by RadiumEyes, HSM team writer

The Home Challenges now being completed on my part, I finally got the opportunity to see Castle Durrant in all its medieval glory. The chance to bask in the splendor of your own castle appeals to the inner King Arthur in all of us – the legendary Round Table, a group of knights at your command, the rulings and rituals that come with early medieval court life. Romanticized versions of this era abound, with depictions of the legendary Saxon king Arthur being one of the greatest examples; one can find a dozen different variations on the Arthurian legends in the time it takes to sneeze, ranging from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s writings to numerous films.

So imagine having a Home interpretation of a monarch’s residence at your disposal. Castles are enormous buildings, with innumerable rooms inside and an expansive courtyard without. Castle Durrant ostensibly provides users with that experience, as the final reward offered after completing enough Challenges to reach the final, fifth tier – before you get there, however, one must proceed through the previous three reward tiers, obtaining items such as a ruffle dress and a grill made from an oil drum, along with a throne that fits well with the personal space itself. It’s a fairly long process, but does this feel all that rewarding once you find yourself within the castle gates?

Well, the castle itself, for me, seems a little disappointing as a space; as it stands, Castle Durrant consists of the exterior courtyard (immediately inside the gate, which cannot be opened presently) and a single room, which can be used as a throne room. It doesn’t feel that majestic – when you’re confined to one room and the inner courtyard, it gives off the impression that Arthur misplaced the keys to his kingdom. From what I can see, it’s pretty well-designed – the ramparts are grand, and you can see visible wear on the tiles inside, a nice detail. The atmosphere has quite a bit going for it, aesthetically; the imposing towers and the heraldic motifs give it some much-needed splendor and magnificence.

For all that magnificence, however, the space is rather small – most of the doors are shut, as is the gate, leaving the user wondering what lies beyond.  Now, I won’t be harsh on the space itself for being comparatively diminutive; this is a reward, after all, and more elaborate spaces have price tags attached. Still, I could see this being only part of a larger collection of interconnected spaces, with this being the “hub” to which all others branch out from. Having the throne room available as the only accessible interior space (at least, thus far; who knows what the next season will bring?) significantly limits the owner, giving the impression that there’s more to it, but the other portals remain inextricably locked.

Castle Durrant would benefit greatly from additional content, in the form of several rooms; of course, spaces such as the Complex and the original Mansion already did this, but the latter particularly suffers from having each space act as a separate unit. You can access the Mansion spaces through doorways connecting one to the other, but the sense of cohesion is disrupted when you materialize in another space instead of seamlessly move from one room to the next. With Castle Durrant, one could develop a more open world where transitioning between areas doesn’t involve going into another personal space entirely. This epitomizes medieval regality and opulence, and having it rather spacious would emphasize that point.

As said, this feels more like a closed-off space than a full castle; you’re restricted to a small area, limiting your actions to a small courtyard and a room that could be feasibly used to place a throne or a wedding ceremony. Machinimists hoping for an expansive space to stage a nice video focusing on medieval lore would have to do with small quarters in Castle Durrant; to continue the film dialogue, it looks as though a director hoping to film here would be hard-pressed to effectively utilize it. This reminds me of how Orson Welles had to do with noticeable budget restraints after his post-Kane works (e.g., The Magnificent Ambersons and It’s All True) either didn’t pan out or were edited by others when he was away. His adaptation of Macbeth, for example, was an attempt by him to show that he could release a film both on time and within budget, which he accomplished; today, that film is considered one of his better works, although Citizen Kane remains his magnum opus.

I bring up Orson Welles because his experiences with film after his most famous work were rather lacking in comparison to his major success; Castle Durrant came out after so many popular spaces (such as the SeaClyff Retreat and the Japanese Teahouse), and it simply doesn’t compare to the sheer scope of the greats. People love the more elaborate ones because they can achieve so much more there – I can’t overstate how wonderfully made SeaClyff retreat is, for example, and the Teahouse remains one of my all-time favorites due to its built-in tea ceremony and beautiful aesthetics.

Still, I can see potential in Castle Durrant. With further development, this could become the big castle that it currently only hints at. Think of all the great castles dotting Europe, and imagine having access to the various rooms contained therein – that could be Durrant, if it opened up. For now, it’s a somewhat lonely place, with that room on the side; seeing more of it would be excellent.

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3 Responses to “Castle Durrant, or Pendragon Lite”

1. Phoenix says:

   November 15, 2013 at 1:53 pm

   Thank You RadiumEyes! this is a great read. I am a Fan of Arthurian history. I have been working whenever time permitted to getting to tier 5. Last night the notice read “You have reached the highest level this season..” I was freaked out I haven’t reached the castle. Do I keep going or is it over for me til next season? Knowing the size I still want Castle Durrant.

   Reply
   • Kassadee Marie says:

     November 15, 2013 at 4:50 pm

     Keep going! The castle is won at level 5 (4500 points), even though it says you can’t earn any more this season. I stopped doing the challenges until I heard some people had the castle already. I was very disappointed that the game had such a glaring misrepresentation in it and Sony has done nothing to fix it.

     Reply
2. Gary160974 says:

   November 16, 2013 at 5:11 pm

   It sums up the whole of 2013 for home. Things look great but more often than not it’s over too quick or just disappointing. This year has lacked the hype of other years with updates becoming just items to buy. Problem is the more items you buy the slower and worse home works for you. Making the user experience for people that spend loads worse isn’t great.

   Reply