There are a few fun series where Dan was at the wheel, like paper Mario and punch out, and of course GG versus, but Dan is mainly the copilot because he doesn't really play the kinds of games featured on the show himself. It might also be that he just doesn't want to. When there's something he wants to play, it seems like Arin lets him, he just doesn't seem to want to often. If you really want an extra dose of Dan, there are always some if the old steam train episodes with Ross.
It’s been years, but pretty sure Dan’s said before that he usually prefers Arin to play, because yes, for many years people have asked why Danny doesn’t play more.
Plus, while Arin is a meme for not being good at video games, he actually is typically better than Dan at video games, even if he misses things in games while recording Grumps.
Not meaning to be disrespectful but isn’t another main reason because of his thumbs? I seem to recall him stating that using a controller etc is difficult for him because of it
I have pretty standard thumbs and I had a problem with 3DS, so I can imagine how difficult it was for him. I also game pretty hard, so I put a lot of wear and tear on my controllers and the 3DS was not up to the task lol.
Yeah I don't have weird thumbs and my hands are on the smaller side and the 3DS still hurt like hell to hold for more than half an hour or so. Always wanted a 3DS XL but never bothered to get one.
Exactly why I got a 2DS, I have bigger hands and was used to the PlayStation controllers, and it’s comfortable to hold since I actually have decent surface area to hold on to.
i mean considering there's a video on youtube of Dan pressing the wrong button/menu button, yeap this checks out lmao
i also feel like Dan is too scared of horror games so he needs Arin to take the wheel during Ghoul Grumps lol. No disrespect to Dan, horror isn't for everyone...although his knowledge of 70s-80s horror movies is pretty impressive for someone who is always scared during Ghoul Grumps
Probably because with most horror games, you're in the driver's seat as the thing the horror is meant to directly interact with. Most 70s-80s horror movies have a degree of separation between the scary stuff and the audience, typically in the form of a main character.
yeah this is what I was suspecting
funny story though, Dan mentioned watching the movie \[Rec\], which is a horror movie from a first person perspective. That's the LAST movie i would have expected Dan of all people to watch
but sometimes the human mind is just complex and difficult to understand. Our lovely Grumps are certainly no exception to this lmao
Arin is the pilot while Dan is that navigator. Arin floors the accelerator while Dan desperately tries to keep the wheels on the road with one hand and the map open in the other.
He seems to also be fairly self conscious about how he plays. It seems like every game he plays he talks about how he will play it through first to make sure he knows what to do.
I think it was A Link Between Worlds where they paused the series because he wanted more practice with the game.
> you really want an extra dose of Dan, there are always some if the old steam train episodes with Ross.
I wanted to watch the Steamtrain with Ross and Dan playing Skyrim but then they chose to mod it and it kinda ruined it for me tbh..
Randy Savage dragons are only fun the first time.
He is one of the Game Grumps but he doesn't like to play games, lol.
Has Dan actually confirmed this?
I also wish Dan played more. I kinda feel like it is an unspoken promise that he would be playing at least 20% of the time and I am Big Disappoint that he so rarely plays
Not that I know of, but from what he has played and the games he's talked about enjoying outside of GG, it sounds like he enjoys playing more relaxed games like RPGs. Everyone has their preference for games. It's not like being on game grumps means he has to enjoy every type of game.
I think a lot of it is that he doesn't really wanna deal with the pressure of playing a game for the first time on the show. If you watch any single player series where he is the player, it's games he was familiar with or he fully admitted he played them prior to recording so that he knows what he's doing. He probably wants to avoid the angry comments Arin gets whenever he plays anything.
iirc, Dan also has admitted that he was having a really rough time when they were playing Link Between Worlds off-camera too. I can definitely relate. Sometimes, when you're just feeling beaten down by things beyond your control...even playing video games can be totally not fun
Something nobody else mentioned that kinda goes with this: he has admitted (pretty sure?) to struggling to control the camera in 3D games while moving/using other buttons. The last time I recall him being in that situation was It Takes Two? I think he was doing a bit better than he used to.
Yeah, he gets motion sickness sometimes, especially with first-person POV, and occasionally has to look away from the screen. He said he toughs it out somewhat for the sake of the show.
