I happened to see The Dark Queen of Mortholme pop up on social media and was immediately drawn to the idea presented by the game. It is a short form narrative game that puts you in the shoes of a side-scrolling souls-like boss as they defend their infernal throne from an increasingly persistent player character. You start out easily mopping the floor with the player character, but every time they come back, they are a little better and a little more powerful.
From more of a surface-level reading, The Dark Queen of Mortholme is a really fun meta game about how annoying it must be to be a boss in a video game with the player character just continuously coming back for more every few minutes. The game gets a bit deeper as you go along and can be read a number of different ways. The first thing that struck me was about the difference between resting on your laurels and overcoming adversity. If you are just constantly sitting on your throne, not working to get any better, no matter how good you started out, you will always eventually be dethroned by someone who is willing to take risks and eve fail in an attempt to get better.
The game could also read as a commentary on the inevitability of mortality. As you defeated the plucky adventurer every time, they keep getting a little better each time. They learn how to dodge your attacks and do a little bit more damage and your life bar gets a little lower every time. At a certain point, it becomes clear that eventually you will be overcome and it is up to you whether you want to accept your fate or go down fighting.
The whole game took me less than an hour, but it was well-worth the $5 that it cost. Check it out if you the chance.
