{ "id": "epb1acwapg", "slug": "zero-punctuation", "title": "Zero Punctuation", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries", "label": "Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-1999-2016", "label": "Premiered 1999 to 2016", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-1999-2016" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-1999-2016", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: Premiered 1999 to 2016", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-1999-2016", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries", "label": "Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-1999-2016", "label": "Premiered 1999 to 2016", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-1999-2016" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Zero Punctuation is Ben \"Yahtzee\" Croshaw's weekly video game review series on The Escapist, running 2007 to 2023, known for rapid-fire comedic commentary over crude cartoons; it continues as Fully Ramblomatic on Second Wind.", "snippet": "Zero Punctuation is Ben \"Yahtzee\" Croshaw's weekly video game review series on The Escapist, running 2007 to 2023, known for rapid-fire comedic commentary over crude cartoons; it continues as Fully Ramblomatic on Second Wind.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-1999-2016", "markdown": "# Zero Punctuation\n\n**Zero Punctuation** is a weekly video game review series created and hosted by the British-born writer and game developer Ben \"Yahtzee\" Croshaw, published on the online magazine The Escapist from 2007 to 2023. Each episode reviews a recently released game in a fast-paced, sharply humorous monologue over minimalistic cartoon animation, and after Croshaw left The Escapist in November 2023 his review series continued on the independent channel [Second Wind](https://www.edgepedia.org/second-wind-entertainment-group) under the new name Fully Ramblomatic.[1](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/zero-punctuation/) • [2](https://www.itechguides.com/yahtzee-is-still-reviewing-videogames-and-thats-good/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Creator and host | Ben \"Yahtzee\" Croshaw, a British-born writer and game developer who emigrated to Australia in 2003[3](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/how-a-zero-punctuation-is-made-slightly-something-else/) |\n| First episode | \"Heavenly Sword and Other Stuff\", launched on The Escapist on August 15, 2007; it was also the first video ever published on the site[4](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-glorious-years-of-zero-punctuation/) |\n| Schedule | New episodes every Wednesday, one game per episode[1](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/zero-punctuation/) |\n| Run | 2007 to 2023 on The Escapist; over 400 episodes existed by July 2015[2](https://www.itechguides.com/yahtzee-is-still-reviewing-videogames-and-thats-good/) • [4](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-glorious-years-of-zero-punctuation/) |\n| Format | Rapid-fire comedic commentary over crudely animated visuals; no numerical score or published review rubric[5](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/cnet-uk-interviews-zero-punctuations-yahtzee/1100-6239305/) • [6](https://geekchamp.com/yahtzees-zero-punctuation-where-to-watch-and-how-the-reviews-work/) |\n| Successor | Fully Ramblomatic, a weekly review series on the creator-owned channel Second Wind, started after Croshaw left The Escapist in November 2023[2](https://www.itechguides.com/yahtzee-is-still-reviewing-videogames-and-thats-good/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\n#### 2007: The pilots and the breakout\n\nIn July 2007, Croshaw, already a fixture on Australian gaming forums for his written reviews, uploads a review of *The Darkness* demo to YouTube built entirely from still images and a nonstop voice track with no pauses at all [7](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation). A *Fable: The Lost Chapters* review follows five days later. Within 48 hours of seeing the concept videos, the founders of the new site The Escapist offer him a deal, and on August 15, 2007, \"Heavenly Sword and Other Stuff\" becomes both the first Zero Punctuation episode and the first video ever published on the site [4](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-glorious-years-of-zero-punctuation/).\n\nThe first year establishes the machine. Twenty episodes in 2007 hit *BioShock*, *Halo 3*, *The Orange Box*, *Assassin's Creed*, and *Mass Effect*, each one a five-minute animatic (rough animated storyboard with recorded narration) in which the cartoon on screen says one thing while the voiceover says another, the two colliding into a third, funnier joke [16](https://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1262). The September 2007 *BioShock* review is the early landmark: Croshaw argues the game \"isn't like System Shock 2, it *is* System Shock 2\" with cyberpunk swapped for steampunk, declares the vita-chamber respawn system makes it too easy, and boils the Little Sister moral choice down to \"Mother Teresa or baby eating,\" all while still calling it probably one of the best games of the year [17](https://www.engadget.com/2007-09-06-bioshock-gets-the-zero-punctuation-treatment.html).