Queen's Domain

Before Dark Souls, and even before Demon's Souls, there was King's Field. It was the prototype for the things to come, but sadly the series came to an end long ago. In it's demise, came the Souls-Borne genre, and the rise of Bethesda style fantasy games. The thing is, in recent years we've seen the rise of many genres, and styles of gameplay we long thought dead. Survival horror made a massive return, and so, why not an obscure fantasy series? Well it seems like a talented developer has decided to bring back the legendary King's Field in a new game, with Queen's Domain!


Hail to the Queen, baby!

I have to admit, Queen's Domain didn't exactly get off to the best start with me. Initially, I found myself struggling to enjoy it, with enemies feeling rather spongy and combat lacking some of the defensive options I've come to expect from this sort of experience. There's no traditional blocking, dodging or countering, unless you're using a particular weapon, and while that gives the game its own identity, I wasn't entirely convinced by it at first. It felt a little like Dark Souls, only harsher in some respects and more forgiving in others. Seeing so much praise for it made me wonder whether I was missing something, so I persevered for another hour or so. Thankfully, things eventually started to click, and I found myself becoming rather taken with it. In fact, I think I can safely say that I low-key love Queen's Domain. It has a fantastic sense of adventure, some genuinely clever level design, and a progression system that kept me wanting to see what was around the next corner.

One of the first things that caught my attention was its low-poly aesthetic and overall presentation. There's something wonderfully charming about the way Queen's Domain looks, with its chunky environments, character models and weapon designs giving it a distinct visual identity. The world itself isn't necessarily doing anything groundbreaking with its fantasy themes or monster designs, but there's enough weirdness and originality to make it memorable. You'll encounter some wonderfully bizarre creatures and bosses, including a giant whale, while the Tower of Knowledge features some particularly grotesque body horror that wouldn't look out of place in The Thing. It's a lovely mixture of familiar fantasy ideas and stranger, more unsettling concepts, all brought together with an art style that I found consistently appealing.

The music is a little more of a mixed bag, however. There are some decent tracks, and I think the game does a good job of recreating that sort of 90s and early 2000s techno atmosphere. Unfortunately, the tracks are often quite short, and given how long you'll spend exploring certain areas, they can become rather repetitive. A groovy little 90-second loop can quickly turn into nails on a chalkboard when you've been listening to it for the better part of half an hour. I eventually found myself lowering the music volume because some of the tracks became a little too intrusive. It's a shame, as I generally enjoy a good looping soundtrack, but there's a difference between something that fades into the background and something that keeps demanding your attention. Oblivion is a good example of the former, with its pleasant outdoor music becoming part of the atmosphere without overstaying its welcome. Queen's Domain doesn't always manage that same balance.


Live, fight, explore, die, and then .... load your last saved game?

Combat is perhaps the biggest hurdle to overcome, and I think the game takes a little while to explain how you're supposed to approach it. Once I started understanding the strength meter and got my hands on throwing knives, things became considerably more enjoyable. This isn't really a traditional hack-and-slash experience, and you'll often find yourself holding down your attack button until the strength meter fills before unleashing a strike. There are other tools at your disposal, too, including torches and throwing knives, which can make encounters feel more manageable once you understand how everything fits together. When it works, combat feels crunchy and punchy, with a satisfying sense of impact behind your attacks. There's a decent variety of enemies, too, and for the most part, they're positioned well enough to make encounters interesting.

There's one other aspect of the combat that I found a little disappointing, and that's the stamina system. Unlike your health, which increases as you level up, your stamina remains the same throughout your adventure. I understand the design choice, as it encourages you to be a little more deliberate with your attacks, but looking back, I do wish it had been handled differently. Whether that meant allowing stamina to increase alongside your other attributes or simply removing the meter altogether, I think combat would have benefited from a little more freedom. As it stands, you'll often find yourself holding down your attack button, unleashing a strike, and then backing away to let your stamina recharge before doing it all over again. It's never particularly frustrating, but it does make encounters feel a little more restrictive and repetitive than they perhaps need to be. A more generous stamina pool, or a system that encouraged a little more aggression, could have made combat feel considerably more fluid and engaging.

Difficulty is generally handled quite well, and I never felt that the game was particularly unfair. That said, there are a handful of occasions where it can be a little cheap with its enemy placement and ambushes. One particular moment in the basement of the Tower of Knowledge, leading towards a lava cave, caught me completely off guard. I hopped onto a small standing platform, only for an explosive enemy to appear seemingly out of nowhere and kill me almost instantly. It's the sort of thing that can cost you another 20 or 30 minutes of progress, and there are a few other moments like this scattered throughout. Thankfully, these instances are relatively uncommon, and the game generally does a good job of teaching you its mechanics and allowing you to learn from your mistakes.

