Review: Slay the Princess – The Ultimate Edition (Nintendo Switch)

Slay the Princess, the immensely popular visual novel, crafts an intense psychological horror experience using surprisingly straightforward yet highly effective elements. The Pristine Cut edition takes this acclaimed game and elevates it with a wealth of new content. Existing storylines are enriched with fresh variations, alongside three brand-new plots for players to dive into.

With its hand-drawn, pencil-sketch style artwork, the game immediately immerses you in an ethereal, fairytale-like world. From the outset, you’re guided by the voice of a disembodied narrator, pulling you into an adventure that quickly transforms into a thought-provoking cosmic puzzle.

In this journey, you step into the shoes of a hero destined to slay a princess who is chained in a mysterious cabin. The narrator warns that failing to kill her will lead to the world’s destruction. Yet, there’s another voice that challenges your mission, questioning if it’s truly a hero’s role to kill rather than save princesses. This is where you face a myriad of choices to navigate your complex assignment.

You can choose to confront the situation head-on, entering the cabin with the intention of killing the princess without hesitation. Alternatively, you may decide to engage her in conversation, hear her story, and determine if ending her life is the morally right course of action.

Regardless of your initial choice, the story doesn’t end there. Once you finish the first chapter, the narrative loops, bringing you back to the cabin’s entrance. Your character now recalls previous attempts and demands to uncover the truth, despite the narrator’s persistent ignorance.

This looping narrative introduces a fascinating meta-layer to Slay the Princess – The Pristine Cut, moving beyond the initial moral dilemma and delving into a realm of philosophical inquiry. This philosophical exploration builds beautifully on the classic folklore imagery introduced at the start. With each cycle, the paths you can take evolve—you can’t repeat your previous choices. The visuals shift as well, giving the sensation of traveling through different yet eerily similar realities.

Boasting a total of nine possible endings and numerous paths to reach each one, the game’s art style creates a captivating atmosphere that’s enhanced by an original and haunting musical score. Most of the action takes place within the cabin’s confines, using this space to evoke a strong sense of claustrophobia. Character designs artfully subvert classic fantasy tropes, brought to life with excellent voice acting that vividly animates each character and the myriad voices in your hero’s head. Despite a cartoon-like style, some of the visuals deliver a strikingly disturbing impact.

Though Slay the Princess – The Pristine Cut isn’t lengthy or overly complex, it masterfully utilizes every tool at its disposal. Each carefully crafted detail contributes to an incredibly engaging experience, making clever use of its intricate narrative paths to ensure that your choices feel truly consequential.