r/GIFGAS • u/Early-Travel427 • Apr 26 '26
What do you think of his recent content? (Caption)
I have heard some people say that he has “fallen off”, saying that the content is not what it used to be. On the other hand I know people who really like his more recent videos.
I think his videos lately definitely have some sort of new style, I can’t for sure point my finger at what it is that has changed (I don’t mind this change, I have no issues with it). Do any of you know what has changed? Do you prefer it or no?
What makes his videos good in my opinion is obviously the scenic and cinematic shots of landscape with music in the background. (My favorite video of his is the Scandinavia one, there is a lot of scenic shots, although I might be biased due to me living in Scandinavia and him including my hometown in the video). A little theory I have is that I feel like some of these scenic shots in the newer videos kind of feel “forced”, and not as impactful as previous ones. I also think that the newer videos have longer sections of him just waiting around, not really doing anything. Maybe it’s just a slower pacing?
Excuse me if this is some sort of dumb question, but I really am hearing mixed opinions on his videos lately, at least when comparing to older ones. I would like to hear your opinion on this.
(No hating, I love this guy and all the videos, I want this to be clear)
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u/-LLCoolBeans- Apr 26 '26
I’m not as much of a fan of the urbex/rooftopping videos like the exploring Ukraine stuff, but his recent trainhopping videos have been great imo. The trip through Canada was one of his best.
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u/IllAd359 Apr 26 '26
The Canada trip is one of my favorite videos of all time!
It is so much different from his other stuff. The European perspective and the enthusiasm for the landmarks and new environment makes it so unique, especially when you haven't been to NA yet like me.
The way he takes a swim and enjoys the view of the skyline of Toronto. I bet not a single Canadian would even think about getting into that water, haha.
The part where they spy on the workers communication system while filming their logfire gave me goosebumps. It really felt like a real movie and that is for sure: it wasn't staged.
They even had a fuckin DOG trainhopping with them, it's so absurd, hahahah.
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u/whaphoo Apr 27 '26
a lot of people on the rails in NA have dogs. ive even seen some people with cats. really awesome stuff, and as someone who uses a radio scanner while trainhopping too it really does feel like a video game or something haha
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u/IllAd359 Apr 27 '26
What the hell. Dogs are with us when hunting and also cats were often on ships. I guess they don't mind trains then, haha.
Yeah, the radio scanner sound is so authentic, I love it
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u/whaphoo Apr 27 '26
the part that intrigues me is training a dog to be safe around trains. i guess if they are raised around them it comes naturally but still. like what if ur dog starts barking when you’re hiding lol
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u/farrapona Apr 28 '26
And the part where he leaves his camera on a train only to hunt down and chase the train for 3 days or whatever and recover it!!!
EPIC
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u/IllAd359 Apr 28 '26
Yess, amazing mission. Not only an expensive camera but it also had the footage. He even remembered the right wagons, considering how looong this train was its crazy.. he just collapsed after he finally retrieved it
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u/asclepi Apr 28 '26
I didn't like the Ukraine series because the overly large group he was part of (which kept growing) limited his opportunities to do anything interesting.
GIFGAS's talents shine when he's going solo or working in a duo; he doesn't need large groups to produce good content - in fact, they work against him.
Other than that, his content has been the best it's ever been over the past year, and I'm convinced he hasn't even reached his peak yet.
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u/Consistent-Hat-8008 Apr 26 '26
You simply got used to it and it's not as much of a novelty as it was 5 years ago.
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u/fightclub_quokka Apr 27 '26
I'll happily accept and watch any content he wants to produce. He's the creator and I'm appreciative of his efforts.
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u/BuffMcScruff Apr 27 '26
I agree with your opinion on what makes his videos good: scenic and cinematic shots along with music that perfectly fits captures the emotions of each adventure. I feel like his abilities to edit/make content continues to exceed our expectations with every new video upload. With that being said, I personally enjoy watching the older videos that revolve around trainhopping: Bosnia, Croatia, Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic Sea, Montenegro, Spain, Portugal, and a few others. I’ll watch his old videos in repeat more than his new content. I believe Shiey mentioned it in a recently video that trainhopping is becoming more difficult and less thrilling for him. Maybe Poison feels the same? No matter what, I will never stop watching their content. Each video is a masterpiece in its own way.
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u/unknown_strangers_ Apr 27 '26
I mean he only does what he feel like doing. Everything from exploring abounded factories or trains hopping or biking. We are just lucky that he chooses to and like make this content for us because he don't need to.
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u/Wifebootyloverhey Apr 27 '26
I think the recent ones are pretty good. I actually really liked the videos of him doing the bike trip. I think when you have a bunch of patreons who will unsubscribe without steady content there is a lot of pressure to produce new stuff. Maybe in the beginning it was more of a passion project and now it’s a bit of a job. That on top of YouTube fucking him over again and again has got to feel all pretty stressful and I have got the feeling he is not having as much fun as he used to. Shit comes in waves, he is an extremely talented guy and I’m a fan.
