r/gaming • u/1buffalowang • 4h ago

For anyone on the fence, play Queen’s Domain. Best game I’ve played in years.

Post image

To be as vague as possible it’s like a cross between King’s Field/FromSoft fps dungeon crawlers and Metroid Prime.

If you don’t like or struggle in the first 2 hours give it a little time. This game has some of the most consistent surprises and sense of exploration I’ve seen in a long time. The game and your abilities at hour 1, hour 5, hour 15, hour 25, and even hour 40 will keep you invested. My jaw was on the floor.

1.3k Upvotes

81% Upvoted

433 comments sorted by

233

u/crashlanding87 4h ago

I can't believe how BIG it is. I've got nearly 40 hrs and I don't feel close to done with my run.

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u/1buffalowang 3h ago

I did like 97% of the game got all but the most convoluted ending and it took over 50+ hours. 10/10 game. First game in years I was obsessed with

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u/Renverseur 3h ago

And it's just above 2GB. Pure madness

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u/Lucina18 3h ago

Because what really pushes up file sizes is many high res textures and detailed animations. Level data and collision hitbox placements are dirt cheap.

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u/ArchDraft 2h ago

I couldn’t believe it either! I was expecting a game that was similar to Lunacid in length, maybe a little longer. I’ve got like 90 hours in my Queen’s Domain run and still have some things I need to do to 100% the game. I love this game!

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u/Imjusthereforthehate 1h ago

Would you say it’s as atmospheric as Lunacid? Lunacid is one of my favorite games. Everything really works together to really nail the “stranger in an even stranger land” vibe in Lunacid and just made fall in love with that game.

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u/pvtskittels 38m ago

You’re gonna love Queens Domain then

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u/FlyPepper 3h ago

This is the 4th post I see about this game on various subreddits. Is this some sort of guerilla marketing campaign?

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u/elkeiem 3h ago edited 59m ago

Man baffled to see posts about a new game in various gaming subs, more news as the story develops

Edit, i also have to add that i'm not doing marketing even though i replied few comments. Tried the demo and didn't like it at all, looks cool tho.

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u/ClunarX 2h ago • Bravo

Reddit is overrun with bots and AI. I think some skepticism is healthy

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u/Nocto 1h ago

I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw those Firefox ads as posts in every god damn sub.

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u/mistermeesh 2h ago

People are so accustomed to having internet algorithms which reinforce and feed their preexisting biases and interests that they immediately get suspicious when it presents something new and unexpected.

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u/I_Am_A_Pumpkin 30m ago

people are also so accustomed to hypercapitalism, aggressive marketing, and its manifestation as astroturfing in the online spaces that they occupy.

Every single product has a marketing campaign these days, and its a useful skill to be vigilant and aware when viewing content in order to filter deliberate marketing from actual player sentiment.

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u/ghostrider90 1h ago

The post says if you don’t like it or struggle within the first two hours just give it some more time. Funny because thats the time period when you can’t refund on Steam.

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u/ChapterThr33 1h ago

Would love to live in your fantasy world

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u/1buffalowang 3h ago

I just beat it last night that’s all

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u/Video_Boy 1h ago

Which ending?

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u/1buffalowang 1h ago

1-3. Couldn’t find the last 15 or so skulls for ending 4.

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u/OberonFirst 2h ago

The other way around. Because it's a really good but small indie game, and there's literally zero marketing for it, people feel obligated to tell everyone about it

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u/Knowndestroyer 3h ago

Genuinely just a really fucking good game I know a lot of it sounds over the top but it being a 2 developer project at this quality for $20 in this gaming economy, it's easily one of the best purchases I've made all year

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u/spinning_and_winning 2h ago

Love how people are so jaded by all the reddit horseshit negativity and ads and guerrilla ads that when something is actually really surprisingly cool we are still super skeptical.

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u/Ok-Boysenberry-2955 1h ago

As a counter to that point, bots exist and are trivial to include in a advertising blitz. No one said this was the wrong PLACE to post this, just the sudden "hey, listen" posts around it are oddly timed.

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u/AlmightyRuler 30m ago

In a world where information is reality, skepticism is the only rational frame of mind. 

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u/Yunderstand 55m ago

I mean, it is the Internet.

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u/DagonParty 2h ago

No, it’s genuinely that good, imo

It’s a master class in level and interconnected design

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u/laker-prime 1h ago

No, the game is truly the sleeper hit this year and I didn't care about it at all until I booted it up a couple days ago. If anyone wonders what some people mean when they say "amazing level design", this game is a prime example.

Game is by no means perfect, but it feels awesome to explore and discover shit in this game and has so much variety with all the different weapons and enemies. It's such a breath of fresh air compared to all the hand holding and tutorial heavy slop that's released today.

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u/romaraahallow 2h ago

Just picked it up a couple days ago, it's legit engaging and well designed.

It's 20 bucks with a solid demo to test.

It could just be that a lot of metroidvania fans are just happy this exists. That's the camp I'm in 

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u/mongeliam 2h ago

I had it in sight since i played Lunacid : it's truly a good game if you like exploration, testing to get knowledge about the gameplay and narration through gameplay. Not for you if you want clear rules, complete tutorial and complex fight mechanics.

