You’re on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Princess.
You’re here to slay her. If you don’t, it will be the end of the world.
Many thanks to the publisher for the review code.
YOUR PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER BASEMENT
Slay the Princess starts off rather low key with its simple, yet stunning, hand-drawn art style and straightforward premise. You’ll be fooled into thinking there isn’t much to the game as you’re guided gently along through a short series of multiple choices – some of which lead to branching paths – until you ultimately decide on whether you want to slay the princess or save her.
I, of course, did as I was told without hesitation and instead of saving the world as I had expected, I was instead treated to the game’s true nature. This isn’t your typical narrative adventure: it’s effectively a cosmic horror version of The Stanley Parable.
For a title focused predominantly on its narrative surprises, to say anything more about the story would risk spoiling a lot of the game’s charm – as such, I’ll refrain from diving into any more detail so that you can experience it fresh. Needless to say the fantastic writing and voice acting enhance what is already a really compelling tale.
What makes it even more enjoyable than I expected going in was that this story is far more than [potentially] killing a princess, it’s a tale of cosmic horror where you’ll be left questioning your choices until the very end. Thankfully though it’s not just horrifying and gory, it’s also surprisingly light-hearted too with some great humour to help lighten the mood as you go about your business stabbing people whilst being guided by a questionable narrator.
New to this Pristine Cut version of the game is a whole load more dialogue – both written and voiced – with plenty of new paths and endings for you to find. There’s also an unlockable memory gallery available after seeing the end credits for those wanting to keep track of how much of the game they’ve experienced so far. This latter addition may rob the game of some of its mystery, but thankfully only being available after hitting the credits helps make it enhance the experience rather than detract from it.
VERDICT
Slay the Princess is a fantastic narrative cosmic horror game that constantly plays with your expectations and tests your morality of just what is right and wrong in this hand-drawn world. It may have taken a while to come to consoles, but the wait sure has been worth it!
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