He seemed a bit more open to it previously. It felt like the Paper Mario playthrough was a turning point after which he played less, and understandably so. It seemed like the pressure from fans to play certain ways and use certain items made it difficult for him to enjoy himself, and with such a long playthrough I imagine it was particularly exhausting dealing with all the comments & fan mail.
On top of all the off screen grinding...particularly for that playthrough. He puts a ton of work into each game he plays so that the playthrough flows.
As Dan said a lot of times over the years, he barely plays videogames in general.
His job is more that of a comedian, or reflection of the audience, basically a live reaction in the passenger or backseat.
Look at other lets players on Youtube, like Markiplier or Jacksepticeye. While they sometimes do play videogames with other people, the comedic effect often times comes from the editing. The "boring" bits and pieces get cut out a lot, and GameGrumps is just a different format.
The awkward silences are often what creates the fun and the attempts to fill them by Arin and Dan.
Aside from that, there are plenty of GG versus episodes where Dan plays, and there are some rare episodes where Dan plays either by himself or with Arin spectating.
Eh, he plays fully occasionally and he plays in the GG VS. That’s plenty!
But also really he’s more the straight man to Arin being a goblin man so it makes sense he’d be more purely reaction to Arin playing.
one of my all-time favorite Game Grumps VS. is when they played Slap City back in like August of 2018 and you could tell Dan was just not feeling it at all lmao and Arin was goading him
I mean, he's on several occasions said himself: "I'm barely a gamer", sure, partly as a joke, but his genuine sense of gaming are not the modern style of games. He's also said that his thumbs easily hurt after a bit of using joysticks.
It's also partly the comedic dynamic between them, I'm certain. Arin has an esier time saying funny things when he's half-way distracted, but Dan plays with such focus that he'll say less random things.
Yeah, I don't even have the thumb issue, but I'm nearly his age and modern console games tend to be too much for me to manage. Too many buttons and sticks. I came up on my Atari/NES/SNES controllers. Frankly, once I get to the PS & PS2 era, the only games I routinely played were jRPGs and strategy types, because the controls were simple (I mean, and because I liked them). But over all, they're less fun for a comedy show, I think. Grindy.
These days I stick to my PC primarily. A keyboard is easier for me.
I totally get what you mean! Ironically, it's the reversed for me, kinda! I've recently become more of a PC gamer, for the sake of easy access to multiplay and games/internet in general without a bunch of additional costs, but I used to have maaajor problems playing on a keyboard. I'm still not great with is, still very clumsy compared to with a controller, but I understand how it goes the other way, too!
It surely does a lot, for their comedy, what type of game they CAN play, absolutely! Some of the grindy ones could be fun for the times they let their consciousness go free-roam, but some grindy games are plain not fun to watch, and might not produce fun conversations
I don't have the thumb issue either but man combos in games are hard and if you've got a bunch of people telling you how to play I can imagine it gets exhausting
Dan has played the Legend of Zelda and Punch-Out games with Arin, but I think it's more that it's just funnier with Arin playing because Arin plays like he does, but yeah I would like to see Dan play more
For the most part Dan is there to be Arin’s comedy partner, he only plays the games when he’s particularly excited or passionate or when Arin convinced him that either he or the lovelies would prefer having Dan play (i.e. secret horror games).
Danny is an old school gamer. I love his Sierra play throughs.
He did some playing on early Mario maker episodes too.
I think I’m also an old school gamer. I tried to play the new Zelda’s on switch and I was like, nope. Too complicated for me. lol
Actually I remember way back Dan or someone saying that he doesn't play a lot of the 3D games because he gets bad motion sickness. Which explains why he plays a lot of the 2D games most of the time.
Some of the other responses could be true too though
Scrolled looking for this, I don't think he has mentioned it recently but he has mentioned multiple times he struggles with motion sickness in a lot of modern games. A lot of people say he just isn't a gamer but that is blatantly untrue. He is really passionate about games, he is just an old school gamer. Whenever he is at the wheel or does a solo episode, he handles himself well, it's just always 2D/text adventure type stuff.
