Nowadays, FromSoftware is known as a leader in the action RPG space, and has been making waves since 2009 Demon's Souls at least through the 2022s Fire Ring. But before these games, even before Hidetaka Miyazaki took a leadership role in the studio, FromSoftware was known for a completely different kind of RPG, a style characterized by King's Field.
Taking a look back at King's Field franchise is a fascinating practice in game development research and analysis. Much like the early Souls games, King's Field appealed to somewhat of a niche audience: while some entries achieved a semblance of mainstream popularity, the franchise as a whole was rejected by many gamers due to its slow, obtuse and brutally difficult gameplay. What's interesting about this critique, though, is how similar it is to critiques of FromSoftware's more recent work: King's Field was considered too hard and too impenetrable by many. But its atmospheric atmosphere, uncompromising grimdark story, and layered, open-ended gameplay set the stage for what FromSoft would go on to accomplish with Demon's soulpp and its successors, do King's Field a historically significant series, if not a particularly well-aged one. Unfortunately, FromSoftware seems to have no intention of reviving King's Field or its spin-offs. This is where Steam's indie scene comes into play.
Labyrinth of the Demon King is a great tribute to King's Field's edgy story and tough gameplay
Labyrinth of the Demon King has the King's Field special sauce, modernized
The King's Field games, sort of like Dark souls and Blood borneare horror-tinged without being full-scale horror experiences. Players move through creepy areas and fight oh-so-creepy skeletons, and the aforementioned atmosphere is certainly unsettling, but it's not exactly scary per se. Labyrinth of the Demon King maintains this atmospheric weight of King's Fieldbut with the horror factor turned up several notches.
Labyrinth of the Demon King takes place during the latter stages of the Dharma, an apocalyptic period in Japanese folklore similar to Ragnarok in Norse mythology and the Kali Yuga in Hinduism. Characterized by death, decay and an influx of Yokai (Japanese demons), Dharma provides the backdrop for all manner of fleshy, bizarre and terrifying creatures. More than that, Labyrinth of the Demon Kings portrayal of this apocalypse is psychologically harrowing and is inherently hopeless and terrifying.
Players take on the role of a foot soldier whose leader has been tricked by a malevolent spirit known as the Demon King. As a result, the leader and his party are besieged by Yokai, and everyone dies except the protagonist. Bound by Honor sets the hero on a quest to avenge his leader and enters the labyrinth of the titular Demon King. As a pure infantryman, the main character is heavily underpowered and outgunned, which helps capture the game King's Fields signature difficulty and terror.
The game is greatly elevated by its clear visual homages to King's Field: it's first-person and slow, with intentionally awkward combat and thick, loopy visuals reminiscent of the PlayStation 1. But while the aesthetics of PS1-era horror games were often only casually terrifying, Labyrinth of the Demon King uses them, combined with smoother animations and a more cinematic presentation, to create true and lasting terror. Along with its nihilistic, existential narrative, Labyrinth of the Demon King is a worthy successor to King's Fieldat least from a narrative and tonal perspective.
Lunacid channels High Adventure and Mystery of King's Field
If fear and existential dread aren't quite your cup of tea, but you still want to experience a modern version of King's Field experience, Lunacid may be more your speed. It's not silly or cartoony, but rather more fantastical and explicitly high fantasy – it's not as dark as Labyrinth of the Demon Kingit is safe.
Still, it's a brooding, apocalyptic tale that plunges players into a glorious and sometimes beautiful hell. A “Great Beast” has risen from the depths of the sea and has covered the earth in a poisonous mist, taking countless lives and blocking light from the world. The player-character begins his journey in the depths of the Great Well, a deep, mysterious pit where “undesirables” have been cast. Players must descend deeper into the great well in search of the Old One, hoping for salvation.
Lunacid developer KIRA LLC, previously best known for Lost in Vivohave expressly mentioned King's Field as a direct inspiration, as if it had ever been questioned. The game clearly takes notes from FromSoft's long-lost classics, but with countless modern touches that enhance its first-person ARPG gameplay. Combat and exploration are still slow and methodical, though LunacidThe class system, variety of unique weapons, and choice-based narrative structure make it more in line with what RPG fans have come to expect from the genre. Lunacid also addresses a main criticism against King's Field through its environmental design: Lunacids levels are rich, varied and colorful, in contrast to King's Fieldare often claustrophic, colorless, monotonous premises.
Lunacid has also been favorably regarded by gamers, currently holding a 90% very positive rating on Steam.
It's hard to say if FromSoftware will ever return King Field in the future, although the prospect seems unlikely. It seems that the developer sees its current soul-like design philosophy as a natural evolution of King's Field design frame; FromSoft probably doesn't want to turn back the clock. Thankfully, ambitious indies like the ones above are here to carry the torch.
