FromSoftware’s King’s Field was an astonishingly immersive RPG for 1994, a dark fantasy where every object was something that could be examined up close and from all angles. Every herb. Every skeleton. Every treasure chest and trap.
These first-person visual wonders weren’t contained within some artificially restrictive turn-based RPG, tile-based dungeon crawl, or hemmed in by an intrusive framerate-saving UI. Players were free to explore the deadly domain however they pleased. Monsters could sneak up from behind, ledges could be cautiously peered over, painful surprises could swoop in from above, and coins could be collected off the floor.
Lunacid: Atmosphere is everything
After the end of the world.
Developer: Kira LLC | Release date: 2023 | Steam Deck: Verified | Link: Steam
Image 1 of 4
- King’s Field + Ultima Underworld
- Controls like: A sports car fresh off the lot (as long as you put points in the Speed stat)
Lunacid does an incredible job of capturing one of the most alluring yet intangible parts of King’s Field’s style: an almost soul-crushingly melancholy mood. Playing this feels a lot like turning up to your own post-apocalyptic funeral, where everything’s already broken and it’s too late to fix it. And somehow the game manages to convey this feeling while using fewer polygons for an entire room than AAA games expend on someone’s left nostril.
Everything feels old and worn and never less than deeply unsettling, the low level of detail only encouraging your imagination to fill in the polygonal blanks. Silent micro-stories are found everywhere, past tragedies hinted at through subtle visual choices. Disfigured bodies sit in serene prayer. A sea of blood stretches out into the dark, gravestones jutting out above the surface. Cloth bandages are found inside filthy straw-strewn cells.
Lunacid runs as deep as the choking shadows found around every corner. Every suspicious nook seems to hide a secret. Sanity can have an impact on how tangible certain beings are, and even the phases of the moon matter, strengthening and weakening certain monsters. Nothing is as straightforward as it seems, every new session leading to some new discovery or unexpected (and probably deadly) surprise.
Verho – Curse of Faces: The joys of an unfolding landscape
Enthusiasm for exploration.
Developer: Kasur Games | Release date: 2025 | Steam Deck: Verified | Link: Steam
Image 1 of 4
- King’s Field + Dark Souls 2
- Controls like: A sensible station wagon in a forsaken kingdom
There’s all of the classic FromSoftware paraphernalia in here—a slightly awkward magic system, highly stylised NPCs with no real faces, aggressive plants, poison lakes—but what makes this game stand out is how interconnected it all is. Right from the start there’s always some shortcut-creating ladder to kick down, a locked door to keep in mind for later, or a fast travel-enabling magical statue to make a slightly desperate dash for as monsters close in behind. Every step forward is an opportunity to either build a convenient path back to safety, or forge ahead into the unknown, torch in hand. With time and practice an initial panicked sprint past dead bodies and previously unseen monsters becomes a place to fight through for key items, then a place to cautiously explore for unlockable paths and links to new areas, then somewhere to farm monsters for XP and boldly explore for secrets.
Enigmatic NPCs can often be found sitting by campfires or resting in quieter spots, ready to give these areas context, or to offer a reason to push on into dangerous territory. Maybe they can open an otherwise impassable door if they’re given a special item found in a dangerous area, warn people away from a nearby deathtrap, or offer tantalising hints for upcoming mysteries. There’s always a new road to travel, a new opportunity to explore.
Monomyth: Improvisation and interactivity above all
It’s supposed to be on fire. Honest.
Developer: Rat Tower | Release date: 2024 (early access) | Steam Deck: Playable | Link: Steam
Image 1 of 3
- King’s Field + Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
- Controls like: American muscle in a demolition derby
Monomyth may eschew the faux-retro look used to great effect by many Field-likes, but is no less atmospheric or authentic for its modern extravagances. Flames cast long shadows in the gloom, magical auras distort reality itself, and cool mists pool around armoured ankles. More impressive than the graphics is the fact that none of this additional detail is just for show. Enemies can see better in well lit areas, which can lead to some interesting torch-pilfering/light-dousing tactics. Bloodstained bandages can be washed in clean water, and a fish can be cooked simply by placing it near a fire or grill and then waiting for the heat to work its magic, the food visibly charring in the process.
Creative exploration isn’t just possible, it’s encouraged. Boxes can be stacked and stood on, creating shortcuts that officially don’t exist. There’s a good chance a locked door can be picked open, or even smashed to pieces or set alight. A metal cup on a desk is more than simple decoration—it can be picked up and hurled through iron bars, triggering the pressure plate on the other side, creating an unscripted workaround.
The correct solution to any problem is simply whatever happens to work.
Caput Mortum: Using friction as a feature
Better for being awkward.
Developer: WildArts Games | Release date: 2025 | Steam Deck: Playable | Link: Steam
Image 1 of 4
- King’s Field + Amnesia
- Controls like: A WWII anti-aircraft gun
Captum Mortum eagerly embraces the idea of being awkward to play, choosing to map turning and vertical camera movement to a controller’s shoulder buttons (as King’s Field games did) so the right analogue stick can dedicate itself to manoeuvring the player’s right arm. It’s deliberately clunky and difficult, and so much better for it. This virtual body is a physical presence; a clearly defined object within this alchemically-themed world, with all the natural limitations and restrictions that go with it. This means items can be out of arm’s reach, even if they’re within what every other game would insist was some kind of permissible interaction range.
It’s not enough to jab “open” when near a door, the hand must be made to reach towards the handle first.Of course it should—how else would a door open? In other instances physical gestures must be mimicked with reasonable accuracy, and washing a wall with a sponge to reveal hidden secrets is an involved, manual act, rather than some forgettably generic command.
It’s all the small things most games smooth away until they’re easily ignored or forgotten, brought to the foreground and made interesting again. Simple interactions become satisfying tasks, and what would be stock actions elsewhere are transformed into unique, personal acts.
Labyrinth of the Demon King: Be afraid
Very afraid.
Developer: J.R. Hudepohl | Release date: 2025 | Steam Deck: Playable | Link: Steam
Image 1 of 4
- King’s Field + Silent Hill
- Controls like: A sedan whose wheels are spinning in the mud as someone tries to carjack you
King’s Field games were always scary, but this game takes that fear and then turns it up to 11 by adding a generous helping of Silent Hill to the mix. Anything that isn’t swallowed by shadows is smothered by a thick layer of fog, and everything close enough to see is covered in dark rust, black mould, stale blood, or some unholy combination of all three. Fleshy growths pulsate. Monsters have skin where their eyes should be. Eyes where their skin should be. Not enough flesh on undead bones. A skin-crawling need to scuttle.
It’s more than just dirty, it’s actively repulsive.
Running away from these terrors is rarely an option within the often narrow confines of the game’s old prisons and ancient Japanese buildings, and combat is tense and involved. Enemies skew fast and aggressive—so aggressive they’ll regularly fight and kill each other—and aren’t afraid of closing the distance or attacking from around a corner with little warning. Weapon swings tend to consume a lot of stamina, meaning blows must be well-timed to avoid being left vulnerable, and learning when to kick enemies away needs to be mastered as quickly as possible. This is about as close to a playable nightmare as RPGs of any kind can get.