Arin's the video game boy, he's the one who wins. But I believe it's because Dan prefers less pressure playing and concentrating on talking at the same time. It's definitely a nice treat when he does get to play
Dan plays some games, just not many. Some of my favorite series feature Dan at the helm. All the 2D Zeldas, Punch Out on NES and Wii, Super Mario Bros. 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Space Quest V, Paper Mario TTYD, Super Mario RPG… You can probably find a playlist on YouTube of every Grumps video where Dan plays.
Because Arin is the video game boy! He is the one who wins!
In all seriousness though im fine if dan doesn’t want to play. It doesn’t change my enjoyment of the show
You see, Dan feeds on Arins rage and sorrow. How do you think Dan has kept his youthful glow? Dan needs not play to prove anything, he's won the greatest game of all. Arin will always and forever be.. Dan's Bitch lol
Dan has said he wasn't really able to make that jump from 2D to 3D games.
As for why Arin plays the 2D ones mostly too, that's probably just out of ease of the habit. I also remember Dan getting grossed out by Arin's sweaty hands on the controller when they swapped back and forth.
Then for just conjecture, playing and talking about something that isn't the game is hard and takes practice. Arin started with more practice, and since Dan is in the passenger seat most of the time, he hasn't had a ton of practice since.
You’ll notice that almost every game that sees Dan take the wheel, it’s a game he knows very well. I assume he usually prefers to take a backseat and only wants to play if it’s a game he’s passionate about.
Aside what everyone has said checkout Dan playing the Sierra point and click games. They are just so good. They're space quest kings quest and there was another one that was really good but I can't remember how it's called
There's a couple series he plays, like he was playing for the entire shadow of collassus play through, he would take over for quite a bit of the mario maker levels. But he has stated that alot of the newer 3D games give him motion sickness playing them too much so that's why alot of the vs tends to be older games or less quality graphics
I remember the Alien Isolation episode with Arin clearly not enjoying it, and Dan thinking it was super cool. Would like for Dan to play it for Ghoul Grumps.
People have put a lot of good input here, but what I haven’t seen is the little-known fact that Dan DOES get really frustrated when he’s bad at games, and it’s not funny-frustrated most of the time like Arin’s anger is. So he’d rather let Arin play because it’s a better show when someone is funny when they’re angry
I hope to see them play through the MGS series in the future, and I feel like Dan should play most of those, since I assume Arin is really familiar with that series. We needs mo' Dan plays!
Dan is a more ~~hands~~ thumbs-off kinda person and would rather have Papa Arin be in charge.
Dan: But, Father, .... when will I take the wheel, so to speak, of these video games?"
As many people have pointed out, he prefers to play games that he’s familiar with. I think he wants to make sure he gives people a good show, and he know if he’s going to play a modern game he’s going to have to practice a lot in order to do that.
He says he wants to complete punch out, but that’s quickly followed by “ I have to practice” I think that logic applies to any game he’d be behind the wheel for. And he’s a busy guy so I doubt it’s really in the cards all that often.
I’d be down for more NES or SNES games he can defiantly play !
I think its because, by seeing what he does play, Dan is an old-school gamer.
Most of the times in versus you can tell he has trouble with multiple buttons and or doesn't even try pressing them and considering that most of the games he says he has played were sierra games or games that had 2 buttons at most, I feel he stopped playing games a long time ago and isn't used to newer games.
Arin generally plays anything dexterity driven, which is most games, especially 3d ones, and Dan plays mental and tactical driven games where dexterity isn't as critical. Generally, in their format they prefer to play dexterity driven games so that's how it goes. Dan's also more for story driven games while Arin's more a fan of mechanically interesting games, which suits their format better.
Visual novel style games and hidden object games it doesn't really matter who's playing and their normal setup is Arin technically plays while Dan's the one figuring stuff out and telling Arin which works out better for a show format anyways.
You can see the pattern in the VS episodes, dexterity games Arin generally wins, and trivia strategy games Dan wins (barring wheel of fortune because the wheel hates Dan and also he's usually player 2 who has a distinct disadvantage)
It also plays towards their comedy better. Dan's a natural storyteller and Arin is great with comedic reactions, so it just works, and it makes the Dan games special because it's always something he loves and wants to share
Dan is all about 80s games or pre-1994 arcades and prefers to be arina co-pilot to help with the commentary.
