Black & White: Playing God With a Giant Cow 

Fun story: I bought this the day it came out, and was stupid hyped for it. Probably one of the games that I have put the most time into in my entire life. That being said, the release batch had a problem during manufacturing that led to an imbalance in weight from the paint on the disc (it was one of those full-disc prints). At the time, CD-ROMS were just starting to go into increasing speeds. After about 2 months of playing, the disc exploded in my drive, which destroyed the drive as well. Needless to say, I was upset. Called their support line, and they explained what it was. Not only did they send me an entirely new copy, they also bought me a new CD-ROM. Some of the best customer service I have ever had.

This game was mindblowing as a child, I still get the feels when I see my box.

We can't do anything until we get some more wood, they're singing. Next to a tree.

This series needs to return, it’s absolutely perfect for VR.

I actually really loved this game as a kid. I dug the whole concept and stuff. ...but I literally had no idea of any of these shortcuts and stuff, and now I'm retroactively angry about it lol

Even to this day, nearly 20 years later, I still find my self humming the song by the sailors who want help building and supplying their ship. One of my favorite games of all time.

This game was the one thing that helped me through childhood depression and I love it seeing get attention to this day. No matter how clunky and broken the game was, it'll always have a special place in my heart.

I started this video thinking "finally" and ended it thinking "oh yeah, thats why I stopped playing".

Also, the sailor song has been stuck in my head for the last 18 years.

This game was everything and nothing it promised.

"..with people think they shipped a beta version game than a finished one" EA, not changing a shit since 2001 😅

This was easily one of my favourite games out of anything I've ever played, and it certainly was unique. I still remember how villagers praying to an Artifact would let you build a max size Wonder independently of your belief if you placed 7 scaffolds directly next to it (as well as the online player who taught me that). As well as the various 'sandbox' maps that were out there online aimed at enhancing your Creature's growth and teaching it every miracle in the game from a simple rain or heal to... whatever the multi-blast armageddon nuke is called. (That took forever, even if you had a chimp) Most people online seemed to have full on evil temples, and in fact 'evil' was 'easy', but I could never abide it so my lands and creatures were usually blindingly bright :) Flawed or not, I loved this game back in its day... and that song is STILL stuck in my head after a little reminder of it.

The boat song... I remembered it the second I heard eidle eidle eee. Was a great game in it's time and it's too bad it wasn't continued on to todays games.

True story: every time a villager dies, a child-like voice whispers "death" in the creepiest manner possible. I did not know this and spent about an hour not knowing my village was dying off and wondering what creepy stuff my roommates were up to. Good times...

Too bad this game didn't survive. Was one of my favorite when I was young :(

Used to love this game when I was younger, dread to think how many hours I stacked up. Could never get past Land 4 though, damn fireballs/lightning/gremlins.

I've never played a game that gave me so much missing time. I'd play this after school then boom it's 11pm and time for bed

Ah, that game from peter "trees would grow in real time" molyneux...

"So uhhhh killing babies is a legit strategy" Never knew Black & White was so much like Dwarf Fortress

I would like a remake of this game

This game was a fond memory of my childhood. My Dad would play this on his Pentium 4 equipped Compaq Presario he named "Eleanor".

The swedish dub of this game is an absolute gem. That, and the Swedish dub on the Playstation version of Diablo 1.

This was my favorite game when i was a kid, easily in my top 3.

That intro still gives me chills.

Those of us with common names who entered it at the beginning were treated to a terrifying paranoia inducing whisper e.g "daaaaaviiiiiiid".

This was the game that, as a kid, really made me excited for the future possibilities of gaming. I was too young to be disappointed at all.

Ah yes, I remember having to beat the shi# out of my cow because he wouldn't stop eating villagers

This looks like it could get more intuitive if it's in VR.

Oh boy, guess here we go again for my playthrough roughly every five years. This game just has some indescribable magic - If you like it, you'll love it. I don't no a single strategy game where I remember the characters as fondly. From the sailors to the goddamn monk that didn't wanted to be followed. The whole gameplay is just so relaxing without a focus on micromanaging every second while still being challenging in another way. If only there were more modes like skirmishes. I really liked those 4 gods fighting over control setups And the music just gave me goosebumps again, especially that flute.

