I'm a sucker for a good throwback to the early polygonal 32-bit era – Mouthwashing, Signalis, Crow Country, and Boltgun 2 are some recent favorites that come to mind. The latest one I've locked in on is Queen's Domain, a fantasy RPG that's as if an Elder Scrolls game was made for the PlayStation 1. Actually, it's explicitly inspired by FromSoftware's pre-Dark Souls series King's Field, where slow, deliberate first-person combat and exploration complemented punishing difficulty (which would later become FromSoft's signature, of course). But as much as Queen's Domain draws clear inspiration or shares similarities, it's a singular experience in 2026 that, so far, wields the intended friction of an old-school game wonderfully.

Washed ashore on a jungle island after your ship is sucked through the sea by a demonic queen, you're alone and in danger. Human-sized lady bugs and crickets lunge at you and follow you around, and the only thing you have to defend yourself in the early minutes is a rusted sword offered by a few survivors. Combat is tedious in these opening moments; avoid crickets by backpedaling when their animation starts, circle-strafe bugs when their wings flutter, and bunnyhop to hopefully avoid lasers shooting from those pesky eye plants stuck to the walls (which can shoot at you from a mile away). It's not an enticing or inviting start, but I had faith I'd strike a pile of gems if I just kept digging.

There are no quest markers, waypoints, or highlighted paths, just a rounded compass pulled straight out of King's Field.

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