\n\n**The moment the series enters the culture is the 2008 review of *The Witcher*, where a throwaway line coins the \"Glorious PC Gaming Master Race.\"** Croshaw means it as a parody of elitist gamers, a self-satirizing sneer. The internet takes it literally and proudly. By April 30, 2011 there is an r/pcmasterrace subreddit, which had grown to over 530,000 subscribers by March 2016, built around a term most of its members have no idea was invented as a joke [7](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation).\n\n#### 2008–2015: The institution\n\nThrough the following years the format barely changes and never needs to. Every week a new game is fed into the yellow grinder. Recurring targets become running characters: the endless military shooters, the quick-time event, the reviewer's own laziness. The *Thief* review's line \"Press X To Not Die\" becomes the popular nickname for quick-time events and the literal name of [TV Tropes](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-tropes)'s page on the subject [7](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation). In July 2014, the *Earthbound* review coins another durable catchphrase, \"Use The Power Of Friendship To Kill God,\" mocking the JRPG habit of resolving cosmic stakes with sentiment [7](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation).\n\nAround the weekly video, Croshaw builds an empire of side projects. A Tuesday written column, Extra Punctuation, runs from 2009 to 2017. In 2015 he launches Judging by the Cover, a spinoff dissecting video game box art [18](https://pslegends.com/what-happened-to-zero-punctuation/). By July 2015 the series passes 400 episodes, eight years of unbroken weekly publication [4](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-glorious-years-of-zero-punctuation/).\n\n#### 2015–2023: The long run and the exit\n\nCroshaw keeps the weekly schedule through the final eight years, reviewing everything from indie darlings to AAA disasters, while The Escapist changes corporate hands twice, sold by Enthusiast Gaming to Gamurs Group in September 2022 [18](https://pslegends.com/what-happened-to-zero-punctuation/).\n\nThe end arrives from outside the series entirely. On November 6, 2023, Gamurs fires editor-in-chief Nick Calandra, citing unmet goals; Croshaw and the entire video team resign in solidarity. He confirms he does not own the rights to Zero Punctuation, so the name stays behind. The Escapist publishes the last two episodes, reviews of *Sonic Superstars* and *Marvel's Spider-Man 2*, on November 21, 2023 [18](https://pslegends.com/what-happened-to-zero-punctuation/). Two days after the resignations, on November 8, Croshaw announces Fully Ramblomatic, a near-identical weekly review series hosted on Second Wind, the new outlet founded by the exiled Escapist staff [7](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation).\n\n### Characters\n\n**Yahtzee Croshaw** is the series' only character, narrator, and animator, an Australian expat in a hat who despises escort missions, quick-time events, and being asked to pre-order anything. His persona is a curmudgeon who claims to hate everything and is visibly wounded when a game he loves turns out to have flaws. He cites British critic [Charlie Brooker](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-brooker) as the main inspiration for his style [18](https://pslegends.com/what-happened-to-zero-punctuation/).\n\n**The stick figure Yahtzee**, the on-screen avatar, is the persona's cartoon double: wide hat, dead eyes, endlessly drawn into whatever indignity the week's game provides, from being shot at by space marines to being lectured at by tutorial popups.\n\n**The games themselves** function as a rotating cast of antagonists, from *Heavenly Sword* in the debut to *Marvel's Spider-Man 2* at the end, each given a caricature and a verdict.\n\n### Interpretations and controversies\n\n\"Glorious PC Gaming Master Race\" was coined as satire of PC elitism, yet the community adopted it sincerely, and the r/pcmasterrace subreddit grew to over 530,000 subscribers using it without irony [7](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation). Croshaw has periodically expressed bemusement that his joke became a badge. The reviews also drew developer ire over the years, as the show's own tagline admits: gamers love it and developers fear it [19](https://episode.ninja/series/zero-punctuation/season-2007).\n\n## Format and style\n\nThe series reviews one game per episode, typically a recent release, with Croshaw pointing out clichés and flaws in storylines, notable gameplay aspects, and comparisons to earlier games in the same franchise.[7](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation) The delivery is the signature element: rapid-fire speech with little pause, which gives the series its name, \"zero punctuation\".[8](https://zeldauniverse.net/2011/07/28/zero-punctuation-reviews-ocarina-of-time-3d/) The visuals are minimalistic cartoons, and the commentary is deliberately rude and expletive-laden, which made the show as much entertainment as criticism.