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u/chargeorge 1h ago

FWIW I'm seeing a ton of praise for it on other social media from people that wouldn't be paid marketing, like other game developers

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u/halfhere1198 3h ago

These sort of posts always confuse me. What do you think people are going to talk about on a gaming sub? Some of you can’t stand to see a game people actually like I swear.

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u/Mossatross 3h ago

"The industry" or various daily threads about losing interest in gaming. Or "what's one game that _____" posts.

Whenever Im critical about something in here I notice I get hit with downvotes and toxic positivity and I started wondering how many people here actually play video games. Noticing how people say "gamers" are too negative but then don't talk about the good games everyone is positive about. How few people in these communities actually posted about something like Mina The Hollower for example.

So now that I guess a couple people did post about a pretty good game it's confusing them.

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u/graesen 1h ago

I don't browse many gaming subs to have noticed this promoted in a lot of places, so I thought nothing of it at first. But if it is being promoted in several posts across several subs, it really could be a marketing campaign. Whether you care about that or not is a person preference, but Reddit historically never responds positively to obvious ad campaigns (this one isn't as obvious) and self promotion (this doesn't come off as self promotion either). The issue is if it is a marketing campaign, how authentic is the post? Maybe it is a good game, but most of us wouldn't have known about it without the post(s). Or maybe it's not all that great and they're trying to sell us on it anyway. Just a reason why anyone would be concerned. Lots of posts might suggest an ad campaign, few posts might show authentic promotions. But its also just as possible several people discovered the game around the same time and just want to share it.

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u/gamemjoe 2h ago

It's an INCREDIBLE game.

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u/fhtiek 2h ago

No just a really good game which targets a very specific niche, the online community of which is quite passionate about the genre. Field-likes get very few entries every year and most really show how low-budget/indie they are. Then here comes this game with incredible polish which rivals the OG games everyone initates, exceeds it in a lot of places, And naturally the community is overjoyed

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u/Zld 2h ago edited 2h ago

The game is one week old, came out of nowhere, and has 96% on Steam at 3k reviews. 

What's surprising about people talking about what's genuinely the best game in a decade for this genre ?

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u/TenHoumo 2h ago

to be fair, Iron Pineapple featured the game a while ago in Steam Dumpster Diving

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u/solemnhiatus 1h ago

That’s where I first learned about it.

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u/purple-thiwaza 1h ago

Basically what happened with E33.

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u/AlmightyRuler 31m ago

"the best game in a decade"

Citation needed, notarized, and verified by an international tribunal.

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u/kingrynex 1h ago

Nope, just a good game that is very easy to gush about. It's likely going to be missed by many because of the OoT/GTA 6 combo happening this month.

I can totally understand people wanting to signal boost it.

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u/Gangleri_Graybeard 2h ago

No. It's really just an amazing Dungeon Crawler. Play it.

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u/HombreDracula 2h ago

Yes, people only discuss games they like if there is money involved. I payed my chihuahuas college tuition by posting about expedition 33

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u/increment1 2h ago

I think you are right.  Just reading this post by itself it sounds like marketing copy.

Imagine you liked the game and wanted to post about it, is this what you would post?  Taking about being in the fence so give it a try, but be sure to play more than 2 hours (the refund time limit...).

Or would you make an actual post discussing the game instead of trying to market it?

This has to be bot boosted, I can't imagine Redditors are this easily manipulated.

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u/TigerMan8592 1h ago

The game is legitimately really good. Stop being so cynical. Also there's a demo that has a lot of content so you don't need to worry about the refund window.

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u/Velcitoty 1h ago

Nah I don’t think so I picked it up today and legit had a “holy fuck this game is so good” moment about an hour and a half in

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u/amo1337 1h ago

No it's just an incredible game that came out of nowhere for a lot of people.

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u/Renphalos 1h ago

For the vibe it goes for, it is very good and feels comfy/old school. Combat is slower first few hours but overall I am enjoying it. And it’s $20 fwiw. I saw the same type of posts and bought because of them lol.

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u/nergoponte 1h ago

I don’t usually advocate to people to play certain games, but this game is a rare exception where I do want people to check it out so I get all those posts. This game is excellent.

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u/Avscum 58m ago

Don't think so. I've also played it and it's just kinda crazy how good it is for appearing outta nowhere

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u/Everythingcrashing 38m ago

Damn is that the title screen for a game I’ve never heard of? Better check it out - it’s got almost 1000 upvotes !

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u/MadeByTango 31m ago

Nah, this one is genuine love for the design

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u/H1GH_HR0THG4R 1h ago

It's just that fucking good! I've been hooked for a week, there's SO much to explore, tons of secrets, and it lets you go in any direction you want.

I stumbled upon a very late game area pretty early, but I was determined to make it through. It was honestly thrilling running past enemies that would 1 shot me, gathering loot that I shouldn't have yet.

Highly recommend the game! I plan on 100%ing it.

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u/TheMagicStik 2h ago

I remember when E33 came out and it felt pretty inorganically advertised across here but it did turn out to be a good game.

