THE DARK QUEEN OF MORTHOLME is a 20 minute long, self-proclaimed "anti-game" by Mosu Aijala, and is one of my most memorable game experiences in recent memory
Through this review I’m going to spoil the hell out of the handful of story beats in the game, so if you’re a From Software fan, or someone who enjoys interesting takes on the video game medium in general, I highly recommend you play this game before reading on.
The game takes the traditional power fantasy of action RPGs, with particular reference to From Software titles, and flips it on its head, because this time, you’re not the underdog hero struggling against impossible odds.
You’re the boss. The big bad. The final challenge.
Set entirely within a single throne room, you play as THE DARK QUEEN OF MORTHOLME herself, waiting for a challenger to make an inevitably pointless attempt on your life.
When the plucky hero does arrive, you ensure their death is quick. Of course, the hero doesn’t stay dead. At first, you obliterate them with ease, feeling like a god amongst mere mortals.
After a few rounds you notice your health bar isn’t quite as full as it was at the end of the previous fight. Are their attacks hitting harder? Oh, they have a shiny new sword.
Just great, he knows how to dodge roll now. The hero keeps coming back, progressively stronger, faster, with new ways to avoid taking damage and eventually much better equipped.
All the while you remain the same, and that unshakable confidence you had at the start starts to waver.
The writing is where this game really shines. It’s self-aware without breaking character, balancing dry humour with a real sense of increasing existential dread.
The Dark Queen begins the game full of bravado, declaring herself eternal, invincible. But as the battles wear on, cracks begin to show.
Her dialogue shifts from mocking superiority to anxious self-doubt, mirroring the player’s growing realisation that this fight isn’t going to end well.
It is truly infuriating to watch your enemy quickly learn how to avoid being hit by every attack that once made quick work of them.
For fans of punishing action games, the kind this hero would feel right at home in, it’s a joy seeing things from the other side.
The hero, despite losing time and time again, is a relentless optimist. They monologue about the pride in improvement, the thrill of getting stronger, the satisfaction of overcoming impossible odds.
And for the first time, you’re the one stuck in place, watching them grow while you remain static.
You start to empathise with every final boss you’ve ever fought, as you step into the role of the trapped, eternal, unchanging one-note plot device for someone else’s story, while the hero moves forward, experiences life, and eventually, inevitably, wins.
The Dark Queen of Mortholme is short, sharp, and superbly executed.
It’s a brilliant deconstruction of the hero’s journey, packed into a tightly paced 20-minute experience.
If you love games that play with expectations, or just want to see what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a Dark Souls protagonist’s endless determination, I can’t recommend it enough.
The Dark Queen of Mortholme, and is available on itch.io for however much you would like to spend.