[5](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/cnet-uk-interviews-zero-punctuations-yahtzee/1100-6239305/) • [9](https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-interview-with-the-man-behind-the-internets-best-video-game-reviews/)\n\nThe publisher describes the weekly purpose as \"Every Wednesday Zero Punctuation picks apart the games so you don't have to\".[1](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/zero-punctuation/) The series publishes no numerical score, weighted categories, or disclosed editorial methodology; the viewpoint is expressed through commentary rather than a standardized rating that can be compared across episodes.[6](https://geekchamp.com/yahtzees-zero-punctuation-where-to-watch-and-how-the-reviews-work/) VICE, interviewing Croshaw in 2014, described the show's quick-fire acerbic wit as not skimping on the facts while not taking itself entirely seriously.[9](https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-interview-with-the-man-behind-the-internets-best-video-game-reviews/)\n\n## Origins\n\nIn 2007, The Escapist's publisher Alexander Macris was tipped off to a couple of humorous gaming videos Croshaw had posted on YouTube, in which he reviewed gameplay footage using still images and a continuous voice track. The Escapist's original editor in chief and then-acquisitions editor Russ Pitts responded enthusiastically, and within 48 hours of viewing the concept video the magazine and Croshaw had struck a deal.[4](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-glorious-years-of-zero-punctuation/) • [7](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation) The first episode, \"Heavenly Sword and Other Stuff\", went up on August 15, 2007.[4](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-glorious-years-of-zero-punctuation/)\n\nThe show quickly became a fixture. By November 2007, [Ars Technica](https://www.edgepedia.org/ars-technica) described Zero Punctuation as a staple of gaming news on Wednesdays, linked and discussed widely each time a new episode appeared, and reported that The Escapist struggled with other sites ripping the video out of its player and re-hosting it for ad revenue.[10](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2007/11/zero-punctuation-links-and-the-trouble-with-exclusive-video/) By 2014, more than 300 episodes had gone live since 2007, and the series' cartoon imagery had become immediately recognizable.[9](https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-interview-with-the-man-behind-the-internets-best-video-game-reviews/) The Escapist called it its award-winning flagship series and described Croshaw as its longest-standing talent.[3](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/how-a-zero-punctuation-is-made-slightly-something-else/)\n\n## The move to Second Wind\n\nNovember 2023 saw Croshaw reveal his departure from The Escapist, along with plans to launch Second Wind alongside Nick Calandra and that outlet's former video team, calling it \"a 100% independently owned and funded gaming and pop culture channel\". He announced a weekly review series called Fully Ramblomatic as his current show there.[2](https://www.itechguides.com/yahtzee-is-still-reviewing-videogames-and-thats-good/) During a November 2024 AMA, Croshaw stated that Zero Punctuation had run between 2007 and 2023, and identified Fully Ramblomatic as the review series he was then producing for Second Wind.[2](https://www.itechguides.com/yahtzee-is-still-reviewing-videogames-and-thats-good/)\n\n[PC Gamer](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-gamer)'s 2026 account frames the continuation differently, saying that when \"the HMS Escapist sank\", the staff formed Second Wind and Croshaw's series \"continued under the name Fully Ramblomatic\".[11](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/yahtzee-is-still-out-there-being-mean-about-videogames-and-good-for-him/) The Escapist's own series page continued to list Zero Punctuation-branded entries after Croshaw's departure, including an [Assassin's Creed Mirage](https://www.edgepedia.org/assassins-creed-mirage) review dated October 4, 2024, alongside the 2023 episodes that closed his run.[1](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/zero-punctuation/)\n\n## Availability and archives\n\nThe Escapist directs viewers to YouTube for the episodes, and its series page lists individual entries, though the publisher's tag archive summarizes the original run through 2023 while the series page contains later dated entries, so the two pages do not present the same date boundary.[1](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/zero-punctuation/) • [12](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/zero-punctuation/) A podcast feed collects annual compilation episodes titled \"Every [year] Zero Punctuation with No Punctuation\", in which a year's episodes are run together as continuous audio; the 2023 compilation runs 3 hours 33 minutes, and earlier yearly compilations run around 4 hours each.[13](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zero-punctuation/id1669646168)\n\nThe Zero Punctuation fandom wiki maintains an episode guide listing each video's date, reviewed game, and system and genre, which readers can use to locate specific episodes.