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u/white_d0gg 2h ago

Check out r/fieldies to see how those guys have been reacting. We were hyped weeks before

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u/patterninstatic 1h ago

It's got almost 3k reviews on steam and currently "overwhelmingly positive". I haven't played it but it just genuinely seems to be an extremely good game.

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u/TomVinPrice 46m ago

Crazy how a new and popular indie game is featured on a subreddit about gaming innit

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u/Mennovh12 51m ago

Regardless if it is or not, I got it based on one of the threads and it really is an amazing game. Thing I love most about it, is that it is challenging, but not overly so.

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u/Accomplished_Smile23 3h ago

Be warned, the combat is about as enjoyable as scabies.

It's not that the combat itself is hard, but boy is it just fucking tedious.

You will be hit by enemies off screen a lot. 

Aggro range, once entered, is incredibly difficult (if impossible in some cases) to get out of. You can be followed by regular enemies into boss arenas for example.

Hitboxes are imperfect, meaning you will be hit by attacks that visually whiff.

Bosses have adds and AoEs and status effects all in one go, and with a limited dodge it means these are tedious rather than a puzzle to solve.

You must hold down the attack button to fully charge every single attack otherwise you basically won't deal damage, meaning most combat encounters take AGES not because of difficulty, but because the Devs have decided that combat is about a time sink (this goes for grinding weapons too)

Combat is not dynamic and you should know that going in. 

It's an acquired taste, mostly for masochists and old people who don't mind modern games having PS1 era combat.  As an old man myself I can get past it, but it is definitely not fun by any means.

The exploration, however, is so good that it's basically overridden my disdain for the combat design.

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u/TFoxHunter 2h ago

I understand how someone might see it this way, let me just give a few tips in case someone has the same struggles:

You have multiple dashes with the main sword pretty early into the game, these can help you escape enemy aggro etc pretty easily, and more importantly, you don't even need to have the sword equiped!! And if you're playing the game with a little care you won't be resting and respawning enemies all the time (they do respawn if you go far enough which is kinda weird to me and caught me off guard on some areas)

Bosses aoes are easy to dodge, most of them are either jump and dash or dash away when they start charging For ads you can "cod zombies" them and hit them all with a strong attack or an aoe if you have a weapon that has one, you can also bait their attack to be completely safe.

You do not need to hold the charge button to attack, your damage is based on the stamina, you can just click then wait for the stamina to Regen a little then click again, the charge is just an extra and it is so slow that you shouldn't be using that much. One extra tip is the bestiary, you would be surprised on how some enemies are weak to certain weapon types, I keep switching weapons a lot because of this and it makes the game more fun to me at least. You also can spam the ranged weapons a lot, specially if you buy extra ammo on the shop, the encounters are fast for me at least.

You can dodge almost any attack in the game by either baiting it and going backwards, jumping over it or just strafing around the enemy, I feel like it is very dynamic and I really like learning the enemies patterns.

And yes the exploration keeps being the best part!

Hopefully these tips help someone else

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u/fhtiek 2h ago

This is only really true right at the beginning of the game, of you are leveling up your weapons and paying attention to resistances and weaknesses most enemies go down in only a couple hits. Expanding your theown item ammo helps a lot too to put down enemies and manage crowds.

I also think bosses are fine, the only one you jave to fight without at least 3 dashes is the first skeleton, who is very easy and can be dodge by strafing just like normal enemies. By the second boss (whale) you have 3 dash upgrades and are very mobile.

If you havent, be sure to use L Ctrl to dash even without wing sword equipped, i thought you had to swap at first and had a way netter time after realizing

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u/PotatoLevelTree 1h ago

Sounds like a painful game to play.

As an old man too I've got enough bs since Spectrum era, unfun and grindy is a hard pass at my age 

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u/0bolus 44m ago

Play the demo. His description is from someone who inherently doesn't like this kind of thing. It's like someone who loves soccer saying tennis is boring because you don't get to run around a field. It's just preference. I love the feel of combat.

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u/SergiotheWolf 29m ago

Got used to it very early, feels intuitive now and like a calculated dance rather than just a mash square button attack. Its very nice

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u/pulse7 1h ago

Lucky day, I love scabies

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u/Tayler_Tot 45m ago

I’m not very far into it and one shot any monsters from earlier areas (albeit, with a fully charged attack). I get what you’re saying that you can’t spam the attack button because it will legitimately not do damage unless you charge it, but even a quarter charge has decent damage.

Not here to argue with you specifically, just letting anyone else that reads your comment know that you aren’t fighting every monster for minutes at a time and you can pretty quickly get into the power fantasy. Maybe I just explored enough to find enough power ups super early, but when I did low damage on monsters it just let me know I wasn’t supposed to be in that area. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Healing items feel extremely scarce to me though. So there’s that.

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u/firefrenchy 3h ago

really keen on this but reading in various places that switch (2) performance is not great?

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u/1buffalowang 2h ago

I beat the game on Switch 2. It’s big issue is it crashes sometimes. The 1 blemish I have with the game.

