Herobrine or Diamonds

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Part of a series on Minecraft. [View Related Entries]

About

Herobrine or Diamonds Videos, also known as You Can Save Only One videos, refers to a Minecraft video format in which two characters or objects of different value stand on separate, single Minecraft blocks surrounded by nothing. The player must choose which one to save by destroying the block under the other and building a path to the choice. The trend began with videos showing Herobrine on one block and diamonds on another before expanding to other subjects, with Herobrine often turning on the player and attacking them after they pick the diamonds.

Origin

On October 17th, 2020, TikToker^[1] @nynoxe_mc posted a video in which a Minecraft character with his head down stands on one isolated floating block over a lava pit and a pile of diamonds sit on another (shown below). In the video, the player chooses the diamonds, building a path to them and grabbing them. He then digs out the block under the character, but he floats instead of falls. The character then reveals itself to be Herobrine and chases the player in a stylized way. The video gained over 60 million views in 10 months.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6884662525200256258

Spread

The trend spread over the course of 2021 across TikTok and YouTube, starting with more videos in which players choose between either diamonds or Herobrine with different results. On March 3rd, 2021, TikToker^[2] @pigpongyt posted a video of the player saving Herobrine, only to have him betray them and kill them, gaining over 522,000 views in five months (shown below). Some videos swap out Herobrine or the diamonds for other characters, items or objects.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6935571456277384454

On March 21st, YouTuber^[3] Gamerz Craft posted a compilation of Herobrine vs. Diamond videos, gaining over 1.9 million views in five months (shown below).

The format has been used in many Minecraft videos since. For example, on April 6th, YouTuber^[4] Lemon Craft posted a video of Minecraft skits including a section where he chooses between a number of female Minecraft players to save, gaining over 16 million views in four months (shown below).