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 slay the princess, it will end the world. Or will it? Either way, in Slay the Princess by Black Tabby Studios, it’s your job to do just that. But of course, it can never be so simple as just going into a basement and stabbing someone to save the world… right?

GRAPHICS & VISUALS 8/10

Brilliantly black and white, the hand-drawn artwork of Slay the Princess first caught my eye. There are subtle movements throughout these drawings to keep your screen from getting boring, which I greatly appreciated. I also was grateful that the fonts and colorings were very legible! There are a few instances where color is used to make a statement, and the artist does a great job of saving that until the contrast is needed or if it’s just extra bloody. In my opinion, there were some background effects that felt too realistic and did not fit the overall mood of the game. However, these were rarely used, so the difference didn’t affect gameplay much.

One thing I also enjoyed was that the developers would have art streams where Black Tabby Studios shared their progress prior to the game’s release. I was able to tune in a handful of times, and they’ve shared sketches of early projects as well. They are currently doing this with their upcoming DLC, and it’s always a pleasure to watch the growth of the game.

MUSIC & SOUND QUALITY 10/10

Phenomenal voice acting, especially considering there are only two voice actors. The different voices you hear even for the same character, like the Princess, show some true talent and excellent casting. Everything is delivered clearly, the sound balanced for when a whisper should be a whisper, and the lines were truly brought to life by Jonathan Sims and Nichole Goodnight.

Here is one of my favorite voice-acted scenes.

This is all one voice actor. Jonathan Sims does a fantastic job in all his roles.

Background music sets the mood, as do the sound effects. Even with our “eyes” closed and a black screen, the timing of ripping flesh sounds still made me squirm. I also found the background music guiding my decisions at times: in some scenes, I would find myself happily scrolling through options, weighing out each dialogue or action. And in intense scenes, that can quite literally be life or death? The desire to click through just to get the sound of your heart beating or heavy breathing to stop would prompt me to anxiously pick, just like one might if they were actually in this situation. It almost felt like boss music picking up in a fight- even if you’re only fighting with words. And the sounds every time you die or reset? Still makes me jump, even with that happening over 50 times to me at this point. On Steam, there is a deluxe edition that features the music from the game and I kind of regret not getting it, as the tunes end up stuck in my head all day. The end credits also provide a set list of songs that were played, and they suggest taking a screenshot. This was a lovely way to bring recognition to these talented composers!

GAMEPLAY 9/10

Slay the Princess is a visual novel, so as such, the gameplay is decently simple and very easy to understand. There were a few details that made this visual novel stand out amongst the rest.

There are a few moments when the game will reset you or even close your game. The first time it closed my game out, I was nearly screaming—it was such a perfect move in creating the background of a character (unnamed due to spoilers). These little jumps were a great way of grounding yourself and your character to remember that, oh yeah, someone else is in charge, aren’t they?

Some other gameplay assets of note: The game and the demo as well, pull up a warning for triggers and medical alerts before starting the game. This was greatly appreciated, as the game can get seriously gruesome very fast. I did enjoy that this wasn’t listed, but instead linked, so there wouldn’t be spoilers either. I also loved how nothing was timed, even if the sound made you think otherwise. I could think over my options for as long as needed, although there may be some heart pounding and heavy breathing in my ears until I choose.

Your options in the game do truly feel endless at some points. The smallest little details can change things, and even though I completed the demo, there are still paths I didn’t get to and ones I haven’t found that I’ve gotten before. If I had one complaint gameplay wise, it would be that I needed more save files! Desperately! There are seriously so many paths that branch off, and as a chronic saver, I only have three slots left. I am determined to get all the Steam achievements as I did for the demo!

STORY & CHARACTERS 9/10

One “full” chapter playthrough took me about 3 hours to complete but left me with more questions and options that I wanted to see through. Something I really love is that if you are someone like me who feels guilty about the whole murder thing, the story drives home that everything serves its purpose and its lesson and explains how endings can be good. I even saved some valuable quotes from my playthroughs.

However, there were times when the story didn’t feel all too different from others. Two plots, where you get to in completely different ways, had nearly word for word the same dialogue, just a different version of the princess. Other endings just didn’t feel nearly as complete as others, and a few had changed from the demo as well. Every combination of chapters seems to lead you to essentially the same ending point, which is fine, but I would have loved some variation in how slaying or not slaying the princess affects the final “boss.”

In all, though, the story was quite riveting, and I found myself still interested in how many different combinations I could get — and enjoyed a few instances of breaking the fourth wall too. The overall moral of the story is that there is happiness in both life and death and weighing the ethics of being able to live forever or not. There isn’t a true happy ending, as even the self proclaimed good ending has you internally questioning if this was the best idea- and depending on the playthrough, you may be told that this isn’t the way out.

There are so many versions of the Princess. Some are creepy, some are adorable, some are both. But each version brought something different to the table that you could find charm in, or a lesson. The narrator and voices are also so memorable — even though I’ve heard the Narrator so many times,  his voice and quips help to set the scene. I love hearing the variance in the voices inside our head (think: devil and angel on your shoulder) and seeing how quickly the princess can flip from one version to the next. All of the characters felt multi-dimensional, and I was somehow rooting for everyone throughout my playthroughs.

It makes sense that this is a love story in the end, as I fell in love with these characters as well. There isn’t a large cast, which works, and this realistically puts into perspective just how important your relationship with the Princess would be. I do wish we got to see more of ourselves—I was hoping for some more physical growth over different playthroughs—but I loved how features of our own were hinted at through the little voices in our heads and nicknames from the Princess.

Black Tabby Studios is in the process of releasing new DLC with varying storylines, so I’m hoping this will satisfy my desire for more options!

OVERALL 9/10

I am nothing short of obsessed with Slay the Princess by Black Tabby Studios. I am beyond excited to see what they come up with next, as their previous work, Scarlet Hollow, was also a big hit. Now, enough of that, I need to see what comes next and do some more playthroughs. As the Princess says: “I wonder how many times I’ll get to play…”

Slay the Princess was developed by Black Tabby Studios and published by Serenity Forge. Slay the Princess is currently available on Steam. This game was purchased at full price and reviewed after falling in love with the demo. Go wishlist, demo, or play Slay the Princess now!.