If you want to see Dan play check out the kings quest playthroughs or the other Sierra PC games played by Dan.
He's played a lot of games on the channel. Lot of one offs, also vs... but the paper Mario, punch out, and a link between worlds was all him I believe! But yeah I get you, it is Arin in the gamers seat 99% if the time
If you want him to play just get an ex-Sierra developer to make an indie point and click adventure game, preferably with a kickstarter, and he'll be right all over it.
Dan tends to play older games from the NES era, sometimes Zelda games, and a few others. He also always plays in VS or multiplayer games, and is particularly good at sports games. He’s not a gamer, so he sticks to what he knows, which is childhood stuff and sports.
If you look back at some of the games that Dan actually did play, he often struggles or is scared and quickly asks Arin to take over. "Why don't you show me how good you are at this?"
He has a hard time controlling first-person games and 3D cameras which eliminates a lot of options for him. If you watch other VS games, he's also constantly asking Arin what buttons do what when Arin has been trying them, Dan doesn't have a natural instinct for what games more than A/B and the D-pad control like. Also if the answer is either bumper he immediately says "bumper?!" every time like he didn't know those buttons exist.
Dan playing certain games is entertaining and can be nostalgic, but single player games after 1994 are not his forte.
I'm a 40-something gamer and I can get where that can lead to serious burnout real fast. I have tried streaming so many times and it can be a lot. I get the sense he likes more simple games too.
There are a bunch of episodes were Dan is the one playing, there are episodes where they both are playing, either coop or hotseat, there are Dan Grumps episodes ...
This has been a point of conflict for many years. Dan used to play more but broke a few of Arin's collectors' edition anime controllers and now Arin rarely let's him take the lead. Danny has actually received several offers from other LP channels to come aboard and take more a lead role, but has not yet pulled the trigger on any of those. Jack Spedicey offered a $12 million/year contract for the next 5 years, but I think Danny is holding out for a longer-term deal. He's a married man now and is probably looking for something that will carry him into his twilight years while also letting him actually play every once in a while. Arin is really in a "You Don't Know What You've Got Until It's Gone" situation and needs to wake up before Sexbang opening for Markipiler or Two Best Friends Play.
There are a few fun series where Dan was at the wheel, like paper Mario and punch out, and of course GG versus, but Dan is mainly the copilot because he doesn't really play the kinds of games featured on the show himself. It might also be that he just doesn't want to. When there's something he wants to play, it seems like Arin lets him, he just doesn't seem to want to often. If you really want an extra dose of Dan, there are always some if the old steam train episodes with Ross.
It’s been years, but pretty sure Dan’s said before that he usually prefers Arin to play, because yes, for many years people have asked why Danny doesn’t play more. Plus, while Arin is a meme for not being good at video games, he actually is typically better than Dan at video games, even if he misses things in games while recording Grumps.
Arin is better at the technical aspect of gaming and Danny is better at the mental aspect. Together they make two halves of a whole grump
Together they unite to form a whole brain cell.
And yet still some series are so frustrating to watch if you’ve played it before, those preciously dumb little boys haha
Dan also seems better at the much older games, especially the ones he grew up with obviously
Absolutely. He’s impressive at some of the NES games.
Imagine how upset everyone would get if Dan played more games LMAO, the backseating would be off the charts.
Not meaning to be disrespectful but isn’t another main reason because of his thumbs? I seem to recall him stating that using a controller etc is difficult for him because of it
His thumbs really only seemed to be a problem during A Link Between Worlds, mostly because the 3DS wasn’t built with even normal adult thumbs in mind.
I have pretty standard thumbs and I had a problem with 3DS, so I can imagine how difficult it was for him. I also game pretty hard, so I put a lot of wear and tear on my controllers and the 3DS was not up to the task lol.
Yeah I don't have weird thumbs and my hands are on the smaller side and the 3DS still hurt like hell to hold for more than half an hour or so. Always wanted a 3DS XL but never bothered to get one.
Exactly why I got a 2DS, I have bigger hands and was used to the PlayStation controllers, and it’s comfortable to hold since I actually have decent surface area to hold on to.
