Reviews
‘Slay the Princess’ Review – A Dark Fairy Tale With an Impressive Branching Narrative
When I first got my PlayStation 3, I remember being so excited to actually be able to download demos, a concept that was previously regulated to the PC crowd. The first one I grabbed was the demo for the original BioShock. I played 10 minutes, turned it off, and immediately ordered the game. It only took 10 minutes of that demo to fully sell me on what they were offering; I just wanted to wait to experience it in the context of the full game.
This exact same thing happened to me last year when I tried out the demo for the horror visual novel Slay the Princess during Steam Next Fest. Its striking visuals and clever writing got its hooks in me, and I didn’t need to see more than the first 10 minutes. I ignored all trailers and previews, waiting patiently for its release.
Now that the full game is finally out, I’m happy to say that it lives up to its promise.
“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, it will be the end of the world.” This is the simple, yet jarring premise you’re presented with when you start the game. If you’re thinking, “killing a princess seems bad” or “how is she supposed to end the world,” then you’re doing exactly what the game wants you to do. A fairy tale-like narrator guides you on your quest, and dialogue options allow you to challenge him every step of the way. It’s a very focused set up to the story that gives you options to push and pull the narrative into wild and surprising directions.
Visual novels are well-known for their ability to branch off based on your choices, but sometimes I find that frustrating because I’m forced to play through a long story over and over in order to find them all. Slay the Princess smartly keeps the loop of story small so that you can constantly be seeing different paths. Once you go through the loop once, you’ll find yourself back on the path, sometimes with memories of what came before and sometimes not. These loops slowly build on each other until they reach a larger conclusion, which sheds some light on the overall mystery. Get enough pieces toward the metanarrative and you’ll be treated to a definitive ending.
It took me about three and a half hours to reach the credits of the game, but I immediately dove back in because there were clearly other paths I had left to follow. As the game tells you, “there are no wrong answers, there are only fresh perspectives and new beginnings,” and it’s a joy to try to experience them all.
Each of the runs you do in the game feels meaningful and interesting, telling a unique tale that adds to the tapestry of the universe presented. I played through several runs on my way to the ending, and each one of them played out in a completely distinct fashion. As you progress through these runs, you’ll gain additional voices that you talk to, which provide yet another element to take into consideration as you decide what to do with the Princess this time. You always start with the “Voice of the Hero,” but your choices determine the others added to your inner dialogue. Maybe you’re stunned by the Princess’s beauty, so next time you have “Voice of the Smitten” talking to you, or are lied to in some way and end up with “Voice of the Paranoid” in your head. It’s an incredibly compelling way for these runs to build on each other and feel like their own thing.
It’s immensely impressive how many different branches the story can go down, based on seemingly small choices, without feeling like the twists and turns come out of nowhere. Without getting into spoilers, Slay the Princess can go to some dark places, while still balancing the horror with dark humor and a surprising amount of heart. It can’t be stressed enough how this is top of class writing, weaving horrific situations that keep you on your toes.
If you sometimes find visual novels dry in presentation, there’s been a great attention to detail in that matter. It’s fully voice acted, with Jonathan Sims as the narrator (and your inner monologue chorus) and Nichole Goodnight as the Princess. Both of them have such range, grounding every shift in the story in their excellent performances. There are times that just the change in tone of Goodnight’s voice sent a chill up my spine as the mood of a scene shifted towards the macabre. Scenes are brought to life with beautiful monochromatic hand-penciled art from Abby Howard, who does such a great job with the combination of mundane and fantastical that’s presented to you.
Slay the Princess is a story about how people are shaped both by how they are treated and how they treat others. The choices presented to you all feel weighty, and the narratives crafted throughout reflect that. It also sets up a great mystery, then gives you satisfying answers without losing its mystique. Some may find that the conclusion to the story a bit too philosophical and grandiose for the initially small narrative it tells, but the journey to the end is definitely worth it, even if the destination is not your cup of tea.
Even though I never ended up stumbling on the same path twice, I wish there was some sort of decision tree map that was unlocked after completing the game so you could find your way through every iteration of the story without having to do too much guesswork. Going back and watching the trailer, I’m seeing images that I didn’t see in my playthrough, which makes me want to dig even deeper for all the fresh perspectives the game has to offer.
Slay The Princes is out now on Steam and GOG.com.
Stephen King may be known for epic novels like It and The Stand, but many Constant Readers first met the Master of Horror through his short fiction. Beginning with the iconic 1978 collection Night Shift, the best-selling author has been dazzling us for decades with short stories overflowing with sickening gore, fantastical creatures, meticulous violence, and transcendent joy. King follows suit in You Like It Darker, a jaw-dropping collection of twelve terrifying tales, five of them previously unpublished. Inspired by Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker,” the outstanding tome dives head-first into the brutal randomness of pain and destruction – a “lullaby for suffering” only King can deliver.