I would pay a lot of $$$ for a full GOG release of this game. So many fun memories and things I didn’t know where there until LGR mentioned them...

Still waiting for Good Old Games to put this on their store.

"God hand" *Music from the action game "Godhand" starts playing in my head* Oh god this is getting out of hand.

Wow, I used to love this game!!! Then B&W2 come and I was so dissapointed! The creature was totally neglected, even your powers, you could win each mission just building an amazing city and turning every person in the map to your side, or building armies and conquer them. It became a medieval Simcity...

I'm more of a "Let's Play" viewer and less of a gamer myself, but Black & White is a game I've gone back to playing multiple times over the years. I think it still really holds up.

You know, I was God once. I saw, you were doing so well until everyone died.

I remember grabbing this off the Best Buy shelf and being stoked to play it... one of the bigger let-downs at the time, but I've since come to appreciate it more.

I wanted to love Black & White so much! I thought it was such a cool idea. I played it numerous times and the bugs made sure each time met with a furious end.

In LGR doing Duke Nukem voice: *The glove is back*

I recently rewatched most of your old videos and it's impressive how you've constantly upped your game so to speak in regards to production quality, comfort in front of the camera etc, and yet it's still distinctly your style from day one up until now. I tip my hat to you Sir, most content creators can't pull that off.

never played it but i sure as hell remember all the Hype ADs in gaming magazines

I remember the accordion singers, which always made me smile. It makes me want to make up a dumb song every time I want a miracle to happen.

Glad you chose to play the intro scene uninterrupted in its entirety. Always thought that was superbly done. One of the best intros to a game ever.

Loved this game back when it came out. The graphics (especially animation), music, and sound effects were phenomenal. And fantastic voice acting at a time there was either none or you wished there was none. Lots of unique and interesting UI choices. Proper onboarding when most games expected you to read the manual. This game felt special.

"You are dark, Luke." "That's not true... That's impossible!"

I remember getting this game the day it came out. I'll never forget it! Such a mind-blowing game!

Oh my lord. The video we've all been waiting for. Thank you LGR!!!!!!

"Ooooh, we've got this notion that we'd quite like to sail the ocean..."

Man, I loved this game so much. I remember trying it back when it came out but it was so buggy I could barely pass through the tutorial. I was so sad. Managed to play it a decade later or so, in 2013. The graphics were great for the time as well, and the concept, the novelty, it was all awe-inspiring.

I was a Bullfrog fanboy so when this game was finally released I was WAY too excited, and my expectations were probably unrealistic. I was never able to get into the game very much back then, but I think I'm ready to try it again. Thanks for the video as always!

Ooooh, we've got this notion That we'd quite like to sail the ocean So we're building a big boat to leave here for good. We're not keen on sinking So we're all sitting here a thinking 'Cause we built it too big and we've run out of wood. eidle eidle eee eidle eidle eee We simply can't leave 'til we get some more wood. Oooh, we're not keen on sinking so that's why we're sitting thinking cause we simply can't leave 'til we get some more wood.

Thank you for doing this game! Hands down one of my favorites ever, and no one I meet ever played it so was beginning to think I imagined it

Slapping virtual cows, and choking the virtual chicken. This one holds a special place in my gaming history, great video

Man this game is ahead of its time in 2019...

"Oh! My ship-in-a-bottle collection!"

“Killing Babies, its a legit strategy” Dwarf Fortress says hello.

When this game came out I had JUST purchased a Compaq 5VW297 computer because it has an AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.0GHz in it with 128MB SD ram and a 2x DVD-rom. Accompanied by an Nvidia Riva TNT2 16MB. I replaced the video card with my Voodoo 5 5500 64MB card. What a monster machine. I miss that computer.

The opening cutscene makes it clear that gods in this world are born of the warp based on strong emotion.

Me and the game with the cow be like: "Touch the cow, do it now"

There is something about these videos I find so relaxing. Its the nostalgia aspect but also how calming his voice is. This has quickly become one of my favourite RU-vid channels.

eidle eidle eeeee.. man this brings back such sweet god-mode memories.. nearing 2 decades now.. thank you for a trip down memory lane..

The inside of the temple still looks amazing. At ca. 8:00. I remember I was astounded by this, though I never had the full game or quite a good enough PC myself (well, the latter I got later, go figure).