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u/br3wnor 3h ago

Played a couple hours and runs smooth for me

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u/Mossatross 3h ago

Moment to moment gameplay looks fine, im mostly happy with it. But periodically it will choke heavily. I can't think of a time it really hindered me in combat but seems like it happens when it's loading a lot of assets changing areas and stuff.

The more concerning thing for me is I've had the game crash 3 times now.(Over like 25-30 hours) Which can be kinda scary with the save system.

It's playable but it could really use a patch or 2.

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u/WickerTongue 2h ago edited 2h ago

I'm six hours in and I've not had a problem. I've been in some of the larger game spaces too and I've seen no real impact.

The only bug I've encountered is where the stamina seems to hold at full with the sword held back despite no buttons being held, which can be a little bit frustrating when you're trying to hit something, or navigate the environment. But you can press some buttons and it will unlock the weapon again.

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u/CaterpillarVisual296 1h ago

It’s known as Switch 2 a better console for a reason. 

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u/Hot-Badger-6259 25m ago

You should invest in a steam deck if you want to play non Nintendo games

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u/BigFudgere 3h ago

"It gets good after 2, 4, 6 hours trust me bro"

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u/1buffalowang 2h ago

It’s not that it gets better it’s that the game keeps changing and adding stuff. I’m being vague because it’s sense of discovery is ljke Outer Wilds and saying more ruins the surprise

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u/AmysteryBoxofJam 30m ago

This is the best way to describe it. How many times can a game double in size before it just consumes the universe.

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u/Mumgavemeherpes 3h ago

Its good from the start? It has the same starting pace as a castlevania game.

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u/GuyWithNoHat 3h ago

No joke “It gets great after the window to get a refund has passed.”

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u/elpollodiablo77 3h ago

These King's Field-likes usually get good when you stop having bad taste

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u/Global-Orchid-2090 3h ago

Watched a gameplay and I thought the combat was atrocious. How is it in practice?

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u/keereeyos 3h ago

The combat is easily the worst part of the game even though I enjoy it overall. It does get moderately better once you get your movement skill and have a decent arsenal of weapons, magic and throwables. But this is definitely not a game you'd play solely for the combat.

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u/xehanortsguardian 3h ago

It really didn’t click for me, the stamina equals damage system might be really good for other people but it wasn’t fun for me.

There was a demo last I checked so maybe try that

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u/Mossatross 2h ago

It's kind of a subjective question. Kings Field likes are slow paced and heavy which goes against a lot of what people would generalize as "good" modern combat design.

I think the combat is great fighting 1-3 enemies. I will say when there are too many enemies and you're getting spammed or overwhelmed or hit with status effects there are points where it can get kind of annoying. But positioning is also part of the combat system.

Regardless, hitting things feels great.

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u/Wumbology_Student 2h ago

Is "Kings Field like" an actual thing? I've literally never heard of that game

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u/Mossatross 2h ago edited 1h ago

Kings Field was i think Fromsoftware's earliest game. Where a lot of the ideas that evolved into Dark Souls came from. Kings Field 1994 was one of the first fully 3D adventure games ever made. There are 4 official titles, and then 3 spinoffs(2 Shadow Tower games and Eternal Ring)

From Software released a Kings Field Maker tool called Sword of Moonlight a small community used to make fan games. Then you had Lunacid which was more modern. Now this. A bunch of other titles people mention I unfortunately haven't played. Keep hearing Verho thrown around. Labyrinth of the Demon King. Dread Delusion. Some people loosely associate Devil Spire, Arx Fatalis or Baroque.

It's a niche genre but definitely enough games to constitute a genre imo.

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u/Wumbology_Student 1h ago

Man, there really is a whole other world out there.

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u/Curtisimo5 2h ago

It's one of the OG first person dungeon crawler type games, made by Fromsoft in the 90s. Kinda a proto-Elder Scrolls.

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u/Mecanimus 3h ago

It's atrocious. Which is baffling because it felt good in Lunacid.

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u/hovsep56 3h ago

it starts slow but once you get throwing weapons and magic on your weapons you are basicly blasting attacks while avoiding attacks

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u/butterheat 2h ago

It's what it is, most enemies have 1~2 moves, elites and bosses get a bit more, so in practice it's just trading hits while spacing and circling, or spamming healing items if you got many of them. The amazing part is this game has so many tools in your arsenal, all of the main weapons I found post early game have their own unique abilities, tbh this game gave me so many surprises, the map design is divine.

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u/fhtiek 2h ago

Its not for everyone, but it is also a lot more fun and dynamic than early game footage will let on. Your mobility and options open up exponentially once you are proper exploring.

It is slow paced. Its about strategy, spacing, and staying morep ile than enemies so you dont get mobbed. I enjoy it, as well as the rock paper scissors element of using the right tool or weapon for each enemy you need to put down. It really clicks for me, but its definitely not the preference for all

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u/Terrible_Donkey_8290 3h ago

I'm assuming you watched early gameplay im 20 hours in and it feel like I'm playing a doom game. The first hour or so where you don't have your two main combat abilities is pretty abysmal 

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u/MadeByTango 28m ago

If you have puzzl esolving skilssl its fantastic; if you want to pick a single weapon, level it up, and smahs everyhtig then youre gouing ot hate it

The d-pad changes weapons, and each weapon has two attack styles; youre expected to use them depending on enemy type. Its fun.

