Slay the Princess
Release Date: October 23, 2023
Adventure, fantasy, horror, visual novel, indie games, experimental/artistic, Surrealism, singleplayer
OpenCritic
Slay the Princess is an expansive visual novel adventure game by the creators of Scarlet Hollow. The story is simple: slay the princess, save the world. At least, that's what the Narrator tells us.
Slay The Princess is a one-of-a-kind visual novel adventure game. It was developed by Black Tabby Games, an indie studio founded by Tony Howard-Arias and Abby Howard (known for her artwork in such comic books as The Last Halloween and The Crossroads at Midnight). The couple's also known for another unique game, Scarlet Hollow. They've described their work as a mix of The Stanley Parable and Call of Cthulhu with a touch of Disco Elysium.
Development history
Slay the Princess was released in 2023, though the game's simplifed form was available over a year earlier. In March 2022, a demo serving as the game's teaser was released on Steam. The story was significantly shortened to fit the demo's smaller scale. Only the next demo, released in March 2023, showed how the story could develop in the full release.
Plot
Slay the Princess is a love story in which we must... slay a princess, chained in a forest shack, to save the world. The story is very simple, and so is our task. At least that's what the Narrator tells us - though he refrains from sharing any details regarding the princess, why she's imprisoned, and why exactly we must do the deed.
Mechanics
Being a visual novel, Slay the Princess is based entirely on decision-making, mainly through dialogue choices. Our choices are crucial, affecting the course of the story, the world, both characters and even creating time loops.
The game offers many different endings, though not all will put an end to the story - sometimes we'll experience several endings in the same playthrough. The game can be very gruesome, while the Narrator goes into great detail describing the pain and agony that can befall the protagonist.
Technical aspects
Slay the Princess runs on the Ren'Py engine, a free engine dedicated to creating complex visual novels, developed by Tom "PyTom" Rothamel. The engine was also the basis for such games as Doki Doki Literature Club! and Analogue: A Hate Story.
Videos and Screens
[0:41] Slay the Princess Pristine Cut Launch Trailer
[1:04] Slay the Princess Slay the Princess - The Pristine Cut Animated Release Date Trailer
GamingTrend: 95 / 100 by David Flynn
Slay the Princess is a beautiful narrative of pain, death, love, and transformation. It has so many choices and routes that it's impossible to see them all in one playthrough. While some may come for the terrors of blood, bone, and the unknown, the tender core is what will keep the game in your mind.
Gaming Nexus: 9.5 / 10 by Russell Archey
Slay the Princess is my first visual novel in my roughly thirty-five years as a gamer and I enjoyed every minute of it. With so many dialogue options to choose from, no two runs of the story are the same, and even when you get to the story's finale there are still a few different ways it can ultimately end. The voice acting and soundtrack ties everything together beautifully and for someone who never got into visual novels, I can't recommend this one enough. If you're looking for a psychological horror story with quite a bit of comedic dialogue thrown in, then definitely prepare to Slay the Princess…that kind of came out weird.
Checkpoint Gaming: 8.5 / 10 by Edie W-K
Slay the Princess is an entertainingly dark and subversive visual novel with hidden depths that makes for a great few hours. For developer Black Tabby Games' second title, it's a very encouraging success indeed, and proves that its horror-telling chops in Scarlet Hollow wasn't just a fluke. I will be keenly looking forward to its next title.
Slay the Princess Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows October 23, 2023
PlayStation 5 October 24, 2024
Xbox Series X/S October 24, 2024
Switch October 24, 2024
PlayStation 4 October 24, 2024
Xbox One October 24, 2024
Developer: Black Tabby Games
Publisher: Black Tabby Games
Age restrictions: 18+
Slay the Princess System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Quad Core 2.6 GHz, 4 GB RAM, graphic card Intel HD or better, 14 GB HDD, Windows 7 64-bit
'Pirate It Rather Than Watch Playthrough on YouTube,' Ask Devs of Slay the Princess
Black Tabby Games prefers that gamers without money check out the highly rated Slay The Princess illegally than if they were to spoil their adventure with the game after seeing a walkthrough on YouTube.
video games
Jacob Blazewicz
December 28, 2023
Outstanding Game About Lying Princess Gets Better and Better; Slay the Princess has 97% Positive Ratings on Steam
The excellent adventure game Slay the Princess has received better sound. A patch with new content is also in development.
video games
Adrian Werner
December 27, 2023