Every so often, we here at Plugged In find ourselves circling back to another Minecraft YouTuber. It’s inevitable, really, given how popular the game is with younger audiences. And with the recent release of A Minecraft Movie, it felt only fitting that we cover yet another popular block-building channel.
Grian (pronounced Gree-an) doesn’t just build alone, however. This YouTuber with 8.7 million subscribers often plays in a variety of SMP (Survival Multi-Player) servers, the most notable of which is called HermitCraft. Also of note: Grian’s identity is somewhat anonymous, though he has divulged several details about himself elsewhere online, such as his age (31) and citizenship (he’s British).
HermitCraft is a private Minecraft server designed for YouTube and Twitch content creators. Grian was one of many YouTubers invited to collaborate on the server, and the channel’s videos primarily focus on crafting personal projects and giant buildings.
Outside of HermitCraft, Grianalsostarted a game in Minecraft dubbed the Life Series. In it, a variety of YouTubers enjoy a game wherein, should they die too many times, they’ll be unable to respawn, eventually leaving one final player as the winner of the game. As of this posting, the Life Series has eight seasons, each with a special twist on the rules.
But what can parents expect to find on this channel?
Grian apparently used to use crude language in older videos—though said videos have either been deleted or censored, as we could not find them. It’s evident, however, that he has made intentional efforts to make his videos appropriate for children as far as language is concerned, and so viewers will find almost no crude language here. (More on that below.)
Many of Grian’s videos walk viewers through a variety of tips that could make their gaming experience better. For instance, he teaches gamers how to build certain things in the game, like traps or buildings.
Grianand friends simply have a fun time together. They come together often to enjoy each other’s company via Minecraft, and they engage in a variety of adaptations to the game. And for fans who’d like to import their Hermitcraft worlds into their own games, the group provides links to download them following each season.
As stated above, Grian makes an intentional effort to avoid crude language. However, one video captures another player saying that Grian “scared the living h—” out of him. And we also heard one misuse of God’s name.
Two men jokingly call their alliance the “Flower Husbands,” (one of whom is gay in real life). Grian describes a room as a “villager breeding room.”
Otherwise, parents should be mindful that their kids may want to watch the same series from the perspective of the other players, some of whom may have more content issues.
If there’s one thing YouTube doesn’t have a shortage of, it’s Minecraft YouTubers. That’s good news for kids, who seemingly can’t get enough of the game and the content creators playing it. But it can be daunting for parents who want to make sure the channel their kid clicks on will be appropriate.
Relative to many similar channels, Grian is fairly family friendly, as it took us some time to find the few concerns we did. The occasional passing references to LGBT players is probably the main content issue worth noting here, as well as the small handful of stray profanities we noted in the videos we watched. Those concerns shouldn’t be minimized, but Grian has fewer problems than many YouTubers.
And that might be the bigger concern, actually. Given that Grian almost always collaborates with other channels, parents will want to be mindful of their kids wanting to check out those channels, too, which may have more problems than Grian’s channel does.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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