I was never more hyped for a game in my life. I have nothing else to say.

Kinda hoping this game makes a comeback or re-make in VR. Seems like it'd fit in perfectly. ...Not gonna lie, I'd just end up throwing dooks at the villagers to get my Creature to do it as well.

I loved this game back in the day. I actually have it installed in my current PC. haha...I always found it satisfying grabbing some fish or grain and watching them accumulate...then drag and drop...the trees turning into lumber. I always used the Tiger creature.

Your creature gets gashes and cuts from either combat with other creatures - Or if you beat it hard enough. You can literally beat your creature until it's bleeding, soaked with blood and black and purple. These heal into scars that stay with your creature for the entire game. The physical scars are a mirror of it's psychological ones. The creature AI was something new for the time, and although it probably appeared quite dumb to most people, it was actually fairly brilliant, if a little quirky, as befits the tone of the game. I remember reading one snippet by a developer, who, while play-testing, noticed that the creature suddenly vanished. They eventually figured out that it was hungry, and not having anything suitable to eat close by, ate itself. The creature also went though what most people would refer to as the 'terrible twos'. As a young, learning AI, it often had similar reactions as human children until it reached a stage of understanding that was adequate for it to be mostly self-sufficient... Somewhere about the 3rd island usually, depending on how much time you'd spent with it, trying to teach it not to poop on your own villagers as they were out for a morning walk or throw them into the sea with careless, gleeful abandon. If you put the effort in, the creature was really fun to observe, could absolutely be an aid to your goals and it was supposed to be the core aspect of the game. If you neglected teaching your creature, it would be useless - Or worse than useless. If you beat it until it was bloody, it could literally develop pathological, deep psychological aversions to certain stimuli, which would cause it to act in very strange ways - A trait you see in humans. Conversely, it could become completely attention-driven. The desire to have you notice it and praise it could overtake it's entire reason for existing, having it follow you around and just do random things, after each it would stare up at you, point at what it did and demand that you notice. Because everyone wants a 100-foot tall, narcissistic horse-monster that sparkles in the sunlight and throws trees at anyone who happens to be walking within the 3-mile vicinity. If you haven't seen a giant monkey pointing and slapping it's knees in a fit of laughter at the huge turd it just laid on some rando's house, then you haven't ever really played a video game. Alternately, with the necessary training, your creature would actually water crops, plant and harvest trees, keep your worshipers fed and try to convert the enemy villages all by itself... And turn everyone into breeders, because all you need is love. A lot of people give the creature AI crap. Those people are stupid, is what I'm saying. The AI worked. Yes, yes it worked very well. *NOOORRRRSSE POWWWWEEERRR!*

9:34 Ooooh, I remember these. I threw stones at their boat and then threw all of them in the sea :D

My favorite part is the creepy soft voice whispering “Deeeeeaaaaaath” every time a villager dies. That’s not unsettling at all to hear as a 17 year old playing the game alone at night with headphones on. 😆 My sister and I still make jokes/references about that.

Dude, you ought to review Giants: Citizen of Kabuto

I don't think I ever finished the campaign in this game, and your review nails the reason for that. It draws you in at the start with the unique gameplay, but wears out its welcome with frustrating controls. You feel like you're fighting the game to perform basic actions. Watching you struggle to draw the heart symbol took me right back to that frustration. It's an ambitious but very flawed game. Thanks for spotlighting it!

I remember them advertising "good" or "evil" special editions in a white or black box. The good white box cost $5 more, but the $5 was donated to charity. So right off the bat you got to make a moral choice in buying the game.

cowsmacking and cowbelly rubbing. THIS IS THE CONTENT I'M HERE FOR.

funny, after all these years i still remembered the boat guys song xD i played B&W alot also B&W2.

B&W is my favorite game. It wasn't just an RTS, it was a unique city building experience that took you away from all the management you had to do for troops & builders. In islands 1-3 you had down time to explore the world. There were secrets to uncover. I remember on map 2 you could get an undead village to worship you by playing a certain song at night. Other RTS games made you hurry to build a base and army as efficiently as you can, but B&W let you enjoy the game, grow your villages, and raise your creature. I've waited so long for someone else to compete with B&W, but in the 18 years that this game has existed, nothing has come close. I expected a new genre to be made, but it's never taken hold and other god games don't have any of the design choices that make B&W such an amazing game to play. With Molyneaux leaving EA & Lionhead studios, I'm saddened to have no expectation for a B&W 3.

