Like many people, I have been keeping a keen eye out for all of the announcements that have come out during the Summer Game Fest and surrounding events over the last few weeks. One of the things that I was surprised to see announced was that there would be an extended version and Collector’s Edition of Slay the Princess. Slay the Princess was a game that I adored when it came out in 2023!

I already plan to review the Pristine Cut and hopefully get the Collector’s Edition, but seeing all of this made me question how I had reviewed the game. While going through my published works, I shockingly realized that I had never written a proper review for the game. So to make amends and give myself something to look at when comparing this version of the game to the Pristine Cut, let’s dive into Slay the Princess.

Slay the Princess has a simple description; “You’re here to slay the princess. Don’t believe her lies.” This line seems very simple, but Black Tabby Games proves how to drive home something so simple in this psychological horror visual novel. While it has a simple control scheme given that your only choice is to pick what sort of decision or dialogue you want to select, the way that this game repeats itself is what truly gives it more life than the common linear visual novel.

The choices in this game at first seem to be rather simple. However, there are a variety of things that stand in your way and unusual circumstances that you come across which makes every run seem like an entirely different rabbit hole.

The story primarily consists of three main characters; The Princess, The Narrator, and You. The Narrator remains throughout most of the game as a stable element. This omnipotent one whispers in your ears and tells you to slay the princess for the good of the world. Listening to it will yield different results. The same is true for ignoring its various commands and it will often try to block you from doing anything that it doesn’t want you to do.

The Princess is the focal point of the entire story and she is full of mystery in the very beginning. As the story progresses and you make a variety of choices, she will change in a myriad of ways. You as the main character also change quite often depending on the choices that you make. Every run through the story will result in a different voice entering into your subconscious mind providing new viewpoints to the story. 

The story is primarily set in a house on top of a hill surrounded by a forest. This house serves as the jail of the princess before you decide if you will slay her. Similar to the Princess and You, the setting will change from time to time based on your decisions. With how much it changes, I would argue that the setting acts as the fourth main character of the plot. The changes in the setting also help to unlock different endings that affect the overall outcome of the story.

While it is quite difficult to talk about this game without giving too much away, the one thing that I can easily gush over is the absolutely amazing art that was put together for this game. Made by the extremely talented Abby Howard, the artwork gives it a dreamy fairytale vibe. The artwork puts you in an initial state of calm that is slowly shattered by the creepy imagery appearing throughout the plot. 

While the current version on game stores is brilliant, I am looking forward to the Pristine Cut and the Collector’s Edition. If you want more information on either of those things, I am leaving a link here that will take you to Serenity Forge’s website. From this link, you can order the Standard and Collector’s Edition of Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut. If for some reason you feel uncomfortable purchasing it straight from their website, then I would suggest going on Best Buy’s website as pre-orders are open there too.

The Best Buy site has an estimated release date of February 28th, 2025, so it will be a long time before we are able to get our hands on it. Feel free to leave your thoughts on this game in the comments below. If you would like something story driven to read about, you should check out Keiran McEwen’s review of Doctor Who “Rogue” right here.

A PC review copy of Slay the Princess was provided by Black Tabby Games for this review.

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Slay the Princess

17.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Fascinating Story
• Multiple Endings
• Beautiful Artwork

Cons

• Pace Could Drive People Away