I just got done playing an early build of Queen’s Domain and I cannot state how impressed I am that such a short and sweet demo could leave such a strong impression. You might be able to gather from the title, but Queen’s Domain is an attempt at recreating the magic of FromSoftware’s classic series King’s Field. There’s been something of a resurgence in interest surrounding the series over the past few years, with a few delves into the genre, most notably for me, Monomyth and Lunacid.
Right out of the gate, I was floored by Queen’s Domain; its visuals are utterly gorgeous, and the atmosphere it manages to build early on is fantastic. It’s not remotely as claustrophobic as King’s Field can often be, rather opting for a wider open landscape over small and crowded dungeons and corridors. There’s an almost dreamlike feeling to the overworld areas, with a beautiful and subtle fog, which combines with the gentle lighting to make for a genuinely impeccable vibe. The music lends to this too, while the mixing is a little off, with the music being a little too prominent at default, it’s damn good music.
This isn’t to say Queen’s Domain is inherently relaxing, though; the beasts that roam the land are weird amalgamations of other creatures, such as the Chicket, being a chicken and a cricket, or the Ratty Bug, which combines rats and ladybugs. They’re not horrific, but there’s a definite uncertainty to the world and its inhabitants.
Combat exists, and it’s fine. I’m not in love with it quite yet, but I also wouldn’t directly call it an action game. It’s very reminiscent of King’s Field’s systems, having a naturally recharging Power bar, which determines your damage. This leads to a slow back and forth with the combat, but it also contributes to a serious feeling of intention behind your actions. Enemies in this build weren’t super threatening, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t die a couple of times due to my own bad decisions.
There are only a few weapons in this build; I found the basic Sword, Club, and Spear, each of which was underwhelming at first glance, but absolutely has it’s own value. They also have alternative attacks, which serve as more unique options and tools. The Sword has a dash, which is a fast and efficient method for finishing off distant and weak enemies, alongside rapid repositioning, at the cost of your charging power. The Club has a slow but strong slam, which I admittedly didn’t get much value out of, but I can see certain instances where it might thrive. Finally, the Spear has a quick sweeping attack. Alongside this, weapons have one of three damage types: Slash, Pierce and Impact, each having particular use cases.
It’s not perfect, though. While the combat is awkward, it can also feel a little too punishing. The skeletons have an awkwardly long range lunge attack, which can make dodging feel almost impossible, making every attack incredibly risky.
I only recently stumbled into Queen’s Domain, but it’s gone from completely off my radar to one of my most anticipated indies of the near future, and I cannot wait to see how it grows from here. Unfortunately, there’s no concrete release window yet, but Freshly Baked Games are rolling out information in their Discord and its steam page.