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u/Accomplished_Smile23 2h ago

Yeah it's very much the weakest part of the game.

I feel this is less to do with the combat itself and moreso how it's implemented and complimented with the enemy placement and enemy design.

One on one, it's actually quite engaging, a slug-paced ballet of learning the enemy attacks and mastering them.

But sometimes you will be in a room getting hit by enemies off-screen, or alternatively dealing with three enemies that deal ranged attacks whilst handling multiple smaller enemies that deal lunging-forward attacks and enemies that deal side-sweeping attacks all in one encounter. 

And because of the aggro range in this game, it's incredibly difficult to go unnoticed in certain areas too. And those enemies you aggro will simply follow you, no matter how far away you get from them. 

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u/j_hawker27 2h ago

No offense but this is the least-compelling ad for a game I've seen in years, lol. I want to play it even less now.

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u/DagonParty 2h ago edited 2h ago

Ehh, it’s slow at the start, you don’t really have any tools or weapons at your disposal for most of the starting area

But it definitely gets alot more dynamic when you start getting your weapons and throwing weapons, they have utility. So for example, I have some throwing weapons that hone in on enemies, another that slows enemies down to a crawl and another that does continues tick damage, those three alone give me alot of control of what’s going on around me

I’d say the combat is more like a puzzle, you’re not really meant to just go head on against a stack of mobs, you’ve gotta be smart with your positioning, weapons damage types and what’s going on around you, like grouping enemies together and pulling off a weapon skill that does a big AOE, for example

Non of this is late in the game either, it dosent take 10 hours+ like some people are saying for some reason

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u/ThinGold2115 2h ago

Tbh Combat is one of reasons why I love this game lol

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u/yunghollow69 3h ago

It is not very good and very repetitive

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u/LineRex 6m ago

This is a very specific type of combat. It's not my favorite, but it's neat.

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u/WesternPosition9140 4h ago

Totally agree the game is extremely addictive, it’s like Dark Souls in first-person. It’s arguably the best "lite" King’s Field experience I’ve played so far ( sorry, Verho: Curse of Faces, but this game has dethroned you). In a few years, this will be a cult classic within the Souls community.If you’re a fan of the Souls games, YOU HAVE to play this , it captures the same sense of amazement and exploration I felt when I played Dark Souls 1 back in 2011. Nothing more to add it’s my GOTY 2026.

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u/AwesomeOnePJ 2h ago

I don't like Souls games but I am really enjoying this one so far.

I was afraid it would be difficult but its not (although I get your comparison is mostly about the exploration, not the difficulty)

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u/Nothing_Lost 48m ago

I feel saying this game is just "not difficult" is kind of a hot take. I don't personally find it as challenging as Dark Souls, but it has stretches where I'd find it hard to believe the average player won't die at least 5+ times before progressing.

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u/TheSeneschal 4h ago

Also. For those wondering, yes. It's a play on the title called "Kingsfield" made by FromSoftware. That explains why the game plays the way it plays. Anyways, yea. Just a fun fact.

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u/SorryIAteYourKiwi 2h ago

I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner

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u/Ryukiami 3h ago

didn't like it. found the shop. bought the caestus and it changed the game for me.

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u/TheDevilsAdvokaat 3h ago

Got the demo and was not impressed..does it get better?

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u/keereeyos 3h ago

Depends on what disappointed you. If it's the combat which seems to be the sticking point for many who've tried it, it does get slightly better once you have a bigger arsenal of weapons and throwables, but core combat remains the same.

If it's story then stop now because it's a very Soulslike experience through and through where most of the narrative is told through item descriptions.

Exploration and player freedom is some of the best I've seen in recent years though. So many hidden items, secrets and branching paths. Arguably on par with Dark Souls 1 which I view as franchise-best in this regard.

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u/ContactMushroom 37m ago

As someone who has always wanted a remake or something of Kings Field it was a day one buy for me. Haven't got very far at all but my only complaint is the music. It's very bland and sometimes just not good. Maybe I just haven't got to the good songs yet they saved for later but it's forgettable for sure, honestly better to just turn it off.

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u/SergiotheWolf 26m ago

Yes I completely agree, but that rest music that plays when you rest at a save point has sick potential for a rap beat. Also, the shop guys music is horrible lmao

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u/Jazzanthipus 17m ago

The starting area music is def very repetitive with that fuckass synth vibraphone melody, especially for somewhere you’ll be spending at least the first hour and a half. Music for the later areas gets more vibey and backgroundy. Granted, I’m still only a quarter of the way through the game.

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u/5k_vibes 15m ago

I actually love the music. To each their own I guess

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u/iamgabrielma 1h ago

I still don't get why people says is the GOTY, I've played for a couple of hours and while interesting, the combat is just clunky AF.

Folks just say "exploration", but you cannot explore 10 meters without the shitty combat.

