PS1 Throwback Queen’s Domain Might Be The Best Way To Play The Classic Fantasy Games It’s Based On

Earlier this year, I dabbled in the King’s Field series for the very first time. I loved what I played, even if the FromSoftware classic really showed its age. It was nonetheless a fascinating peek into the pedigree behind the beloved Dark Souls games (and Elden Ring after that), and an interesting (if clonky) adventure in its own right. Anyway, I didn’t expect that knowledge to be so immediately relevant, but here we are with Queen’s Domain. It’s a brand new indie from Freshly Baked Games, and it’s directly based on King’s Field, going so far as to try to replicate PS1-era visual styles and color schemes as well as FromSoftware’s propensity for vague, ominous storytelling and deeply messed-up monsters. I’ve only managed to squeeze in an hour so far (Ocarina of Time and WoW: Forever both came out last night, it’s a busy week!), but I think I may already be sold on this being the best way to experience King’s Field in 2026, despite it not being a literal King’s Field game. © Freshly Baked Games You play as a prince, setting off to an island in search of your missing father who disappeared while on his own quest to stop the rise of a sinister sleeping queen. Shipwrecked on your way, you show up to the Isle of Neasied with nothing at all, and when you arrive, your father is nowhere to be found and his soldiers are scattered. After speaking to the quintessential Dark Souls depressed guy by a bonfire and collecting the crappiest possible weapon from him, you explore the isle, slowly chipping away at the plodding, bug-like monsters that inhabit its outer areas as you try to find some clue as to where your father went, and how to get deeper into the island. Sound familiar? That is…not quite but almost verbatim the opening to King’s Field IV, right down to the beetle-shaped enemies that you have to circle around and whap whenever your stamina meter is full. I was correct not to expect to get very far in an hour of Queen’s Domain: I have now died to a poisonous centipede thing, a ladybug-rat hybrid, and multiple skeletons (of course). The best thing I’ve done is acquire a rusty spear to poke things with, and I’ve found about five locked doors and zero keys for them. I have no idea where to go or what to do. At one point, I walked around a corner and a giant flower up on a tower nuked me with a laser beam out of nowhere. Honestly, perfect. © Freshly Baked Games Queen’s Domain is King’s Field IV without the handful of things that deeply pissed me off about King’s Field IV. The main one is the control scheme: In the years since King’s Field IV was released, we’ve evolved beyond tank controls, and thus I have a nice range of motion with both sticks, as well as a solid walking and sprinting speed. Queen’s Domain also has, shockingly, some tutorials. Not tons, but enough to show you how to use a weapon and how your stamina bar works. Not having to guess at basic game functions is a huge plus. But beyond that, it doesn’t tell you anything, and I’d like to keep it that way. Instead, I get to rummage around these gorgeous, PS1-era ruins: the pixelated mossy boulders, the fluttering leaves, dappled rocks, muddy stones, eerie columns and doors and caverns. I get to slowly level up my crappy sword and spear, learning bit by bit how to dismantle these stupid bugs and skeletons blocking my way. And I get to listen to this wonderfully retro soundtrack that sounds, wow, so familiar after my recent adventures in King’s Field IV. That bass line!!! (This version is from the demo, the version in the game is a bit different and hasn’t been uploaded yet, but it’s close.) I wasn’t expecting there to be a sleeper indie that I wanted to gobble up so close to the monster releases in November, but here we are. Queen’s Domain has just jumped to near the top of my priority list. At the very least I gotta get see what’s on the other side of the very first door.