Slay the Princess originally released on PC in October 2023, but being the console-loving fiend I am, I missed it the first time around. Little did I know that luck would soon smile upon me, as one year later, Slay the Princess – The Pristine Cut made its way onto all modern platforms. I soon found myself on a path in the woods.
Slay the Princess is a visual novel, but one quite unlike any you have played before. You take the role of an unseen protagonist who finds themselves in a shadowy forest, with only the disembodied voice of the Narrator for company. He insists that you make your way to the cabin that lies at the end of the path, as in the cabin is a Princess. He tells you that you’re here to slay her. If you don’t, it will be the end of the world. The choices you make next determine not only the course of events to follow, but also the type of reality you reach.
Slay the Princess proceeds in distinct stages. Shortly, you find yourself in the cabin, a simple, barren space, and here you meet your first major decision. In front of you stands a table, and on it, a knife. Do you take the knife, or leave it? You may already be questioning the Narrator’s insistence on the death of the Princess. Can she really be all that bad? Whatever you choose here influences the nature of the occupant, entrapped on the floor below.
Because, you see, multiple Princesses await you down there, each a subtle variation on the central theme; the same blade with a different handle. On the stairs leading downward, you might be greeted by a timid voice, hesitant and afraid. Alternatively, you could hear hostile tones, expectant with the promise of brutal violence, delivered in the dark. After your first encounter with the Princess, you end up back on the path, ready to return to the cabin. This time though, the Princess’ form will be markedly different, depending on the aspect of the Princess you have invoked. Each Princess has an archetypal name, like cards in a twisted Tarot deck.
In terms of gameplay, as in most visual novels, you select actions and responses from a set list. Sometimes, choices marked with the word “Explore” appear, which allow you to expand your knowledge of the situation in relative safety, although you find no certainty in Slay the Princess. Prevaricating too long can set off a chain of events you might not be ready for. Equally, charging blindly forward has its own consequences. As you continue, new voices emerge, generated by your actions, with names such as “The Smitten” and “The Opportunist.” Like The Narrator, they introduce insistent interjections, each framing events from their own biased perspectives, adding a distinctive flavor to each run.
It’s an enthralling experience, brought to us by the talents of a small, yet majestic, team. Tony Howard-Arias is the writer and designer of the piece, performing both duties like a king. When it comes to RPGs, the strength of the narrative almost always speaks to me the most, something even more important when it comes to visual novels. Even so, the writing in these games does not always approach the standard of the best literature. You cannot level this accusation at Slay the Princess. Howard-Arias has created a script threaded through with black humor, the sort of comedy that comes to you in the dark of the night, as the last drinks slowly empty. Bound to this is a web of horror, pain, and uncertainty that constantly caught me off guard and left me contemplating each scenario long after it ended. Howard-Arias interrogates the very nature of visual novels, with their focus on exploring different potential paths, and makes the repetition inherent to the form a key part of the interaction. For instance, The Narrator does not remember the resetting of the world around him, and the Voices make you question whether his recalling this fact would be a good idea. The Narrator often uses repeated phrases, such as saying, regarding the Princess, that “slaying her is probably doing her a favor” after describing the unpleasant condition of the stairs leading down to the basement. Howard-Arias uses this as a powerful tool to subvert our expectations by distorting or inverting these phrases at unexpected moments.
Equally important is the work of Abby Howard, who provides the art for Slay the Princess. Black and white visuals prevail: pencil sketches that convey more to the viewer than any fully-colored, 3D-rendered approach could possibly do. She injects every environment with a sense of foreboding; even the most innocent location feels like it could slip from under us and send us plummeting into some horrific unreality. The imagery is almost Lovecraftian, with a sense that this whole universe is waiting until the stars are right, which is also suggested to us by the uncertain nature of the realm we visit. Howard’s different depictions of the Princess display a range and inventiveness that would support an entire series of books, let alone one game. From the plaintive looks of The Damsel, with her oversized eyes and fairytale dress, to the demonic visage of The Adversary, with her horns and forked tail, the designs bring each incarnation to life in unique ways.
Howard is equally skilled at depicting the actions that take place during your encounters. She creates an inviting castle room laden with food for an enticing meal, with the same skill she uses to illustrate the damage caused by slicing edges rending flesh. A measured use of comic book-style storytelling and some light animation supports the art, somehow more effective because of the restraint in its usage. Although not directly akin, there are some similarities to the work of Junji Ito, in the way Howard distorts the ordinary to disconcerting effect and twists the human body into multitudes of disturbing forms. While sometimes shocking, the principal effect is one of alienation, never leaving you on a secure footing for any length of time.
The voice work of Jonathan Sims as The Voices in Your Head supports this, together with Nichole Goodnight as The Princess. Sims’ performance is wonderfully shaped, with slight differences between the Voices that make each distinct despite obviously being the work of one person. He is effectively having an extended conversation with himself, which must be challenging. The interplay between the voices can be hilarious, but Sims also interjects vulnerability where needed, putting you off balance in key moments. Goodnight pulls off a similar feat, with each archetype requiring a substantially different approach. However, we also need to believe that all these versions of the Princess could be the same being. Goodnight offers an underlying cohesiveness to her work that helps to convince that this is the case. She can make you pity the Princess or scare you to death in equal measure. My one minor criticism of the voices is that voiced lines occasionally get slightly cut off at the end of sentences. However, this happens very infrequently and did not significantly disrupt my immersion or enjoyment.
Wrapped around it all is the impressive score by composer Brandon Boone. Slay the Princess has a central musical theme, built around the simple repetition of four notes on a piano, at once both eerie and lyrical. From this lynchpin, Boone spins out new variants for each Princess archetype to bring out the essence of those incarnations while still reflecting back on the original theme, like images spinning outwards from a murky moonlit pool. The Adversary’s motif is a favorite, with its booming chimes evoking force and inevitability, as is The Spectre’s, which is suitably haunting with its echoing tones and ghostly moans.
Of course, this is The Pristine Cut, so I should mention some of the changes in this version. Three chapters — The Den, The Fury, and Apotheosis — each feature extra content. A distinct Chapter 3 has also been added for The Specter, The Damsel, and The Princess. I have tried some additional content and can confirm that, even as someone new to the title, it is of a similar quality to the rest of the material and provides a worthwhile reason for veterans to revisit Slay the Princess.
Slay the Princess – The Pristine Cut is a work of video game art that should not be missed by anyone fond of this form of the genre. It takes you down the stairs, traps you in the basement, and forces you to confront yourself in a dark mirror that wears a tiara. Pick up the blade. You’re going to need it to face what’s down there.
