In a pixel soulslike, players slip into the shoes of a boss opponent, the Dark Queen of Mortholme. She is attacked by a weak adventurer, who initially doesn’t pose much of a challenge. But the seemingly puny fighter learns after every defeat.
What defines The Dark Queen of Mortholme? In the game from developer Mosu, which was recently released on itch.io, you play a dark queen, a kind of final boss alluding to Soulslike games. An initially pitiful adventurer breaks into her castle and challenges her, whereupon the attacker can be defeated with one swing.
But here the game taps into what are probably an adventurer’s most powerful skills in a Soulslike: self-reflection, adaptability, and relentless tenacity.
The game itself is free, but you can choose whether and how much you want to pay for it.
The game’s trailer shows the art style and gameplay in reversed roles:
The gameplay trailer for The Dark Queen of Mortholme shows the dynamics of the reversed roles
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A battle between power and endurance
How do the reverse roles work? In games like Elden Ring or other Soulslikes, the playable character initially seems like a minor inconvenience compared to the oversized and powerful opponents. The ability to still emerge victorious from a fight with them lies in experience, through which you begin to understand the boss, its attacks and weaknesses.
The Dark Queen of Mortholme plays with exactly this dynamic between adventurer and boss opponent. The reversed roles turn the already familiar perspective on its head. Instead of becoming stronger and more capable as the hero of the game, as the boss you start to get more and more into trouble with each fight.
As a boss, how are you put under pressure by the hero? While you initially incapacitate the challenger with a single blow, the adventurer seems to get better with each defeat. He dodges attacks, acquires new and better weapons, and even begins to taunt the Dark Queen.
The game’s short dialogues further fuel the increasingly exciting dynamic between the two characters through banter and deliberate meta-humor. The queen wonders why the challenger keeps coming, while the adventurer consciously tells her that he is studying her attacks to get better. An interesting narrative develops in a game that lasts just under 20 minutes.
How is The Dark Queen of Mortholme received by players? Mosus Game currently has a 5-star rating with 193 posts. Players express their excitement about the change in perspective, art style and atmosphere. The dialogues and the story also seem very convincing despite their short running time.
If you are interested in The Dark Queen of Mortholme yourself, you should avoid any playthroughs or similar videos on YouTube or TikTok. All reviews promise an exciting and surprisingly heart-touching gaming experience.
It’s no longer a secret that it’s not just AAA games that can cause excitement and that indie games are also becoming more and more prominent in the mainstream. Indie games are not only recognized in their own category at the Game Awards, but can also compete with other blockbusters. The indie game Balatro was one of this year’s nominees for Game of the Year 2024, although the developer didn’t initially expect it: He thought 10 people would play it and he would have to go back to normal work: But a million buy his 1. Game on Steam