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From Software is known for Dark Souls and Elden Ring, but before all that, there was King's Field, a series of slow and tough first-person RPGs from the PS1 era. Queen's Domain can, in more ways than one, be considered a clear tribute to those games, and everyone who had the honour of playing at least one of them will know what I'm talking about.
I liked it from the first minutes, mostly because of how it looks and how it plays. But the start of the game is so hard and unbalanced that I can easily see many players giving up before the game shows what it can really do. I know I almost did.
Washed Up on Neasied
The story begins with you washing up on the shores of the Isle of Neasied, a mysterious island full of monsters and secrets. You are there to find your father, who went missing on the island. Right from the start, Queen's Domain sets up an interesting plot. In true Souls-like fashion, you're thrown into the centre of the action, and the story slowly unravels as you progress through the game.
As you push deeper, you slowly uncover the dark heart of the island and the mystery of a sleeping queen who rests at its centre. I cannot say the story was something that kept me going through the game. As I said, it is kind of interesting, but since the game inherits everything from the PS1 era, the story follows the same patterns; it feels too "gamey" and lacks the modern touch we have grown used to.
The adventure is not a short one either. Queen's Domain is a really lengthy game, and if you're up for exploration, it will take you more than a couple of dozen hours to complete. I mostly followed the main story, and it took me more than 20 hours to finish.
No Dodge, No Block, No Mercy
Queen's Domain is played in first person, and you explore one big interconnected island that often feels like a labyrinth. Danger and secrets are hidden around every corner, so it pays to look around carefully. Since the game is some sort of Souls-like predecessor, you can expect unforgiving difficulty and shrines where you can save the game and reset the world, which, of course, respawns the enemies as well.
Your main tool is Endu, a legendary sword that you use not only for fighting but also for exploring and even flying. This adds a traversal element and some verticality to the game, and it makes moving around the island more interesting.
There is a lot of different gear to find and play with. The game features over 50 melee weapons, more than 20 secondary weapons and over 100 enemies, mini-bosses and bosses. You level up with XP, and this mechanic is as simple as it can possibly be. There is no investing points into different stats or anything like that; all you do is kill enemies and pile up experience, and once you gain a new level, the game improves your stats on its own. Simple as that.
You can also boost your stats by eating food, and accessories let you build your character the way you like. Combat uses a stamina bar and charged attacks, so you cannot just swing your weapon without thinking; every hit has to be calculated. Apart from melee weapons, you'll use throwables, like throwing daggers that recharge over time, and at the beginning of the game, you'll be forced to abuse this mechanic all the time.
My biggest complaint about Queen's Domain is the difficulty at the very beginning. There is no defensive option, like dodging or blocking, and the enemies hit very hard. In the first hours, I died a lot, and with my starting gear, there was not much I could do about it. The first boss killed me more times than I care to admit, not because he was hard or tanky, but because my gear was simply no match for him.
Things changed once I found better equipment. With stronger weapons, the fights felt fairer, and I started to enjoy the combat and exploration much more. The problem is that the game will definitely test your resolve for a while, and I can see many players giving up due to this rough beginning.
However, quitting this early would be a shame, because there is a solid RPG hiding behind this rough start. A simple block or dodge, or a gentler first area, would work wonders for Queen's Domain, but it seems the developers didn't see it that way.
A Game From Another Era
The art style is the first thing that caught my attention. Queen's Domain is not pixel art. Instead, it looks like it was made back in the early days of 3D gaming, with 16-bit colours and everything that comes with them. When you look at the textures closely, you can clearly see the blocky pixels, and that is part of the game's charm. Queen's Domain reminded me a lot of the first Doom game I played more than 30 years ago, and it was a pure nostalgia trip for me.
The game has a very unique look, and the best part is that it never feels cheap. It feels like a deliberate choice that fits the King's Field inspiration perfectly, and it makes Queen's Domain stand out from almost everything else I have played of late.
The sounds, especially the background music, didn't sit well with me, though. I won't say the music is bad; it fits the era the game takes its inspiration from perfectly. However, it tends to become quite repetitive and overly loud, and it can easily become boring. That rarely happens to me, since I really love music in video games, but here I had to turn it down at some point because it became distracting.
I played the game on PC (Ryzen 9 5900X, RTX 3080 Ti, 32 GB RAM), and as you might assume, the game ran almost flawlessly. I had one crash while saving the game for the first time, followed by a "Fatal Error" message, but all I did was restart the game, and everything was back to normal. The game ran at over 100 FPS all the time, so I have no complaints here.
Conclusion
Queen's Domain is a game made for a very specific audience. If you grew up with King's Field or the early first-person games of the '90s, its look alone will take you back in time, just like it did for me. Behind that charming retro style hides a big island to explore, a flying sword that adds some welcome verticality, and enough weapons and gear to keep you busy for more than 20 hours.
Sadly, the game does itself no favours with its opening. With no way to dodge or block and starting gear that is no match for the enemies, the first hours feel more like punishment than challenge. I fear many players will not stick around long enough to see the game at its best. Add the repetitive and loud music, and Queen's Domain is far from perfect. Still, if you have the patience to survive its first few hours, it rewards you with one of the most unique retro RPGs I have played so far.
The Good
Unique retro art style- Interconnected island
- Huge weapon variety
- Simple levelling system
- Smooth performance on PC
The Bad
Brutal opening hours- No dodging or blocking
- Repetitive, loud music