[14](https://zeropunctuation.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_Guide) [Availability](https://www.edgepedia.org/availability) of individual uploads can still vary, and the publisher pages do not guarantee that every historical episode remains visible in every region.[6](https://geekchamp.com/yahtzees-zero-punctuation-where-to-watch-and-how-the-reviews-work/)\n\n## Reception and influence\n\nThe series is frequently credited with shaping online video game criticism. The Escapist's archive describes it as the magazine's flagship review series that \"left a lasting mark on gaming culture\".[12](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/zero-punctuation/) The ETC Press journal *Well Played* called Croshaw perhaps the most visible critic in the medium's video series format.[15](https://press.etc.cmu.edu/file/download/2350/bb1dd4eb-382b-42c4-8a8c-7c1e6407beda) PC Gamer's 2026 retrospective reads the tone as care rather than flippancy: putting in the effort to make a description witty instead of plain means working harder to keep the audience engaged.[11](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/yahtzee-is-still-out-there-being-mean-about-videogames-and-good-for-him/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Zero Punctuation – The Escapist series page](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/zero-punctuation/)\n2. [What Yahtzee Is Doing Now: Fully Ramblomatic at Second Wind – iTechGuides](https://www.itechguides.com/yahtzee-is-still-reviewing-videogames-and-thats-good/)\n3. [How a Zero Punctuation Is Made – Slightly Something Else, The Escapist](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/how-a-zero-punctuation-is-made-slightly-something-else/)\n4. [8 Glorious Years of Zero Punctuation – The Escapist](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-glorious-years-of-zero-punctuation/)\n5. [CNET UK interviews Zero Punctuation's 'Yahtzee' – GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/cnet-uk-interviews-zero-punctuations-yahtzee/1100-6239305/)\n6. [Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation: Where to Watch and How the Reviews Work – GeekChamp](https://geekchamp.com/yahtzees-zero-punctuation-where-to-watch-and-how-the-reviews-work/)\n7. [Zero Punctuation – Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/zero-punctuation)\n8. [Zero Punctuation Reviews Ocarina of Time 3D – Zelda Universe](https://zeldauniverse.net/2011/07/28/zero-punctuation-reviews-ocarina-of-time-3d/)\n9. [An Interview with the Man Behind the Internet's Best Video Game Reviews – VICE](https://www.vice.com/en/article/an-interview-with-the-man-behind-the-internets-best-video-game-reviews/)\n10. [Zero Punctuation, and the trouble with exclusive video on the web – Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2007/11/zero-punctuation-links-and-the-trouble-with-exclusive-video/)\n11. [Yahtzee is still out there being mean about videogames, and good for him – PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/yahtzee-is-still-out-there-being-mean-about-videogames-and-good-for-him/)\n12. [Zero Punctuation Archives – The Escapist](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/zero-punctuation/)\n13. [Zero Punctuation – Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zero-punctuation/id1669646168)\n14. [Episode Guide – Zero Punctuation Wiki, Fandom](https://zeropunctuation.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_Guide)\n15. [Well Played: A Journal on Video Games, Value and Meaning – ETC Press, Carnegie Mellon University](https://press.etc.cmu.edu/file/download/2350/bb1dd4eb-382b-42c4-8a8c-7c1e6407beda)\n16. [https://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1262](https://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1262)\n17. [https://www.engadget.com/2007-09-06-bioshock-gets-the-zero-punctuation-treatment.html](https://www.engadget.com/2007-09-06-bioshock-gets-the-zero-punctuation-treatment.html)\n18. [https://pslegends.com/what-happened-to-zero-punctuation/](https://pslegends.com/what-happened-to-zero-punctuation/)\n19. [https://episode.ninja/series/zero-punctuation/season-2007](https://episode.ninja/series/zero-punctuation/season-2007)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 1999 to 2016*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/zero-punctuation", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/zero-punctuation.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Zero Punctuation\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/zero-punctuation. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Zero Punctuation](https://www.edgepedia.org/zero-punctuation)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/zero-punctuation](https://www.edgepedia.org/zero-punctuation). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Zero Punctuation\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/zero-punctuation. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Zero Punctuation is Ben \"Yahtzee\" Croshaw's weekly video game review series on The Escapist, running 2007 to 2023, known for rapid-fire comedic commentary over crude cartoons; it continues as Fully Ramblomatic on Second Wind." }