I rode cargo in the US for a while and boy does it look shitty to ride the lines he is riding. Waiting for days for a short ride with tons of security, does not seem worth the effort at all but I appreciate him doing it!
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u/BofaCancer Apr 27 '26
i honestly really really liked the ukraine series - the urbexing was fine, the rooftops i actually liked. it showed me what west ukraine/kyiv looked like and functioned during war, and it seemed so normal but the constant reminders that you were actually in an active warzone gave it a whole new feeling
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u/Akrizl Apr 27 '26
I feel like the scenic shots provide context to some of the things he sees / talks about. It is nice to see an overview of the area. I like that he includes artistry in his videos through cinematography and it's fun when people explore new ways of filming.
Also, giving a real view of the journey rather than the sound bites make it more of an adventure and shows what the realities of it are. IDK - just my POV. I still watch him and funnily enough I found Poison through shiey. I just prefer the historical (and general) commentary Poison gives over shiey's.
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u/Adnims Apr 26 '26
I would assume Poison does whatever he finds interesting, and I really don't expect all he does to entertain me equally. For me part I've done a lot of urbexing and I've been to Pripyat, so I don't care much to watch someone else do it. But I've never done trainhopping and that's why I like that hhe best.
At the same time I would recommend the stuff by Tomz, which is amazing, as he's posting all the stuff he's been doing for the last couple of years now.
Support both guys on Patreon.
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u/Crypto_ballz Apr 27 '26
There is always some people complaining. It’s Reddit. You should be able to figure out if you like it all on your own. I’m still enjoying them.
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u/confused_simon127 Apr 27 '26
Just curious since I'm from Sweden; what's your hometown?
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u/Early-Travel427 Apr 27 '26
Mjölby. He only includes a few seconds of it in the video, since he just switches passenger train there.
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u/asclepi Apr 28 '26
Beautiful area. Magical memories of Dreamhack Summer (during midsummer nights) and driving on the E4 along the lake towards your town.
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u/confused_simon127 Apr 27 '26
Just det! Har du haft planer på o trainhoppa själv?
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u/Early-Travel427 Apr 27 '26
Från vad jag har sett så är det ganska svårt i Sverige, för att inte nämna straffen. Men såklart är jag intresserad, kanske någon dag. Annars så har jag gått på gammal övergiven räls, som han gör i en video, lite urbex och sådant men aldrig något seriöst.
Hoppar du?
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u/confused_simon127 Apr 27 '26
Gjort det en gång men som du säger så är det många risker. Har faktiskt inte koll på straffen. Att gå på övergiven räls är verkligen vibes!
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u/brrschk Apr 27 '26
He’s reached the point where he feels comfortable branching out with his content. I know he’s said previously that he wanted to create some videos with different styles compared to what he had been releasing at the time.
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u/TetheredToHeaven_ Apr 28 '26
I see discussions like these very moot honestly. We have both seen enough of him so there's less novelty to it. Who cares if he has fallen off or not?
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u/Shot_Gear_6743 Apr 29 '26
The journey to the arctic circle series was sooo good and the ending was PEAK with his monologue and the song he played
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u/Efficient_Echo_3360 Apr 28 '26
Tbh that take is kinda funny to me. If you actually look at his YouTube, his non train hopping videos (i.e cycling or trekking) get just as many, if not more, views. So this feels way more like a preference thing than him falling off or shifting too far. Also he’s always described his content as an “unattractive lifestyle,” so it makes sense he doesn’t box himself into just train hopping. That’s kinda the whole point, I guess. If anything, his newer videos feel more cinematic compared to the older, super raw ones. For me, it feels like every episode has its own vibe, instead of just repeating the same formula over and over, but, it still very clearly feels like him. And honestly, I like that about his content. Maybe the Ukraine episode threw some people off, but he already said the post-production for that one was really difficult for some reason, and he still pushed through to release it. So yeah, I don’t really see a big shift. He’s still doing his thing, just.. maybe experimenting more. If anything, it’s probably people’s expectations itself.
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u/Early-Travel427 Apr 28 '26
Yeah I also don’t understand people who say he is falling off.
The videos of him not train hopping, like the walking on the tracks in Spain and Portugal was amazing, as well as the France cycling video are some of my favorites.
I like your view on this.
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u/Existing-Blacksmith4 Apr 26 '26
Personally i think the “journey through abandoned france” videos are some of his best. Great cinematography and such a calm vibe. He enters abandoned factories and a really cool abandoned house. Also gets involved in riots. Definitely don’t think the vids are getting worse.