow @JimSterling

Want to see the comical side of working in the press? Susan Arendt publicly shames bad PR and dumbass commenters, pastes awful pitches she receives from would-be freelancers, and tweets the best bits of advice for writers. It's awesome.

Arendt also finds the best adorable animal photos, tweets a lot about Doctor Who, and is generally the warmest, most welcoming person to her followers.

Follow @SusanArendt

Art, music, and film are as prevalent as games in Gies' feed, which is usually more laid-back and often more intellectual than most. Follow him if only for the regular reflections on aspects of entertainment you may not have considered. His self-professed "douchebaggery" makes for some interesting, educational conversation.

Also, if you want to learn about writing in the games press, Arthur is the best possible person you could follow. He's open, intelligent, and incredibly blunt when it comes to talking about writing, game design, criticism, and most other subjects.

Follow @aegies

Ars Technica's gaming editor has a feed that matches the same zero-BS approach he brings to each of his articles. He starts and stays involved in controversial discussions about games. He has high standards for what's worth his time, and he'll eviscerate what isn't in public. Kuchera's tweets are insightful, fun, humorous, and plentiful.

Like a lot of people on this list, you'll learn a lot from him, consider different ways of thinking about games, and entertain new ideas you hadn't considered. Lively discussions explode here, and plenty of excellent people take part in 'em. Follow Ben, and follow everyone he follows.

Follow @BenKuchera