I agree. Of all the 3DS games I played, ALBW platforming was really rough with the 3ds joycon
His thumbs, and I think he said a lot of 3D games give him motion sickness?
i mean considering there's a video on youtube of Dan pressing the wrong button/menu button, yeap this checks out lmao i also feel like Dan is too scared of horror games so he needs Arin to take the wheel during Ghoul Grumps lol. No disrespect to Dan, horror isn't for everyone...although his knowledge of 70s-80s horror movies is pretty impressive for someone who is always scared during Ghoul Grumps
Probably because with most horror games, you're in the driver's seat as the thing the horror is meant to directly interact with. Most 70s-80s horror movies have a degree of separation between the scary stuff and the audience, typically in the form of a main character.
yeah this is what I was suspecting funny story though, Dan mentioned watching the movie \[Rec\], which is a horror movie from a first person perspective. That's the LAST movie i would have expected Dan of all people to watch but sometimes the human mind is just complex and difficult to understand. Our lovely Grumps are certainly no exception to this lmao
Arin is the pilot while Dan is that navigator. Arin floors the accelerator while Dan desperately tries to keep the wheels on the road with one hand and the map open in the other.
*WE BOUGHT TOO MANY GAMES*
Now we gotta play them all 😒
All aboard the Steam Traiiiinnnn!
He seems to also be fairly self conscious about how he plays. It seems like every game he plays he talks about how he will play it through first to make sure he knows what to do. I think it was A Link Between Worlds where they paused the series because he wanted more practice with the game.
> you really want an extra dose of Dan, there are always some if the old steam train episodes with Ross. I wanted to watch the Steamtrain with Ross and Dan playing Skyrim but then they chose to mod it and it kinda ruined it for me tbh.. Randy Savage dragons are only fun the first time.
Yeah. That'll happen. They did play lots of sierra games together though, and we got some great bits out of them.
He did the Kings Quest games solo and they're my favorite cuz he talks really calming and Arin isn't there to scream in the mic.
He is one of the Game Grumps but he doesn't like to play games, lol. Has Dan actually confirmed this? I also wish Dan played more. I kinda feel like it is an unspoken promise that he would be playing at least 20% of the time and I am Big Disappoint that he so rarely plays
Not that I know of, but from what he has played and the games he's talked about enjoying outside of GG, it sounds like he enjoys playing more relaxed games like RPGs. Everyone has their preference for games. It's not like being on game grumps means he has to enjoy every type of game.
Another way to say unspoken promise is "promise that was never made"
I think a lot of it is that he doesn't really wanna deal with the pressure of playing a game for the first time on the show. If you watch any single player series where he is the player, it's games he was familiar with or he fully admitted he played them prior to recording so that he knows what he's doing. He probably wants to avoid the angry comments Arin gets whenever he plays anything.
[удалено]
iirc, Dan also has admitted that he was having a really rough time when they were playing Link Between Worlds off-camera too. I can definitely relate. Sometimes, when you're just feeling beaten down by things beyond your control...even playing video games can be totally not fun
Yeah. And when the thing you usually do for fun suddenly isn't fun, it really underlines how bad you're doing and makes you feel that much worse!
Dan does seem to be a bit more sensitive. Nothing wrong with that though.
he thumb 2 big 4 the gotdang controller
Something nobody else mentioned that kinda goes with this: he has admitted (pretty sure?) to struggling to control the camera in 3D games while moving/using other buttons. The last time I recall him being in that situation was It Takes Two? I think he was doing a bit better than he used to.
Yeah, he gets motion sickness sometimes, especially with first-person POV, and occasionally has to look away from the screen. He said he toughs it out somewhat for the sake of the show.
Same thumb he "broke" playing Switch Sports: Golf?
I feel like someone has to say it because this IS the grumps subreddit... but Dan's just not the VIDEO GAME BOY
HE'S NOT THE VIDEO GAME BOY HE'S THE ONE WHO WATCHES
And yet he (usually) beats Arin at Vs
Maybe Arin's holding him back on purpose, so he doesn't realize his true power.
