You’ve probably seen a bunch of the memes already. Well, I’m nearly 60 hours in Crimson Desert and I too haven’t really left Hernand outside of a few excursions into other regions to see what they look like and to grab some dyes to ensure my fashion game was on point. It isn’t really surprising that so many of us playing Crimson Desert are finding a lot of fun things to do in its starting area.
But what’s really surprising is the feeling that the entire experience is just getting started, with an opening region that’s so rich and four others that are looking as jam-packed with engaging content. I chuckled to myself at jokes saying that the developer could have titled the game ‘Hernand’ and called it a day, and I must say there is some merit to that thought.
But is an opening region that’s this large a sign of a game that’s full of bloat? I’d say no, as Hernand isn’t a long checklist of repetitive activities, but a gradually unfolding story within a story that’s so engaging, it trumps my curiosity to see what the other four regions have to offer. Join me as I take you through why I think that’s the case.
More Than A Tutorial Zone
I’m probably not the only one among us who thought that my time in Hernand was going to be short, a sort of introduction to a bunch of mechanics before I was sent off into Pywel to find a path to Kliff’s destiny. After all, there was such a massive map to explore on the ground, and The Abyss calling to me from high up above.
But Hernand’s intricate politics and the interdependencies between its various factions are just too compelling to leave behind, making it feel like a destination that could put even the most elaborate RPGs to shame. It’s got the density of a sandbox that’s usually in the later stages of a massive game, and just uncovering all it’s landmarks is such a huge part of why it draws you back in.
There are sealed artifacts to pick up, well-hidden caves with valuable loot to discover, strongbox puzzles that took me a while to find and solve, crafting recipes and manuals for food and gear that I expect will serve me well when I finally venture in Demeniss or Calphade, and of course, bosses that have had me quite happy to stay put among its mountains and plains.
That covers Hernand’s size, but what about its scope?
A Complex And Nuanced Landscape
If I were to describe what I see Hernand as after all this time with it, I’d say it’s a vast swathe of land with the city as its beating heart. I’m floored by how a simple meeting with the Marquis de Serkis has thrust me, and Kliff by extension, into an entire life of solving problems for nobles, and improving the region so that its people remember the Greymanes for a long time to come.
Each quest chain starts off so simple before it becomes an elaborate loop of clearing out enemy encampments, battling literal armies, taking on intriguing bosses, solving the complex mechanical layers of a desolate castle, ringing bells to summon the mysterious residents of a hidden village, climbing atop a literal Ent to gain access to said village, and so much more!
And it’s all so subtly woven into the region’s political fabric that Hernand feels alive in a way that makes it so compelling that my efforts to venture into other areas somehow ends with me back in it again, exploring a new part of the area in the service of one faction or another.
Finding Factions
Let me give you a rundown of all the different factions I’ve met, each of them introduced to me so organically I barely even noticed how rapidly the list of people who were depending on the Greymanes began to grow.
There were the Goldleaf Merchants and House Serkis to begin with, each of whom I’m sure we’ve all encountered through the main story. House Celeste gets quickly added to that list the minute you pick up your first bounty poster. Of course, the Greymanes get woven in after setting up shop on Howling Hill. That’s four factions, already, each bringing new avenues to engage with the land in multiple ways.
House Robert, House Grace and House Alfonso quickly get thrown in as you make your way across the land, as do the Witches, The Shia, a whole bunch of vendors who need favors and give you very useful rewards in return, strangers who look to your kindness as you encounter them on the road, and of course, several story quests to begin sending Kliff towards other regions.
One of those requests pointed me in the direction of a fishing village, a quest that soon led me to stumble upon the Catfish Pirates, a meeting that ended up taking up many an entertaining hour! It’s almost as if Hernand’s size was a deliberate choice made to contain its scope within a boundary that would allow it to be its own game map within a larger one.
Remember those story quests I mentioned? If you’re wondering if they’re the reason I haven’t left Hernand, they’re not. Allow me to explain.
A Citizen By Choice
Yes, Crimson Desert’s story might not be its strongest feature. But the ones in Hernand have largely been interesting, between the main narrative and my Greymanes looking to me to help them rebuild the faction. I haven’t moved on from hernand because I find the story to be weak, but rather because it’s too damn hard to leave all my business there unfinished.
It’s presented so well that it has begun to feel like home to me, and I feel invested in its welfare. I’ve spent time with nobles who have helped me find a safe space for my Greymane brethren, while I assisted them with a variety of unique problems in return. I’ve invested in the land, using my Greymane camp’s resources to help its people.
I’ve helped people in villages by freeing those taken prisoner by bandits or pirates and liberating their homes, where I’m now welcomed. I’ve sent my Greymanes to build bridges across crucial trade routes while I’ve helped clean the place up, getting it decidedly free of Bleed Bandits, Fundamentalist Goblins, and Bandits. I took out the one leading the Goldleaf Merchants astray and helped stabilize trade in the region.
I’m now fast friends with its local merchants. I’m more or less a citizen of Hernand myself, and I’ve prided myself on being one that is well-liked and respected.
That isn’t a weak story, but a very intelligent design. And I want to experience and savor it all. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to leave at some point. Here’s why I’m looking forward to that day.
A Fifth Of The Pywel Pie
As the first exploreable of five big ones in Crimson Desert, the fact that Hernand feels like a place you can’t help but come back to speaks very well for the rest of the experience. It means that Crimson Desert has managed to make its players want to stay, which can be tricky for any open-world experience.
If the rest of Pywel is as densely packed with content that feeds into itself, I think Crimson Desert is going to take up all my personal gaming time for the rest of the year, with perhaps only Phantom Blade Zero pulling me away from it. I’ve been playing it as I eat, and think about it when I’m not holding a controller in my hand. I’ve even begun talking through gravelly grunts and an accent, much to the chagrin of my social circle.
With such an immersive opening area, it can be easy to worry that the developer has overplayed its hand by making Hernand this enjoyable, making the other four regions of Crimson Desert feel less intricate and dense by way of comparison. But my limited forays into new areas have given me enough new quest threads to pull at that I’m convinced it isn’t the case. The very existence of that concern is a testament to Hernan’s quality, if you ask me.
The way Hernand is structured is a great showcase of how confident game design can make experiences so unique their very existence becomes the source of discourse around a game, and a lot of it being good. Hernand’s kind of been the stage for Crimson Desert’s recovery from a slow start if you think about it.
It’s a place that has become personal, and I’m hoping that the rest of Pywel is the same. I’d truly be one with its world when I finally put it down if that’s the case. And on that note, I return to Hernand to continue building the Greymane legacy, one enjoyable step at a time.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
