One of the best things about watching video-based reviews is that the personality of the person reviewing the game comes through so strong compared to written reviews. This is what makes them so unique and fun to watch. Each reviewer is allowed to do so much with the video format that their voice, sense of humor, and passion really shows. There will definitely be some crossover as the community does inspire itself in many ways, but that never seems to take away from the content. A reviewer I’ve always enjoyed due to his hilarious intros, excellent comedic timing, tendency to cover games I grew up playing, and honesty, is Dex the Swede.
Watch pretty much any of his videos and the thing you’ll notice first is the intricate slapstick sequences that start each one. Typically involving Dex getting hurt in some way or having some sort of emotional crisis. They usually in no way relate to the game he’s covering, but usually, lead to the reveal of it by the end. These sequences feature some great editing, planning, and sound design. For those entertained by the 3 Stooges, Mr. Bean, or Leslie Nielsen (Airplane, Naked Gun, Spy Hard) and miss that style of humor in today’s entertainment where the art of the gag and slapstick humor is almost non-existent, Dex the Swede delivers! These sequences are definitely a Dex trademark.
Dex the Swede slapsticking the crap out of this sequence!
Dex mentions how he used to love watching old Garry’s Mod videos where there would be this series of nonsensical events, one after the other, all slapstick, all hilarious. He is also a big fan of the cartoon “Ed, Edd, n Eddy” which also utilized a lot of silly physical slapstick humor. These are his initial inspirations for his own slapstick sequences. Getting towards the end of editing and seeing it come together is one of his favorite parts. Since parts of each sequence are sped up, cut, sound effects added, and anything else that needs to be done, the original footage rarely is representative of the final project. It isn’t till those pieces are coming together that Dex sees his vision come to fruition. This is all made even more impressive by the fact that Dex the Swede is self taught over the course of his 11 years of creating YouTube content!
Dex the Swede is in fact from Sweden and English is not his first language. Yet all of his content is in English. “It feels more natural to do it in English, I’m more comfortable performing in front of the camera. Anytime I try to do it in Swedish it feels awkward.” Certain personality traits can come through stronger when someone changes languages, or even a different personality altogether, so I found this to be particularly interesting. Another aspect to being a YouTuber from Sweden is he admitted to feeling isolated, but very thankful for the community that is built around YouTube. Getting support, advice, and fun from his peers on the platform help keep him going, and he hopes to build a stronger community around his channel to extend that feeling to his fans.
You can listen to the entire interview here!
Here are a few of my favorite videos of his and ones I think really represent his content well!
