User reviews

Half an hour long, cliché story which feels more interesting than half the things Hollywood produces to be honest. And Rowan Bettjeman brings the character to Baelin to life while uttering only one line of dialogue.

At first, the choice of taking Baelin as the main character in a short seem a bit odd and underwhelming, but at the end, it works. Real fans will remember the depth Baelin has in Epic NPC Man, like when he's stuck on a bucket, he almost got me tearing up, or when he shows skills a fisherman shouldn't have. They had to play with the limitations of a NPC for Baelin's route, and they did well. I'm also happy we got to see Aly for the first time in Honey Wood. Ah, god, yeah, it's fan service at it's best, not gonna lie, but they did it so well, and it's so heartwarming. Now it's working for a short, I don't think I would have been that happy if it was a feature-length movie, who knows. I love Rowan, don't get me wrong, but I so missed Alan; let's hope the next one has the original duo as the main characters!! Now if you never seen Epic NPC Man and wonder if you should watch Baelin's route, I'd advise you to go on YouTube and try to enter the VLDL universe ,first, it won't be wasted time, I guarantee!!

For the gamers out there, this short film represents a quirky story that's relatable, heartwarming and fun! Fantastic production with breathtaking scenery!

We need more of this in the world.

An annoying NPC (Rowan Bettjeman) is on his daily walk when an adventurer recruits him and he ends up getting (a bit) self-aware and has to rescue a girl played brilliantly by Phoenix Cross. Also, Ben Van Lier deserves praise for his role as the player who really doesn't like this game anymore.

Rowan Bettjeman plays Baelin the Fisherman: a character in a video game who is programmed to say only one sentence. Baelin seems to be locked in a path, destined to forever walk his route around the fictional land of Azerim, until he is forced to overcome his designated programming in order to save a teenage girl from an angry adventurer.

Bettjeman gives a wonderful performance as we see Baelin struggling against to break free of his programming when he is confronted with a cruel adventurer, played by Ben van Lier. Even though Bettjeman only has one sentence, he portrays a plethora of emotions when repeating it in different settings. Hodor and Groot: take notes.

Van Lier embodies the rage gamers feel when they struggle with new quests in video games, with such realism that we can relate to, and yet hate, his experience.

The co-star of the film, Phoenix Cross, is perhaps the perfect choice to play the young damsel in distress: Willow. She draws the audience in with her brilliant acting and expressions, giving us the desire to protect her at all costs.

With a minimal budget, raised through Kickstarter, the directors Adam King and Alan Morrison have managed to bring a top notch Hollywood feel to a 35 minute film: The epic scenery of New Zealand, the excellent music score, the gamer names above other players' names and lots of details makes this unique movie an absolute must-see for most audiences.

And, unlike a lot of large Hollywood productions, this brilliant movie is available free for everyone on YouTube.

I've always loved epic npc man so having an extra long film version of this world is a real treat, the guys at viva le dirt league are excellent and loved every minute of this adventure, can't wait to see what they do next !

Not really a reviewer, but i had to give my two cents about this movie. I watch VLDL very randomly at YouTube, but more often than not i like their content and Im specially fond of Epic NPC Man. So, when the video popped on my main page and I pressed play thinking it was just another short skit. Man was i wrong.

The acting is great, the production value far above the overall content of the channel, but man, the writing and directing... So well polished, so focused on telling that exactly story, no more, no less. There isnt much to the plot, and the movie dont need it. The movie shine in the small moments where the characters run the edge between free will and whats scripted to then in the game program. You have to bear in mind this is still the VLDL's Epic NPC man's world. If you don't have some background for the world of characters, much will make no sense.

A very pleasant surprise, more from the team than the movie itself. Now I wonder what else they could create with such precise vision.

If you are familiar with Epic npc man you'll love this. If not check out epic npc man by viva la dirt league.

I don't understand some of the reviews that score this badly. This movie is based on what was a one dimensional character, Baelin the fisherman, who is a one line character without a backstop which you see often in games. They take this character ot of his comfort zone of walking the same route every day and throw him into certain danger in which he ends up on a quest replacing an actual playable character.