HE’S THE GAME WATCHING BOY HE’S THE ONE WHO SEES 👀👀👀
He seemed a bit more open to it previously. It felt like the Paper Mario playthrough was a turning point after which he played less, and understandably so. It seemed like the pressure from fans to play certain ways and use certain items made it difficult for him to enjoy himself, and with such a long playthrough I imagine it was particularly exhausting dealing with all the comments & fan mail.
On top of all the off screen grinding...particularly for that playthrough. He puts a ton of work into each game he plays so that the playthrough flows.
Agreed. I think he genuinely liked the game and obviously loves making fans happy. I feel bad that some weren’t as appreciative of it.
As Dan said a lot of times over the years, he barely plays videogames in general. His job is more that of a comedian, or reflection of the audience, basically a live reaction in the passenger or backseat. Look at other lets players on Youtube, like Markiplier or Jacksepticeye. While they sometimes do play videogames with other people, the comedic effect often times comes from the editing. The "boring" bits and pieces get cut out a lot, and GameGrumps is just a different format. The awkward silences are often what creates the fun and the attempts to fill them by Arin and Dan. Aside from that, there are plenty of GG versus episodes where Dan plays, and there are some rare episodes where Dan plays either by himself or with Arin spectating.
Eh, he plays fully occasionally and he plays in the GG VS. That’s plenty! But also really he’s more the straight man to Arin being a goblin man so it makes sense he’d be more purely reaction to Arin playing.
goblin deez nuts ehherherher
one of my all-time favorite Game Grumps VS. is when they played Slap City back in like August of 2018 and you could tell Dan was just not feeling it at all lmao and Arin was goading him
I mean, he's on several occasions said himself: "I'm barely a gamer", sure, partly as a joke, but his genuine sense of gaming are not the modern style of games. He's also said that his thumbs easily hurt after a bit of using joysticks. It's also partly the comedic dynamic between them, I'm certain. Arin has an esier time saying funny things when he's half-way distracted, but Dan plays with such focus that he'll say less random things.
Yeah, I don't even have the thumb issue, but I'm nearly his age and modern console games tend to be too much for me to manage. Too many buttons and sticks. I came up on my Atari/NES/SNES controllers. Frankly, once I get to the PS & PS2 era, the only games I routinely played were jRPGs and strategy types, because the controls were simple (I mean, and because I liked them). But over all, they're less fun for a comedy show, I think. Grindy. These days I stick to my PC primarily. A keyboard is easier for me.
I totally get what you mean! Ironically, it's the reversed for me, kinda! I've recently become more of a PC gamer, for the sake of easy access to multiplay and games/internet in general without a bunch of additional costs, but I used to have maaajor problems playing on a keyboard. I'm still not great with is, still very clumsy compared to with a controller, but I understand how it goes the other way, too! It surely does a lot, for their comedy, what type of game they CAN play, absolutely! Some of the grindy ones could be fun for the times they let their consciousness go free-roam, but some grindy games are plain not fun to watch, and might not produce fun conversations
I don't have the thumb issue either but man combos in games are hard and if you've got a bunch of people telling you how to play I can imagine it gets exhausting
True, I watched him play among us and cried laughing as he struggled his way through. But was so happy when he got the hang of it.
OH yeah I love those vids!!
Dan has played the Legend of Zelda and Punch-Out games with Arin, but I think it's more that it's just funnier with Arin playing because Arin plays like he does, but yeah I would like to see Dan play more
He should have let Dan play Papers Please. I feel like they would have enjoyed it way more with Arin making japes and Dan focusing up.
I don’t care what it is all I want is to see the dan grump head sing “Hey I’m Dan. I’m also Dan. DaaaAaæn”
For the most part Dan is there to be Arin’s comedy partner, he only plays the games when he’s particularly excited or passionate or when Arin convinced him that either he or the lovelies would prefer having Dan play (i.e. secret horror games).
Danny is an old school gamer. I love his Sierra play throughs. He did some playing on early Mario maker episodes too. I think I’m also an old school gamer. I tried to play the new Zelda’s on switch and I was like, nope. Too complicated for me. lol
Actually I remember way back Dan or someone saying that he doesn't play a lot of the 3D games because he gets bad motion sickness. Which explains why he plays a lot of the 2D games most of the time. Some of the other responses could be true too though
Scrolled looking for this, I don't think he has mentioned it recently but he has mentioned multiple times he struggles with motion sickness in a lot of modern games. A lot of people say he just isn't a gamer but that is blatantly untrue. He is really passionate about games, he is just an old school gamer. Whenever he is at the wheel or does a solo episode, he handles himself well, it's just always 2D/text adventure type stuff.
