Welcome to the first part of our Herdling walkthrough series! This guide will help you get through Chapter 1, showing you where to go, how to solve the early puzzles, and how to collect and tame those adorable (but slightly chaotic) Calicorns. Plus, we’ll cover the achievements you can snag along the way.
Let’s jump right in—your character literally wakes up on a mattress in a sketchy little alley, so things can only go up from here.
How to Start Chapter 1
- Roll out of bed (er… mattress) and leave the alley.
- Turn left and follow the path toward the honking car.
- You’ll see a swirl of leaves appear in an animation—this basically means you’re on the right track.
- Cross the street and head toward the broken fences.
Taming Your First Calicorn
- Up ahead, under the lamp, you’ll spot your very first Calicorn.
- Wait for it to ram the tree near the lamp—this makes a wooden rod drop.
- Pick up the rod, then use it to knock the bucket off the Calicorn’s head.
- Hold Y (Xbox) to tame it. You can type in a custom name or hit X for a random one (I went with the RNG gods and got “Toots,” no regrets).
👉 Pro tip: Use RT (right trigger) to guide your Calicorn. You can either tap it to redirect or hold it down to steer. Honestly, I found a mix of both works best—just depends on how rowdy your new buddy feels.
How to Get All Three Calicorns
- Guide your Calicorn down the illuminated alley.
- Keep going past the parking lot, then down a sloped path where the alley splits in two. You’ll find new Calicorns on both sides.
Path 1 – Straight Ahead
- There’s a Calicorn trapped behind a gate.
- Leave your current Calicorn behind for a sec, climb the elevated platforms on the right, and circle around to unlock the gate.
- Once free, tame this Calicorn with the usual Y-hold trick.
Path 2 – Opposite Side
- The noise you’ve been making may have already lured another Calicorn nearby.
- Walk up to it and tame it as well.
🎉 Achievement unlocked: Making Friends (you now have 3 Calicorns following you around like a squad in an MMO dungeon).
Solving the Blocked Path Puzzle
- Guide your Calicorn crew toward the blocked path at the alley’s end.
- Push the big container out of the way to move forward.
- Take a quick detour to the bus stop mural—it actually changes in real-time, which is a cool little Easter egg moment.
Finishing the Chapter
- Keep heading left through the streets.
- At the very end, you’ll find a long gate blocking the path to some grass fields.
- Push the gates open, step through, and boom—you’ve officially finished Chapter 1.
🎉 Achievement unlocked: Chapter One Clear (not the official name, but you get the idea).
FAQ’s
You use the right trigger (RT). Tap it to nudge your Calicorn in a new direction, or hold it to keep them moving away from you. Think of it like herding sheep with a magical controller—sometimes they cooperate, sometimes they’re chaos gremlins.
The official achievement you unlock at the end of Chapter 1 is called “Opening the Way.” This pops up once you push open the big gate leading to the grassy fields. (My “Chapter One Clear” nickname wasn’t totally off though 👀).
Yup! Once you unlock Chapter Select later in the game, you can go back to replay Chapter 1 (or any chapter) to scoop up missed achievements, collectibles, or Calicorn taming moments. No stress if you didn’t nail everything on the first run.
Chapter 1 of Herdling is like the game’s “tutorial dungeon,” easing you into the Calicorn-taming lifestyle while sprinkling in some light puzzles.
You’ll walk away with a squad of three Calicorns, a couple achievements, and a taste of what the game’s herding mechanics are all about.
