14 DAY TRIAL // 
I’ve tried to use the blade to kill the princess, as directed by the narrator and the name of the game. It didn’t work out as my character was expecting and the royal progeny proved to be more than a match in terms of fighting prowess. Maybe he should have made more straightforward choices and then used his blade sooner and without asking as many questions.
I, as the player who knows more than the character I am controlling, have even more doubts than he has. There are too many voices, other than that of the narrator, in his head, expressing too many feelings that should not exist. We visited the woods, a cabin, and its basement. But we don’t know what else is out there and, other than the Princess, it seems that no one else is around.
We are again in the forest and on the path. On the right side of the screen, the same list of exploration options awaits. The cabin is still there, and the blade is ready for use, if I decide to pick it up. This doesn’t seem to be time travel. But given how our interaction went the first time around, it’s time to think of a new way to deal with the Princess and see how much I can change.
Slay the Princess is developed and published by Black Tabby Games. I played it on Steam on the PC. The game is a text-driven adventure that features plenty of player choice and a black-and-white presentation.
As the name makes clear, gamers will be asked to kill a woman who’s labeled as a princess within the first few moments of the game. The idea is that if she gets to leave the cabin where she is imprisoned, this scion of royal blood will end the world. Initially, the identity of our protagonist is unclear, and the story shows he has no idea about his motivation, and he is unsure about the world he exists in.
The start of the game is promising and the narrative moves pretty quickly and in intriguing directions. Almost any detail can be seen as a spoiler (the images attached to this article also reveal details about the story’s direction). The basic assumptions of the protagonist will be questioned, as will those of the players.
I like the writing, which manages to acknowledge the complexity of the situation while giving a ton of great lines to the many voices that are vying for attention. Is the skeptic right to doubt that any of this has a meaning? Should players believe the way the core narrator is pushing them to kill the Princess as quickly as possible?
The game’s meta wrapper, which gets revealed pretty fast, requires a little suspension of disbelief but so does plenty of other great fantasy. I think the developers should have tried to deliver more scary moments without relying on flashing images or distorted sounds. The game also touches on some tough subjects, like suicide and potential abuse, but I think they are well handled.
Slay the Princess’ gameplay is very adventure game standard. Characters talk (click the mouse to get to the next set of lines quickly) and a set of options, most related to conversations but some linked to actions, appear on the right. The narrative asks players to experiment and experience the consequences of their actions. There’s not a lot of variety here but it serves the story well.
The world is seen from a first-person view, which enables some interesting moments and adds to the general idea that information is limited by one’s perspective. At certain points, players are locked into their paths and the choice disappears. But it’s not long before the protagonist is back on the path to the cabin, although he also visits stranger locations.
Slay the Princess features jump scares that aren’t terribly effective, as well as some bursts of violence that are shocking. But this is not a horror game at its core, more of a strange fable that asks gamers to think about free will, the power of stories, and the importance of endings. The experience is designed to support multiple playthroughs and offers options to move through already-seen content faster to cut down on dead time.
Slay the Princess adopts a mostly black-and-white look that initially seems a little simplistic. I thought it could not sustain an entire game, especially given the limited number of locations and characters featured. As soon as small changes started to appear and the new versions of the Princess popped up, I saw that simplicity was an asset, with visuals carefully chosen for each situation to draw an emotional reaction and create some surprising moments. The game offers a strong example of doing a lot with a little in the presentation department.
The entire experience is fully voice acted, which makes it easier for players to become immersed in this dark fairy tale universe. I finished reading lines before the actors did pretty often, but I still waited for them to finish before making a choice or pushing the action forward. The two actors involved, Jonathan Sims and Nichole Goodnight, manage to infuse characters with personality and emphasize the dark moments. The soundtrack adds to a great audio design, even though I turned it down for my second playthrough.
The Good
- Complex narrative
- Strong voice acting
- Focus on choice and consequences
The Bad
- Simple mechanics
- Limited locations
- A few lines that feel out of place
Conclusion
These mix with the strong voice acting and engaging visual style to make the experience worth playing despite its limited gameplay. Fewer attempts at jump scares would have made it even easier to focus on the world's strangeness. Slay the Princess should appeal to fans of the uncanny who are interested a good story and solid twists.
Review key provided by the publisher.