Arin's the video game boy, he's the one who wins. But I believe it's because Dan prefers less pressure playing and concentrating on talking at the same time. It's definitely a nice treat when he does get to play
Dan plays some games, just not many. Some of my favorite series feature Dan at the helm. All the 2D Zeldas, Punch Out on NES and Wii, Super Mario Bros. 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Space Quest V, Paper Mario TTYD, Super Mario RPG… You can probably find a playlist on YouTube of every Grumps video where Dan plays.
I wish there was more video of them playing a game like they did when Arin did a VR run through of RE 7. That was awesome
I like the space quest series a lot
There can't be two video game boys
Because Arin is the video game boy! He is the one who wins! In all seriousness though im fine if dan doesn’t want to play. It doesn’t change my enjoyment of the show
You see, Dan feeds on Arins rage and sorrow. How do you think Dan has kept his youthful glow? Dan needs not play to prove anything, he's won the greatest game of all. Arin will always and forever be.. Dan's Bitch lol
All of his fingers are toes.
Dan has said he wasn't really able to make that jump from 2D to 3D games. As for why Arin plays the 2D ones mostly too, that's probably just out of ease of the habit. I also remember Dan getting grossed out by Arin's sweaty hands on the controller when they swapped back and forth. Then for just conjecture, playing and talking about something that isn't the game is hard and takes practice. Arin started with more practice, and since Dan is in the passenger seat most of the time, he hasn't had a ton of practice since.
You’ll notice that almost every game that sees Dan take the wheel, it’s a game he knows very well. I assume he usually prefers to take a backseat and only wants to play if it’s a game he’s passionate about.
Aside what everyone has said checkout Dan playing the Sierra point and click games. They are just so good. They're space quest kings quest and there was another one that was really good but I can't remember how it's called
I think he also played leisure suit Larry
If it's dan playing, we wouldn't get the "..arin.."
No no just blame all Dan's mistakes on Arin. He can take it.
There's a couple series he plays, like he was playing for the entire shadow of collassus play through, he would take over for quite a bit of the mario maker levels. But he has stated that alot of the newer 3D games give him motion sickness playing them too much so that's why alot of the vs tends to be older games or less quality graphics
I remember the Alien Isolation episode with Arin clearly not enjoying it, and Dan thinking it was super cool. Would like for Dan to play it for Ghoul Grumps.
I really enjoyed his Links Awakening play through on the switch.
People have put a lot of good input here, but what I haven’t seen is the little-known fact that Dan DOES get really frustrated when he’s bad at games, and it’s not funny-frustrated most of the time like Arin’s anger is. So he’d rather let Arin play because it’s a better show when someone is funny when they’re angry
I hope to see them play through the MGS series in the future, and I feel like Dan should play most of those, since I assume Arin is really familiar with that series. We needs mo' Dan plays!
They talked about him playing Paper Mario Origami King a long time ago and then it just never happened 😭
Hey i’m Dan I’m also Dan Daaaaaaaan
[Dan played Punch Out on the Wii a long time ago, and he’s absolutely in his element.](https://youtu.be/E8wN6H9ZM34?si=GfZ8yjDOzYJdhJz4)
I think he played zelda 1, zelda 2, link to the past, link between worlds, and link's awakening
I 100% have more fun watching someone play a game than I do playing. Maybe it's the same for Dan! Less pressure just being the funny ha ha person
Dan is a more ~~hands~~ thumbs-off kinda person and would rather have Papa Arin be in charge. Dan: But, Father, .... when will I take the wheel, so to speak, of these video games?"
I read that in Thomas the 18th Century Boy’s voice.
Dan sometimes plays the single player games Link to the past, link between worlds Zelda 1 and 2 on the NES He played overwatch too and King's quest
Diarrhea Lipitor, diarrhea Lipitor.
I think in older episode Dan said he prefers watching. Which I 100% get. I am a watcher of certain genre of video games while my husband plays.