If you don't like slapping virtual cows, the game also lets you beat the monkey a lot

Something to do on a cold friday evening

I loved this game as a kid. Sure it’s a bit of a mess, but it was unique. The intro is still amazing to this day. Someone’s already cloned Theme Hospital, now they need to do Black & White, Populous and Theme Park World.

I remember the excitement for this game, it was something epic... More than the excitement for Cyberpunk 2077.

The opening of this game gives me as much chills as a Doom opening for some reason

The music is awesome.. I always wanted to play it, never have.

This game was so cool. I always slapped the cow.

Black and White's launch = Cyberpunk 2001

Hell YES! Ive been waiting for you to do a Black & White review.

Fantastic, in-depth look at one of the most memorable god games of the early 2000's! That may seem like really oddly specific praise, but what can I say? You did a wonderful job, LGR!

I have NEVER clicked so fast on a video notification before in my life!

This is one of the most bizarre games I've never heard of until today. Not uncomfortably or creepily bizarre, just pure, distilled strangeness. That along with it being oldware, I can see a lot of this game fitting snug into something vaporware related. Thanks for covering it, though, LGR. There seem to be tons of weird games that time forgot being discovered as time goes on, and I eat this stuff up.

This game is legendary. I can't believe how realistic these graphics used to look.

miss the time when games cames with a book. Now you have to guess sometimes what something means like in ark.

I played this game as a kid and absolutely loved it. Wether or not the gameplay was polished, it delivered on the goal of feeling like a god game while forcing you to work indirectly. One of the things the reviewer does not mention is that the best way to work outside of your sphere of influence is to use your creature, who is not limited to your realm. The creatures, at least to a generation of Pokémon fanatics, made this game fun. Also, Turtle gang for life.

I implore you review Black & White 2, you've done a phenomenal job reviewing the original.

Anyone else come here to see what Markiplier was talking about? Haha

i remember this at hereticon 2000 . ps: just found out there is a real" hereticon" conference .

I loved Black & White so much, despite it's bugs. It was a chilled experience with many interesting scenarios and beautiful visuals! I liked the second one too, especially the ability to control armies, but found the second one hurried the player through the story instead of letting players build the world at their own pace. Still two of my favorite RTS experiences.

i was like 13 when this released and i somehow got it. i havent heard anything about it prior to release. it is, up to this day, one of my favorite games of all time. it was awesome to have the creature, the temple, building villages, the gestures... i loved everything of it, played it for 2 years probably. even the expansion was awesome for me.

I simply cannot say how many hours I spent playing B&W, Creature Isle expansion, and B&W 2. They were probably part of my life for months every other year the past 15 years. It is a game I can't forget and I do still have all 3 CD's in a case sitting in my desk hutch. Part of me longs to see a Black & White 3.

Anyone having a nostalgia, when you hear that sound when you get your hand out of your influence zone?!@.@ @.@ @.@

I'm happy to see a review of this game in those days and age, really warm me up. But I also want to point out that while the review cover a good portion of the game genius, most of the frustrating part you described just show you don't know about a lot of deep, somehow hidden game mechanics. To quote a few: obligation to beat your creature to teach her, villagers not being helpful, miracles power gestion and some other have reasonable explanations, but are not explicitely told by the game. If you or anyone is curious about how the game work (a lot of detail into the creature AI, which received at the time several computer science awards), here is a good bit of compiled tips for playing Black&White: www.wischik.com/lu/senses/bwhints.html (lots about creature and villagers behavior) www.rdrop.com/~half/General/GameTips/bw.tips.html (more of a "wiki" oriented guide)

Just found this at goodwill today...so excited the play

I came across this video hearing it from a group of game devs we just spoke to -- in 2023, when we discuss AI and gaming. This game is so wild and mind-blowing that shocked me what people came up with more then 20 years ago.

This game needs to be re-released for VR.

Oh this game. I wanted to love it. But it wasn't actually that fun. Found myself chucking rocks to take down another god. Didn't exactly make me feel godlike