Rowan manages to pull off some amazing acting in this role, despite his character only having one line that he can repeat over and over you understand and feel what he is conveying every single time.

Then there's Phoenix, the newest addition to VLDL who is just lovable and fantastic. Despite not having many credits to her acting career she absolutely smashes this and carries the whole film from start to finish.

Some of the acting may seem off but its purposely done that way as it is a spoof of video games. For example, Hamish, the one being robbed, plays his part perfectly. Not an actual real reaction to being robbed but the comedic video game type spoof this is. This movie deserves 10/10 and its only letdown is that it was so short, but even then it fitted everything in it needed to.

Again, an amazing movie. Go watch it.

A Kickstarter project started right in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. To pull this off and have this as a result, during these troubling times, and create something that makes every gamer and movie fanatic have a grin on their face for 36 minutes.. how fantastic is that!

Great production values, terrific score and very well casted actors. And how amazing too have such great emotions shown on screen by using such a small vocabulary! It helps if you are familiair with the lore of VivaLaDirt League's Epic NPC Man, but even if you are not, just watch it. It's not too long, in 4K and best of all, it's free!

It would help to be a fan of Viva La Dirt League on Youtube to truly enjoy this mini movie. However, if you are an MMORPG fan that would be enough I suppose.

VLDL create short funny videos related to video games of all types. This is their first attempt at creating a video that is longer than a couple minutes. It's a mini movie really, about 30 minutes long.

Everything about this production was amazing. The gorgeous scenery, the sound, the characters, the costumes.

Some people may have a problem with Baelin (main character) as he can only say one phrase, as he is a non-player character in a video game, but he says these words with various emotional tones, much like R2D2 or groot.

I would love to see these people create a real movie. A game-related movie with real characters that aren't suck saying in-game phases only. This mini movie was big budget quality and so well done.

Baelin not very likable, because he's kind of annoying. That works well in the sketches, because it's funny. But in this film, we're supposed to root for him. At least for me that doesn't really work. To make matters worse, he can only say two things: "Mornin'!" and "Nice day for fishin', ain't it!". That's not enough to get you emotionally invested. In addition, his development comes out of nowhere and doesn't feel very believable. Why the heck can a fisherman fight? He might have worked better in a comedy, but this film isn't that funny, most of the time.

Otherwise, the story is predictable and the action not very good, but I can live with that.

On to the positive: Firstly, I like Phoenix Cross as Willow, the girl Baelin saves. However, I wish, she had anything to do except for being thankful. (Then again, being an NPC, she's programmed to be that way. She could however have gotten some development away from that.)

Also there is a lot of nice scenery to be seen.

Last thing to note: I would have liked to see more of the other people inhabiting this world except just Baelin. We do get some glimpses, but this film is really about Baelin and not Greg or any of the other characters we know from the series.

In the end, I'm disappointed by this movie, and even though I like the idea for them making a movie out of the series, I can't give them a positive review.

Baelin's Route is the perfect example of why movies on video games need to have gamer producers/actors!

It perfectly resembles the feel of MMORPG, the scenery was breath taking, and the acting was quite phenomenal.

It deserves all of the high ratings it gets for it's great yet simple acting and outstanding soundtrack/effects.

Just... Wow! This works so well! The action! The humour! The emotion! Well done!

The story is an excellent collection of common in-game RPG village with all its gems. Or bugs should we call it? Well, any player will be able to relate. And production quality is much higher than one would expect. There are popular shows that would be comparable. Huh, ha!

This is a fantastic short. I dont understand why anyone would give it a 1 star. This an independant film created by local talent from new zeleand. I feel like the lower reviews are people who had prior expectations about the movie and wanted it to go in the direction they wanted. The fact that baelin only had 1 line and still managed to put so much emotion into is absolutely brilliant. Well done.

Fantastic film made by the crew behind Viva La Dirt League. Funded by kickstarter this movie was far beyond what anyone could possibly exspect. 37 minuttes well spent for us gaming fans!

The Visuals, The Acting, The Landscape... etc. It really gives you a good story and makes you sympathize with the character in such a small amount of time!