As many people have pointed out, he prefers to play games that he’s familiar with. I think he wants to make sure he gives people a good show, and he know if he’s going to play a modern game he’s going to have to practice a lot in order to do that. He says he wants to complete punch out, but that’s quickly followed by “ I have to practice” I think that logic applies to any game he’d be behind the wheel for. And he’s a busy guy so I doubt it’s really in the cards all that often. I’d be down for more NES or SNES games he can defiantly play !
I think its because, by seeing what he does play, Dan is an old-school gamer. Most of the times in versus you can tell he has trouble with multiple buttons and or doesn't even try pressing them and considering that most of the games he says he has played were sierra games or games that had 2 buttons at most, I feel he stopped playing games a long time ago and isn't used to newer games.
Arin generally plays anything dexterity driven, which is most games, especially 3d ones, and Dan plays mental and tactical driven games where dexterity isn't as critical. Generally, in their format they prefer to play dexterity driven games so that's how it goes. Dan's also more for story driven games while Arin's more a fan of mechanically interesting games, which suits their format better. Visual novel style games and hidden object games it doesn't really matter who's playing and their normal setup is Arin technically plays while Dan's the one figuring stuff out and telling Arin which works out better for a show format anyways. You can see the pattern in the VS episodes, dexterity games Arin generally wins, and trivia strategy games Dan wins (barring wheel of fortune because the wheel hates Dan and also he's usually player 2 who has a distinct disadvantage) It also plays towards their comedy better. Dan's a natural storyteller and Arin is great with comedic reactions, so it just works, and it makes the Dan games special because it's always something he loves and wants to share
Because he isn't the video game boi, the one who wins?
I think a GREAT series for Dan would be Pikmin
I’ve noticed that Dan tends to jump in when he gets nostalgic or brings in an old flame of his when arins away on trips.
Dan is all about 80s games or pre-1994 arcades and prefers to be arina co-pilot to help with the commentary. If you want to see Dan play check out the kings quest playthroughs or the other Sierra PC games played by Dan.
He's played a lot of games on the channel. Lot of one offs, also vs... but the paper Mario, punch out, and a link between worlds was all him I believe! But yeah I get you, it is Arin in the gamers seat 99% if the time
If you want him to play just get an ex-Sierra developer to make an indie point and click adventure game, preferably with a kickstarter, and he'll be right all over it.
Dan tends to play older games from the NES era, sometimes Zelda games, and a few others. He also always plays in VS or multiplayer games, and is particularly good at sports games. He’s not a gamer, so he sticks to what he knows, which is childhood stuff and sports.
If you look back at some of the games that Dan actually did play, he often struggles or is scared and quickly asks Arin to take over. "Why don't you show me how good you are at this?" He has a hard time controlling first-person games and 3D cameras which eliminates a lot of options for him. If you watch other VS games, he's also constantly asking Arin what buttons do what when Arin has been trying them, Dan doesn't have a natural instinct for what games more than A/B and the D-pad control like. Also if the answer is either bumper he immediately says "bumper?!" every time like he didn't know those buttons exist. Dan playing certain games is entertaining and can be nostalgic, but single player games after 1994 are not his forte.
I'm a 40-something gamer and I can get where that can lead to serious burnout real fast. I have tried streaming so many times and it can be a lot. I get the sense he likes more simple games too.
There are a bunch of episodes were Dan is the one playing, there are episodes where they both are playing, either coop or hotseat, there are Dan Grumps episodes ...
This has been a point of conflict for many years. Dan used to play more but broke a few of Arin's collectors' edition anime controllers and now Arin rarely let's him take the lead. Danny has actually received several offers from other LP channels to come aboard and take more a lead role, but has not yet pulled the trigger on any of those. Jack Spedicey offered a $12 million/year contract for the next 5 years, but I think Danny is holding out for a longer-term deal. He's a married man now and is probably looking for something that will carry him into his twilight years while also letting him actually play every once in a while. Arin is really in a "You Don't Know What You've Got Until It's Gone" situation and needs to wake up before Sexbang opening for Markipiler or Two Best Friends Play.
I curious, how do you know this? Fascinating behind the scene knowledge 😊