Brand new Skyrim-like RPG is a throwback to early FromSoftware days

Looking back at the past year as a whole, there have been some truly excellent RPGs coming out that are among some of my favourites of the entire genre.

From third-person action RPGs like The Blood of Dawnwalker and Nioh 3, to narrative-heavy isometric games like Zero Parades and Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, there have been plenty of excellent games out this year.

Another late addition to the 2026 RPG wall of fame is Queen's Domain, which just came out earlier this week.

Inspired by the King's Field series by Dark Souls developer FromSoftware, Queen's Domain is an RPG that blends open exploration with hardcore dungeon crawling.

Using retro-inspired low poly graphics, it has a huge emphasis on exploration and problem-solving, something that will be all too familiar for FromSoftware fans.

Set on a dangerous island inhabited by foul monsters, you've washed ashore and must set out to find your father as the dark mystery of the island is unraveled.

We've played Queen's Domain and think it's great

I'm about five hours into Queen's Domain so far, and I think it's a pretty excellent tribute to RPGs of yore. Although it's a fitting spiritual successor to King's Field, those who are less familiar with that series and more familiar with Dark Souls will also sense a lot of that DNA here. You have a traditional stamina metre, along with different kinds of attacks you can perform, and different ways you can level up your gear.

Don't expect this to be a first-person Elden Ring though. Although the game can be brutally tough, especially while you're getting used to the controls and movement, the fights play out a lot slower compared to those games. Enemies are tough, and there's a large emphasis on charging up your attacks in order to deal the most amount of damage.

The combat also feels similar to The Elder Scrolls in the way that your melee attacks feel as you slash and stab your way through each encounter, but the level design takes a lot more inspiration from those FromSoftware games I mentioned earlier.

If you'd like to check out Queen's Domain now, you can check out a free demo available on Steam. The full game is out now for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.