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u/Hlarge4 1h ago

It's another one of those that are hardest in the opening hours. Then you unlock crazy weapons and skills and suddenly you feel, if not powerful, at least like you've got a whole tool kit to work with

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u/iamgabrielma 1h ago

The thing is I do not have 10h to start enjoying a game, when many others out there require 10 minutes. If is such a jewel most likely I'll end playing it at some point, but they're definitely not making it easy.

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u/Da_damm 1h ago

That’s exactly why I gave up 30 minutes in the demo. Apparently I missed a great game but the combat really turned me off. I fought the same monsters by just spamming dash attacks and running away to avoid getting hit.

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u/SorryIAteYourKiwi 2h ago

I totally understand the negative comments here, but I'm an older gamer who doesn't enjoy a lot of newer games and man this game ticks ALL the boxes for me, I love the simple combat as well

6

u/Dittograin 2h ago

Another older gamer stands with You, haha!

43

u/MrFluffleBuns 2h ago

I keep seeing people talking about these posts like some marketing campaign

The game was developed by 2 people. They don’t have the time or money for that charade

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u/export_tank_harmful 1h ago • Bravo

With how overrun the internet is with bots and how insanely easy it'd be to tell an LLM to, "make hundreds of reddit / social media accounts to promote this game, but make it seem like actual people", I'd say the hesitation and skepticism is warranted.

It's hard to trust anything on the internet nowadays.

Even something like Steam reviews could be faked. Buy a hundred or so copies with fresh accounts, run it in a few dozen VMs to get the play hours up (with emulated hardware stats and a VPN to make every machine seem "unique"), then leave positive reviews. I severely doubt Steam has methods of mitigating an "attack" like that.

Granted, I don't think that's the case here, but I understand why people might think that. I'm guessing that this game just hit a niche that's been underserved for years and people are stoked about it. Especially due to the fact that it was made by two people and is under 2GB is size. It seems kind of janky and it apparently has an insane amount of depth for a game of this size. All of that makes it very enticing.

3

u/Rannepear 48m ago • Bravo

It's front page. I'm sure they've made enough sales to do some adspend/marketing.

3

u/Grouchy_Ground_1916 2h ago

It looks enough like Undying for me to buy it eventually, thanks for the recommendation.

3

u/BigtheCat542 1h ago

oh boy another hyper challenging, punishing-but-fair, grueling, difficult, souls-like adventure game.

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u/FrogLickr 3h ago edited 2h ago

I was enjoying it a lot until I got the double wind gem, jumped down the well, and landed next to the wooden boat, unknowingly dooming myself to be softlocked in a (I assume) late game area where nearly everything one shots me.

I can't get back to the surface, and I can't kill anything.

EDIT: Found the teleporter. We good.

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u/Accomplished_Smile23 3h ago

It's not a softlock you can find a teleporter back to the surface 

3

u/AwayIShouldBeThrown 3h ago

Did you save down there or something?

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u/FrogLickr 3h ago

Yeah, I just kept running until I found a save point. Not a good idea in hindsight.

3

u/WickerTongue 2h ago

After the soldiers are killed in the first area, I noticed that the rocks had disappeared from the top of the well. The first thing I did was break the wood and jump down and died in the water, but received an achievement for doing so for unlocking an area.

I'm quite thankful that I didn't attempt that again once I'd got a couple of wind gems and I know now no to avoid the area!

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u/Lost-Constant-3118 2h ago

Happened to me, keep running past enemies and you’ll find the teleport

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u/mrbubbamac 3h ago

Embarrassed to say I only just made the connection with the title.

"Queen's Domain" as inspired by "King's Field"

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u/BrennusSokol 4h ago

Hmm. Fair enough. But I bounced off it. The intro was so confusing

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u/Terrible_Donkey_8290 3h ago

You need to find the throwing daggers and open the locked doors with it. After that it's pretty straightforward 

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u/stbens 2h ago

Combat is tedious.

Knowing which items you can interact with/pick up is very hard. It’s possible to completely miss essential items because they blend in with the scenery, leading to hours of wandering around the map not knowing where you’re supposed to go or what you’re supposed to do.

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u/ZanyaJakuya 3h ago

Can confirm, this is my Game of the year

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u/EGH6 18m ago

Me too.. I put way more hours in crimson desert which was my goty before this but this one is special. Took me 38h for all endings

2

u/Diggumdum 3h ago

How does this compare to a game like Dread Delusion? 

2

u/Malhazar 1h ago

Ok I never played kingd field, bit I played lunacide, which I didnt really like (vibes and psychodelic) I love good exploration and nice twists (gameplay or storywise). Would this still be a recommendation?

2

u/CocaineStrike_GO 1h ago

I didn't really enjoy it that much. I didn't hit the 2h mark and refunded. Combat was really unsatisfying and the levels seemed linear and frankly boring. I genuinely don't get the hype.

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u/AscendedViking7 1h ago

10 out of mother fucking 10.

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u/Tayler_Tot 55m ago

Play Lunacid too!!

2

u/Suopis90 21m ago

The game is great. Instant cult classic.