I also think it's worth mentioning that combat is considerably narrower than something like Elden Ring. There's a handful of magical and ranged weapons, some of which become quite impressive later on, but the general focus is very much on getting up close and personal. Most weapons have their own personality and purpose, though, and I found myself appreciating how many of them offered something a little different. My personal favourite is the Holy Sword Endu, which is not only a rather cool melee weapon but also provides a fantastic traversal ability.

It allows you to leap through the air, propelling yourself across gaps and opening up areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. It's a brilliant addition, and one that completely changed how I approached exploration. I do wish there was a little more variety in how combat encounters played out, though, as even some of the grander boss fights can eventually boil down to the same familiar routine. Light enemies with your torch, throw a few knives, land some attacks, and repeat. It works well enough against regular enemies, but it's a little disappointing when even the biggest bosses can succumb to the same formula. Some encounters end up feeling more tedious than challenging as a result.


What is this? Some kind of King's Field?

Thankfully, exploration and level design are where Queen's Domain really shines. Once I got my hands on the Holy Sword Endu and started experimenting with its traversal abilities, I was completely sold. The world is wonderfully interconnected, with enough complexity to make exploration feel rewarding without becoming overwhelmingly confusing. There are plenty of familiar fantasy locations, but the game does a good job of making them feel memorable. You'll explore rotting underground domains with enormous trees looming overhead, mythical twilight areas that reminded me a little of Elden Ring, water temples, castles, caves and towers filled with all manner of slimy body horror. There's a lovely sense of discovery throughout, and I always found myself wondering what sort of strange location or hidden secret I might stumble across next.

There's also a nice Metroidvania quality to the progression, with new abilities and equipment gradually opening up previously inaccessible areas. The Holy Sword Endu is a particularly good example of this, as collecting soul gems allows you to increase the number of aerial leaps you can perform, making it possible to reach even more distant platforms and uncover hidden locations. It's a simple idea, but one that works exceptionally well with the game's interconnected world. You'll regularly find yourself revisiting familiar areas with new abilities, discovering shortcuts, upgrades and secrets that you couldn't access earlier. There are some puzzles to solve along the way, too, and I generally enjoyed the way these were incorporated into the environment.

Not every secret is particularly well signposted, however, and there were a few occasions where I found myself scratching my head. One particular library puzzle, which required collecting books scattered throughout the environment, was especially frustrating. Some of these books were tucked away in rather random places and blended into the scenery so well that I eventually resorted to looking up a guide. Thankfully, this wasn't representative of the entire experience, and I was able to figure out most of the game's secrets and puzzles without too much assistance. There's a healthy amount of loot to discover, and I always felt that exploring off the beaten path was worth the effort.

There are a few technical oddities that are worth mentioning, too. On several occasions, enemies would seemingly appear right next to me out of nowhere, which could be rather annoying when I was already dealing with other threats. I experienced this around half a dozen times, and I couldn't quite work out whether it was related to the game's enemy aggro system. Enemies can be particularly persistent, often following you across huge distances and leaping through the environment to reach you. I did have one rather amusing encounter in the Tower of Knowledge, where a giant enemy followed me downstairs and all the way outside, only to fall to its death after I leapt across a broken bridge. It was a wonderfully silly moment, even if it did make me question exactly how far some of these creatures were willing to chase me.

Overall?

Ultimately, despite my initial reservations and a handful of frustrations, I really do love Queen's Domain. It's one of those games this year that I genuinely struggled to put down, and that's largely because of its fantastic sense of adventure and discovery. The combat might be a little restrictive, the bosses can become repetitive, and there are certainly some rough edges that could use a little more polish. But the world, its interconnected level design, satisfying progression and wonderful low-poly presentation kept drawing me back in. It's a game that takes a little patience to appreciate, but once everything clicks, there's a wonderfully compelling adventure waiting underneath its initially rather unforgiving exterior.

+++ Fantastic level design, with a highly rewarding sense of adventure
++ Visuals look awesome, and plenty of interesting environments
++ Solid combat with lots of enemy variety
+ Gripping and satisfying sense of progression

- Music is nice, but is looped to be a bit tedious on repeat
- Steep learning curve
- Some technical hiccups through my playthrough

An Xbox Series S/X review key of Queen's Domain was kindly provided by the publisher