Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut

How do you write a review for a game that’s best experienced going in blind? As a novice review writer, it’s an interesting question to ponder, and there really is no better game than Slay the Princess to struggle finding an answer with. Yes, it’s a visual novel with gorgeous hand-pencilled art that emits incredible horror vibes, mostly through very existential topics. It has an award-winning soundtrack that beautifully sets the stage. But at the same time, it’s a game that’s about so much more than what you can perceive on the surface. 

Maybe it’s important to preface this review by stating that I was a massive fan of the original game when it was released in October of last year. You could think that would colour my judgement, and… you’d be right. I was incredibly excited about getting to play even more of this game. But that brings expectation with it, and I did wonder if I was setting myself up for disappointment with the level of hype I felt for the Pristine Cut of this game. Reader, I was a fool. There was no reason to worry whatsoever. All of the incredible ingredients from the base game are still present. But maybe I should introduce the game a bit more before delving deeper into this review.

‘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 are here to slay her. If you don’t, it will be the end of the world.’ That is the basic premise for the game. You have no idea how you found yourselves in these woods, but the Narrator assures you that it is your destiny to be here, as you are the only one who can stop the end of the world. But to do that, you have to slay the titular princess. You might be thinking, ‘Is slaying a princess the right thing to do?’, as we as gamers have been trained to save princesses, not destroy them. And the great thing is: you can ask the game this exact question! Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut is a visual novel that plays like a choose-your-own-adventure book, but unlike most games in this genre, the amount of choices available is simply astounding.

Developer Black Tabby Games first appeared on my radar with the episodic Scarlet Hollow, another fantastic (if yet unfinished) horror game that’s filled to the brim with different choices, influencing the direction your story will take. And I really mean that: plenty of games offer the illusion of choice, but both Scarlet Hollow and Slay the Princess become very different games depending on your decisions. For example, Markiplier (American Youtuber & actor) recently played through Slay the Princess—before the Pristine Cut was released—and it’s totally possible to play the game and see none of the things that he witnessed during his playthrough. Well, except for the first story beat.

You may think that this amount of options would be overwhelming, but Black Tabby Games are very adept at making sure you experience as much as you want to. A lot of the options are exploratory, allowing you to discover more of the game’s lore if you want to, with the choices that continue the story being marked differently. By doing this, you can make Slay the Princess whatever you want it to be. Well, as far as being a hero and (possibly?) slaying a princess are part of it, anyway.

I really feel the urge to delve deeper into the story, but I can’t do that without spoiling the game. What I can say is this: be critical. You will be told what to do or asked why you choose to do things, both by the narrator and the princess. There will be plenty of gaslighting, but also options for disarmingly honest conversation. There will be devastating consequences. And you will be challenged in your own beliefs. But it’s all so very, very worth it. It helps that the game’s presentation is just divine. The hand-pencilled art by Abby Howard is to die for—pun very much intended—and the music by Brandon Boone has already won awards for its brilliance. The writing is incredibly sharp and shows a huge amount of knowledge about the human psyche, while being engaging and entertaining at the same time. And the phenomenal voice acting by Jonathan Sims and Nichole Goodnight manages to still elevate the story to even higher peaks.

Is this a game for everyone? Absolutely not. This is an adult game. Not THAT kind of adult game, but one with mature subjects and quite a bit of gore. It’s psychological horror, with heavy emphasis on the psychological part of that description. Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut will mess with you, and if you feel like you are unable to deal with being manipulated, then maybe give the game a pass. But if you’re in the right mindset to play this and you’re ready to explore the depths of this game’s universe, then I implore you to give this game a try. The Pristine Cut offers 35% more game to explore, and it would be worth it just for that. But there’s also a lot of quality-of-life updates, with the most powerful one being the option to skip dialogue you’ve already heard. Why would you hear dialogue over again? Erm, I… nevermind, let’s move on.