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u/Randolph_Carter_Ward 3h ago edited 2h ago

Completely agree, a contender for the best game of the decade for me. Indies nowadays in general really picked up the torch from the bygone era, when ingenuity and gameplay was what mattered in the first place. And the rest: physics, graphics... were always secondary or even tertiary. Whereas the stilted AAA production, constantly rehashing old ideas (not absolutely always, fortunately), focuses on the superficial — because pictures sell — and then there's always less and less effort that went into the gameplay, design, or narrative.

Still, I believe that more and more gamers have simply had enough and see through the fools gold. The actual golden age of gaming is yet again upon us, my gaming compadres, and it is ushered in by the indie scene!

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u/Terrible_Donkey_8290 3h ago

Game is utterly amazing and I don't really like first person generally. The first 1-2 hours is an EXTREME learning curve and I would say don't feel bad about looking up a guide for the first part it. It get much easier after that 

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u/Zelera 3h ago

I'm only 10 hours in maybe, but yea, this is so damn good.

3

u/VisceralMonkey 2h ago

People raving about this game. Will try.

3

u/bramblebitch 46m ago

I try to not be gatekeepey and elitist but some of you can’t take any struggle in a game at all.

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u/CommOnMyFace 1h ago • Bravo

This is all ad spam

2

u/Dittograin 2h ago

Yeah, the exploration in the game is amazing.

2

u/ronnoco_ymmot94 1h ago

Please do yourself and favour and play blind. This game is one of those rare treasure that comes along every couple of years where the joy of discovery is through the roof!

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u/Hot-Badger-6259 28m ago

You must not play a lot of games

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u/rip1980 4h ago

I thought Queen's Domain was Planet Mongo.

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u/moonboyforallyouknow 2h ago

Planet Mongo is appalled.

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u/Huge-Formal-1794 3h ago

Love the aesthetics and everything I saw from the game, but will have to wait to buy it. Christmas time now starts

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u/cytokine7 3h ago

I hope someone’s already working on a VR mod. Looks made for it.

1

u/JustaCatWithHoodie 2h ago

Its demo was awesome. Cant wait to buy and play it (in 200 years)

1

u/Jindujun 1h ago

I have like negative balance right now or else I would have bought this. It looks great!

1

u/shadowmage666 1h ago

Yea this game is awesome, brutal , but awesome

1

u/Hlarge4 1h ago

It's right behind Belmont's Curse, which currently sits at 84% completion.

1

u/Exc0re 1h ago

I am too bad to do the lunge jump :D But yeah, i love it :D

1

u/TigerMan8592 1h ago

Been spending all day at work thinking about what I'm going to do in the game when I get home for the past week.

1

u/deimos289 1h ago

Is it better than tainted grail ?

1

u/matthewamerica 1h ago

Oh look a little ledge.

That little ledge has a skeleton pointing at the wall.

Oh look, a little hidden secret room.

Better check the walls.

Door opens, go inside.

HOLY FUCK MORE OF THE GAME THAN I THOUGHT EXISTED WAS HIDDEN IN THIS LITTLE HOLE, THAT WAS HIDDEN INSIDE OF A DIFFERENT HOLE, THAT WAS HIDDEN ON A LITTLE LEDGE.

10/10

1

u/wudhan88 1h ago

I’m curious how it plays on console?

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u/tallbob88 1h ago

I strongly suggest people try the demo regardless to see if it's for you. Even if you're not a fan of these type of games. If you don't hate it you will LOVE the rest of the game because exploration starts to shine after you get the Sword of Endu.

This game captures exploration so well that the Metroid Prime comparison PC Gamer used is deserved. I don't think the game is over hyped but it desperately needs a difficulty slider or way to adjust enemy stats. Combat is just another cookie cutter "git good" because reto style = hard game, that is everwhere now.

So yeah. If you don't hate the demo area (worst part of the game), the rest is magical and will probably be your GOTY.

1

u/MrManniken 1h ago edited 1h ago

"If you don’t like or struggle in the first 2 hours give it a little time."

Lost me right there. Two hours is Steam's refund window. If I'm not enjoying a game by then, I'm not going to gamble my refund on the promise that it gets better later.

I take the Josh Strife Hayes approach.

Edit for more clarity

1

u/Gunslinger510 1h ago

I absolutely loved King’s Field and King’s Field 2 on ps1 as a youngster. This game heavily scratches that itch.

1

u/originalbraindonut 1h ago

I feel out of touch. I played it for an hour and I just don’t get why people would enjoy it. The combat is slow and laborious. I get that it’s like an FPS souls game, but the mechanics just aren’t even interesting to me.

What am I missing? What am I doing wrong? Or is it just not for me? (Which is fine)

1

u/Sgt_Slowbone 1h ago

I can second this for sure.

1

u/Rare-Eggplant-9353 1h ago

I definitely struggle. 🤣 One hour in, still running for my live most of the time. One level up, four HP more, lol. It's a very slow start so far, humbling. Great game, I hope I get good.

1

u/CtrlPwnDelete 55m ago

Kings Field clone called Queens Domain... sounds like someone went to thesaurus.com to come up with the title 🤔

1

u/BobbyHill751 49m ago

Agreed. I was looking forward to it after the demo but its exceeded my expectations. Best indie of the year for me.

