Dark Souls Replacement Queen’s Domain Earns Genuine 10/10 Masterpiece Praise as a GOTY Contender

A new kind of soulslike

With Dark Souls 3 ending FromSoftware’s trilogy, fans have had reason to wonder whether another installment will arrive. The article says director Hidetaka Miyazaki has described the series as finished, while the studio has focused on other worlds, including Elden Ring.

Exploring the Isle of Neasied

Players become stranded on the Isle of Neasied and search for their missing father while investigating the island’s secrets. The adventure includes more than 100 enemies, minibosses and bosses, as well as over 50 melee weapons and 20 types of secondary throwing weapons.

Combat features stamina management, charged attacks and abilities tied to particular weapons. Players can also improve their stats, and the Holy Sword Endu lets them cross gaps to reach areas they could not access before.

Strong reviews, some criticism

Queen’s Domain has an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, with 96% positive English-language reviews. A popular Reddit post by 1buffalowang called it the “Best game I’ve played in years,” comparing it to King’s Field and Metroid Prime and praising its surprises and discovery.

Players have also highlighted the game’s size: crashlanding87 said they were nearly 40 hours in with more to explore, while ArchDraft reported about 90 hours without reaching 100% completion. DagonParty praised its interconnected level design, and laker-prime commended its exploration and enemy variety. Accomplished_Smile23 criticized the combat but still praised the exploration.

Where to play

The game is available on Steam for $19.99, with a free demo for players who want to try it first. It is also listed for PS5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series S/X.