Upon first inspection of Freshly Baked Games’ (as a fellow baked good individual myself, if I may say, this is a fantastic name for a dev team) Queen’s Domain, it is a game that is meant to tug at the nostalgia of the games from the days of yore. Taken from the PlayStation Store’s description, Queen’s Domain is a retro-fantasy action RPG. That’s a pretty broad genre. And while they did release a demo on PC, I knew little of the game, aside from its trailer.

Suffice to say, I was intrigued. I played the game several days before release. Still, not nearly enough to finish and review it (it’s meant to be a 30-40-hour game to complete, so with the way I play, that’s closer to 60 hours). So for now, here are my super casual first impressions of Queen’s Domain during my first 23 hours of experiencing it. For a quick reference, I’ve ventured into Isle of Neasied, Obmuer Temple, and the Temple of Knowledge.

So what kind of game is Queen’s Domain?

I think the best way to describe it is to tell you that Freshly Baked Games LLC is a US-based dev duo that bonded over their shared love of Zelda and FromSoft, specifically King’s Field. And this is really what it boils down to, in a very perfectly executed sort of way. 

Queen’s Domain is a densely packed open-world with tons of verticality, nooks and crannies to discover, huge dungeons to overcome, puzzles to solve, and collectibles to… collect. I’d describe it as a 3D Zelda, but with the awe-inspiring sense of adventure and interconnectedness of Dark Souls 1. Add to that, you get a sword that lets you dash, allowing you to traverse large gaps and a character with super-cat-like reflexes that negate any fall damage; you have a world filled with fantastic vertical world design. 

Typically, these games have a level map or world map; Queen’s Domain does not (as far as I know). Typically, this is something I would moan and groan about, since I am always in a constant state of being lost. However, for some reason, I quickly learned the world and knew my way around like the back of my hand. I could head straight to the location I thought would lead me to that amazing new shortcut, back to where I started, and chart a path to the treasure I saw in the distance. Suffice it to say, I loved exploring the 3 areas I’ve discovered, with its fantastically interconnected, labyrinthine level design.

Story

In Queen’s Domain, you play the role of a Prince, washed up on shore, on a quest to find your father and solve the dark mystery of the Isle of Neasied. 

Narratively, Queen’s Domain is the type of game that focuses on lore and world design to tell its story, instead of actually “storytelling”. It is a “quiet” game, with minimal NPC interactions and vague quests that you have to figure out yourself. Most of the NPC interactions that I’ve had so far have only served to vaguely give me an idea of what I should do, while some are NPCs that serve as the person you give your collectibles to, like the bestiary, eggs, ducks, meal tickets, etc. 

However, as I mentioned, the game is lore-driven, so I highly suggest reading them, as they will serve as important information regarding your next goal.

Combat

Queen’s Domain is an action-adventure game. The combat is slower and more deliberate, and it’s played in first person. You have a classic stamina meter that depletes with most actions: running, dashing with your sword, and attacking. However, the interesting thing about this stamina meter is that it doesn’t actually keep you from performing actions when it’s depleted. The stamina, as far as I know, only dictates how strong your attacks are. You can keep swinging your sword; however, only the first swing will be at full potency, while the rest will be much weaker, depending on how quickly you choose to swing. And since running slowly depletes the stamina bar, attacking right after running yields a much weaker swing. This forces you to make deliberate choices, balancing movement, attacking, and reacting to enemy attacks. It’s a game that wants you to pay attention, instead of going in headfirst and smashing that attack button. 

In terms of your arsenal, you have a main weapon wielded on your right, and a thrown weapon on your left. You can equip 3 of each at a time that you can switch between each other during regular play/combat; however, Queen’s Domain is a game that allows you to pause (unlike modern FromSoft games) and switch your loadout and use items in the middle of a fight. There are 3 main types of physical attacks, and enemies have weaknesses and resistances, so it’s important to switch weapons as needed.

I won’t mince words: while Queen’s Domain is NOT a soulslike game, it isn’t an easy game by any means; you want to avoid fighting with multiple enemies as much as possible, restoratives are scarce, and dangers are lurking everywhere, so pay attention!

This is not a Soulslike

As I just mentioned, no, Queen’s Domain is not a soulslike game. Yes, you have monuments that act like a “bonfire” where, if you rest, enemies come back. However, this game reloads your last save after you die; it doesn’t respawn you. There are no autosaves, only manual saves. As far as I’ve played, there’s no “i-frames”, no dodging (unless you count dashing with your holy sword, which I definitely use for that purpose), no parrying (unless you’re using the one shield I found so far as your main weapon), and no loss of “souls” as you’re not actually respawning. 

Absolutely DO NOT SLEEP on Queen’s Domain

Words Toasty used while playing Queen’s Domain:

• OMG, that’s how you get there? That’s so cool!
• I can use that weapon for that?! Awesome
• I don’t think I can go there…OH! I can go there!
• I don’t know where to go next… oh, that’s right, I picked up that item!
• OMG, an armoured centipede? I’m out of here. Why do they love bugs so much? I hate this game 🙁
• That is the coolest design of (redacted) type of enemy I’ve ever seen.

I already know this will go under most people’s radar. It’s to be expected, especially since it isn’t a game for most people, even though it falls under the “action-adventure” genre. However, I received this game 3 days ago (as of writing this first impression), and I have WILLINGLY put in 23 hours (let’s not get into how un/healthy this is; also, I haven’t determined how the save calculates game time – surely it’s 90% afk time). If you are the type of gamer that enjoys the exploration style of classic Zelda and Dark/Demon Souls, slower, more deliberate combat, collectibles, obscure narrative, fantastically executed retro-fantasy, PS1-era aesthetics type of game, you NEED to give Queen’s Domain a chance. YOU MUST. 

Gamer Social Club would like to thank the devs and publisher for the code provided for the purposes of this preview.