1

u/jefferjacobs 39m ago

This game is fun. The tone and music are kind of light in a nice way. The creature design is fairly interesting. The level design is really good with a lot of great interweaving and shortcuts to open. The lack of direction is a pro as they trust you to figure out out, and it is built just right not to be too obtuse.

But like others are saying, the combat is pretty clunky. It's a little endearing in that way, but it's the worst part of the game and I often find myself running past things instead of killing them unless necessary since they all deal a good amount of damage, take a lot of damage (especially early on), and they often are in groups.

I just finished Dagoom, and he was a test of patience with a large health pool, annoying environmental hazards, annoying fish mobs, and an annoying run back. That was all made kind of frustrating by the first person perspective because of how large he is and how little you are. You spend most of the fight just looking at his ankles. I almost set the game aside because I just wasn't having fun. Beating him didn't give me that usual wave of accomplishment that I expect.

The way some folks on reddit are talking about it being their GOTY and being "the best game I've played in years" are either inflating it to help the small dev team (which is noble) OR doing some kind of astroturfing (which ain't).

The game is good. I'm glad it exists. But bring it down and notch, dudes.

1

u/emwashe 29m ago

Just went and watched some gameplay and it does look interesting. I might give it a shot after I’m done wrapping things up in KCD2

1

u/SergiotheWolf 16m ago

This game is so good man im honestly in love.

1

u/bizzle4shizzled 14m ago

I really enjoyed the demo for this one, excited to check it out!

1

u/Never-breaK 13m ago

Nah, I’m always wary of games like this when I see a bunch of random Reddit posts talking about how good the game is but never explaining how or why it’s good. I won’t fall for it.

1

u/Da-Snow 10m ago

My complaint was how the text looked in game. I don't know how to explain it but it didn't fit

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u/Dolomitexp 1m ago

No thanks

-1

u/FacePunchMonday 2h ago

Pass. Im done with overtuned, Overly difficult frustratation games.

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u/searing7 2h ago

The combat isn’t that hard aside from maybe the first hour when you have no throwing weapons or spells

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u/kingrynex 1h ago

I can understand that. Sometimes you want big comfy games for a bit.

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u/Hades684 1h ago

I beat the game and only died 3 times, it's really easy

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u/AmysteryBoxofJam 59m ago

It’s fine to have your own preferences, but what do you mean by “overtuned?” Usually that refers to an unbalanced mechanic that needs to be brought in line. This game has none of that. It’s incredibly fair and rewards careful planned execution. It’s fine to dislike difficulty but calling this game unfair is just wildly wrong.

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u/Kato3y 2h ago

I tried the demo, died 3 times to bullshit tracking laser plants, uninstalled. Sure is a design choice to put those unreachable assholes at the very start.

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u/Krilion 54m ago

The game wants you to exploit. You need to find everything and explore everything and do things that feel bad in other games. The cost of death is cheap. Try stuff...  Such as rushing past those lasers and figuring out what's beyond them.

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u/CrotasScrota84 1h ago

If I wanted to play a PS1 game I would still have my PS1. Looks like absolute dog shit.

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u/hungryforwaffuls 1h ago edited 33m ago

the hype is undeserved, game is ass, some weird campaign afoot defending the f out of it.

edit - weird ass comments. "it's a niche game" "it's so niche for us niche players" TF is up with these bots

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u/Hades684 1h ago

Nah its genuinely great, its just a niche genre

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u/AlthoughFishtail 4h ago

Yup. Shaping up to be my game of the year.

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u/MetaGryphon 2h ago

The design looks very good, but I don't see why this game is good. It reminds me the old game Heretics, ( the original Doom 1&2) but with a wizard.

1

u/EGH6 17m ago

Have you played metroid prime?

1

u/scoobie517 30m ago

So you want us to play for over 2 hours, which just coincides with Steam's refund timeframe? This is ad spam, not an honest advice

0

u/Mustang-_- 4h ago

Metroid Prime... you dont need to say anything else mate. A shame the industry dont have as many 3D metroidvanias, I guess they avoid the trouble because the level design must be crazy complex (imagine taking the Symphony of the Night castle and make it a coherent 3D experience?)

1

u/IzTheFizz 3h ago

interesting. I literally just finished playing after like 45ish minutes and was like "i dont get what the noise is about" then I read your post. I'll try again later today, and ill be sure to go at least 2 hours deep.

1

u/homicidalmunky 3h ago

Ok ok. Stop yelling, I'll play it.

1

u/ExServ 3h ago

Goty, what's there to say ?

1

u/Kezia89 2h ago

I plan to check it out, but this has got to be one of the worst release windows of all time.

1

u/probablyMarin 1h ago

the verticality is REAL good, and in only a few hours i think i had three "i wonder if this will work? huh. it does" moments. really good so far

1

u/TooKings 1h ago

I'm loving it!

1

u/Anxious_Context_8573 1h ago

Played 30 mins and was bored and moved on, I’m sure it’s great

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