Slay the Princess

Play it on: Windows, macOS, Linux (Steam Deck OK)
Current goal: Kill the monarch

I’ve already rolled credits once on Black Tabby Games’ time-loop horror visual novel Slay the Princess. But I find myself once again walking up the hill to the cabin and down the stairs to the dungeon where a princess is awaiting her demise, as I’m compelled to see if it will end differently this time.

Slay the Princess is the inverse of the Far Cry definition of insanity. I do the same thing over and over, knowing even the slightest variation will make it demonstrably different. The only constant is that I will find a princess, who is supposedly going to end the world if she escapes the cabin, locked up in a dungeon awaiting a dagger through the heart.

I can do this without question, or I can sit down and talk with her, or I can turn around and leave, but all roads lead to either her death or mine. Each of those paths is unnerving, elevated by Slay the Princess’ stellar writing, pitch-perfect voice acting, and haunting black-and-white art. I didn’t need to see every variation to reach the “end” of the game, but knowing those permutations are still out there keeps me walking down the cabin’s stairs to see what horrors await me at the bottom once again.

By the way, the game is on sale until November 2, so you can get it for 10 percent off. — Kenneth Shepard