The collection kicks off with “Two Talented Bastids,” a poignant story about an elderly author and his less talented son. Laird Carmody is a small-town Mainer who prizes his quiet life among the locals – a thinly veiled reference to King himself. The sprawling tale eventually uncovers a chance encounter that may hold the key to creative power. King’s most meta narrative to date, the story features references to the author’s real life including frequent visitors to his famous front gates, recollections of press-tour engagements, and allusions to longer “door stopper” novels. We’re also treated to line edits and sample paragraphs that offer additional peeks into the accomplished creator’s personal process. It’s a winding road both eerie and aspirational that sees the world-famous author grapple with his own unparalleled success while confronting us with the horror of unfulfilled dreams.
Most notable in this impressive collection, “Rattlesnakes” revisits one of King’s most brutal books. A sequel to the 1981 novel Cujo, this gut-wrenching tale catches up with Vic Trenton as he mourns for his late wife Donna – the flawed, but courageous mother who once battled a rabid dog to save the life of her child. On Rattlesnake Key, Vic meets another grieving mother still recovering from the horrific death of her own twin sons. Each day she lays out matching children’s clothes then wheels their long-dead spirits around in a squeaky pram while insisting that while she knows they’re not really there … sometimes they are. Pairing perfectly with the grisly story of a rabid dog, “Rattlesnakes” features moments of stark terror and shocking gore. Both heartbreaking and horrific, this sun bleached novella delivers a bloody bite reminiscent of King’s early career along with a harrowing warning against holding on to the past.
In addition to Cujo, King references iconic pieces of his extensive catalog. Easter Eggs abound as we revisit Derry, Castle Rock, and Dark Score Lake, sprinkled among familiar monikers and other deep cut references. King’s faux tabloid Inside View makes an appearance along with another haunting locale. Duma Key features prominently in two stories, making a literary return trip feel within tantalizing reach. The cover’s sinister alligator references “Laurie,” a touching story that careens headfirst into terror. Most of the collection’s horror occurs in bright daylight, reminding us that while we may survive the dark, we’re never truly safe. It’s King’s version of a beach read – bleak horror unfolding in the relentless sunshine.
Falling fourth in the collection, King’s other novella is slightly less successful. “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream” chronicles an extended nightmare as the titular janitor dreams about, then discovers, a dead body. Playing with the horrors of the criminal justice system, King follows a wrongfully accused man tormented by an obsessive detective convinced of his guilt. Similar to his 2018 novel The Outsider, the lengthy story unfolds like a confounding episode of Law & Order, eschewing supernatural scares for “ripped from the headlines” horror. King hints at racial and gender-based discrimination, but stops short of fully examining the larger implications of this disturbing premise.
While none of the collection’s twelve tales fall flat, some feel more developed than others. “Finn” and “Red Screen” both present ominous ideas, but offer little more than snapshots of larger terror. “On Slide Inn Road” and “Willie the Weirdo” follow unpleasant older men bonding with a younger generation – King’s version of generational trauma. Harkening back to the unflinching horror of the author’s earlier career, both are admittedly fascinating in their sheer nastiness and cruelty, however, they lack the emotional punch of the collection’s longer tales. “The Fifth Step” will likely prove terrifying to those in Alcoholics Anonymous while “The Turbulence Expert” will play on existing fears of airline travel. However, both stories feel slight and may not evoke the same powerful response in readers without similar life experiences.
The collection’s penultimate tale may also be its most classically scary. “The Dreamers” follows a magician turned mad scientist who documents research of a world beyond our own. Pure Lovecraftian horror, grisly nightmares reach into the waking world as test subjects dream of an eerie red house with a green door. It’s shocking horror and nihilism at its best, reminiscent of King’s 2014 novel Revival. “The Dreamers” confronts us with unsettling answers to what it all means and a frightening reminder that ignorance may provide safety as well as bliss.
You Like It Darker concludes with one of the most beautiful and upsetting stories of King’s career. “The Answer Man” follows a likable everyman through his adult life marked by three encounters with a mysterious salesman offering answers to any question. But what is the true cost of ultimate knowledge? Does peering into the future give us power or pain? A perfect capper to this poignant collection, King fittingly references a question first presented in his darkest novel, Pet Sematary. What is the meaning of life and what can we expect at the end of our days? King attempts to provide what answers he can while grappling with larger truths forever out of reach.
A bloody tapestry of nihilism and hope, You Like It Darker makes peace with the randomness of suffering and the horror of human fragility.
You Like It Darker will be released on May 21, 2024.
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