The hottest new Skyrim debate asks a mega-important question: How do you get through Whiterun?

Bethesda
(Image credit: Bethesda)

A Skyrim fan debate over the best route through Whiterun has become hilariously heated.

Just in case it's been a decade since you last jumped into Skyrim, Whiterun is probably the first city most folks stumble across that houses major companions, storylines, and a faction that can curse you with an undercover blessing: the ability to turn into a werewolf.

Why is such an unproblematic city becoming so divisive then? Well, the map of Whiterun below has two different routes through the city drawn on, with the caption asking fans if they're a "red liner or a green liner." And Skyrim enjoyers have some hilariously passionate opinions on the best way to, err, walk across town.

The green lines shows the route that starts at the main gates, cuts across buyable house Breezehome and the market, before scurrying up the stairs to Dragonsreach. The more unconventional red line has you turn left from the main gates and then climb the stairs to the residential area toward Dragonsreach.

Green Liners were expectedly the bigger camp since you essentially ignore the main shops and fun quests otherwise. But some Green Liners were also straight up Red Line Deniers. "Green," one fans tweets, "And if you say anything else, you're lying to yourself."

"No one is actually a red liner, let's be honest," another writes. "If you're not a green liner, block me this fu**ing instant," is just another, one of many viral, genuinely out of pocket but probably completely valid responses.

Some were a diplomatic mix of both routes, however, with commenters sharing that they often like to enter with one route, and leave the city by taking the other route, so they can see everything in one trip.

Either way, Skyrim's clearly a game people are discovering in new ways more than a decade on from launch. After 13 tears, Skyrim fans were still being surprised by the fact that NPCs die when you steal their hearts, a Skyrim VR player rediscovered the game via an "immersive" $15k setup that simulates very real pain, and two massive conversion mods are soon remaking classic Elder Scrolls games within Skyrim. 

One Skyrim veteran says modern open-world games suffer because massive studios with “thousands of people” mean devs can’t “take something and make it your own.”

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.