While fans of Epic NPC Man will easily love this, it is actually very relatable even for people with basic knowledge of gaming. The story while simple, encompasses deep emotions. Overcoming your routines to discover true life, straying from your path and gambling on someone that brings new meaning to whoever you are. It is so balanced and well played, it leaves you wanting more but with a smile on your face!

If you are a VLDL fan you do not need introductions. Most of VLDL stories are really funny. Especially FPS logic, which was amazing, the story, the production quality and the acting was spot on.

Baelin's route story is pretty basic. It is mainly based on Baelin (Rowan) that can say only one line as an automated NPC he is. The story doesnt tell much and the is not much depth in it. Even though you can see the effort they put to the production (costumes, CGI etc.) BUT this short film was funded by a kickstarter and that raises the bar. Unfortunately the shallow story and the poor selection of Baelin as a main character of this episode was a crucial mistake. They should make a NPC man stories with high production instead, they had so many good ideas (like NPC finally loses it, bare minimum, stealth, side quest) all were amazing. I also don't like that the VLDL group members do not like constructive criticism and bash everyone or dislike reviews here. Sorry guys. Thats a 3 out of 10 for me here.

The guys have hit the big league now, this is a tremendously fun production with terrific directing, acting, effects, makeup and incredible scenery, the locations used are mind blowingly gorgeous, it's easy to see why Lord of the Rings was filmed here. The story is very poignant, those giving this a low star rating simply don't get it and sadly never will. I really hope they make more of these short films.

Masterpiece! As a RPG, LOTR and fantasy lover I absolutely adore this movie. You guys brought tears to my eyes. Great humor, flawless screenplay, New Zealand landscapes, ingenious soundtrack, stunning actors performances. Thank you very much for this! :)

PS: I love how you guys inspire us to play games with respect. I was also very much guilty with this "skipping" attitude and you showed me how I was wrong about that. This NPC topic serves as a reflection to real life as well. I dare to say that because of your videos (especially Epic NPC man) you made me a better person and specially because of this movie!

Baelin's Route is one of my most beloved movies of all times :)

Viva la Dirt League (VLDL) has been on youtube for quite a while now. They started out making 3-5 minute shorts focusing on a single aspect of videogames; their most popular series being "Epic NPC Man" where they focus on Greg the Garlic Farmer as he deals with players and other NPCs in the game world of Azerim (Azeroth + Skyrim).

Not too long after, they made a short about looping NPCs starring none other than Baelin the Fisherman. He's a looping NPC that all gamers have seen before where he literally does one thing: walking his predestined path and telling everyone he meets that it's a nice day for fishing. Totally oblivious to anything that is happening, he continues to do this over and over to the annoyance of some.

Baelin became such a fan favorite that VLDL started a crowd funder to bankroll this short film where Baelin finds himself recruited by a terribly psychopathic player character to help him finish a quest. Baelin is compelled to follow this player and do his bidding, constantly taking him further off of his comfortable path. When Baelin comes in contact with the main quest NPCs (a captured girl) Baelin begins to change.

The story is amazing. They actually make you care about an NPC and give him a character growth curve (the wish of all NPCs, no doubt) regardless of the fact that he can only say his one-liner: "Mornin'! Nice day for fishing! Huh ha!" The combat scenes are expertly choreographed and the special effects are adequate for any Hollywood film with 10x the budget.

I recommend you watch this film and browse VLDL's past and present work. They are something very special in the youtube arena.

Great rendition of the hero's path, a cliché backbone but with an original soul. A very smart script, plays around the limitations of the NPC in story driven video games, with a nice balance between humor and emotion.

Photography is very good for an internet piece, art direction in the other hand lacks, perhaps to maintain a certain aesthetic consistence with the "Epic NPC Man" web-series it derives from.

But the original score, that's something else. They seem to understand this is where the piece could really shine and went all in. The result is cinematic music au pair with the best Hollywood productions on the genre.

I give my 10 since the theme resonates with my entertainment preferences, and that's to say if you have a history story driven video-games and is a low budget cinema as myself, make sure to check out VLDL contents (recomended) and then go ahead and watch this.