I found Slay the Princess late one night when I was too tired to sleep. Scrolling through YouTube, I found a walkthrough of the game’s demo. Back then, there wasn’t anything after the first chapter. It was just you, the Princess, and questions that needed answering. That night, I discovered one of the best stories ever told and one of the most important games in my life.

Slay the Princess is both a horror visual novel and a love story. Alone on a path in the woods, you’re given the task to Slay the Princess by a mysterious Narrator. Will you obey, or will you choose a different path? 

I have watched this game’s progress since that first night, and at long last, the final iteration of the game, the Pristine Cut, is out. It is better than I could have ever hoped for.

My Time With the Princess

Even from that first night, Slay the Princess compelled me in a way I can’t quite describe. I’m not usually a fan of horror games, let alone someone who returns to them. However, I kept checking to see if there were more updates to the demo. 

I remember the first night watching the new demo reveal glimpses of Chapter II. The choices made in Chapter I led to the discovery of new versions of the Princess in Chapter II. I still remember the ‘bug’ Stranger fondly. When the next update to the demo was released, I watched eagerly. (I’ll be honest, I was sad to see ‘bug’ Stranger go.) At that point, it was clear that the game was nearing completion. Then, finally, it was ready.

In a year when Baldur’s Gate 3, Tears of the Kingdom, and Armored Core 6 were released, Slay the Princess was my game of the year. I love this game. I’ve shared it with friends, and I’ve followed it for years.

Now, at long last, the final update to this wonderful game is here. I couldn’t be happier. The Pristine Cut is Black Tabby Games’ glorious swansong to a game I’ll talk about for the rest of my life. This update is everything I hoped for and more. It surprised me, delighted me, horrified me, made me sad, and made me indescribably happy. Slay the Princess is a game that means so much to me that it has taken me the better part of a week to be able to write this article.

If you’re alone, sad, scared, or consumed by a feeling you can’t quite describe but don’t want to last, try this game. Slay the Princess found me when I was low. I have followed it ever since. It has been a privilege to play this game. I can’t wait to share what I’ve found with you.

You Have Been Warned

A warning before you go any further. There is no part of what comes next that is free of spoilers. If you have come before playing, you may wish to turn back. Or, instead, you may want to take a peek and see what there is to find, as I did before you. Welcome. I am happy to be your guide.

Met With Fury

The Fury was always a path I was hesitant to tread. Reaching her is a sad affair, accessible through either the Tower or the Adversary. Regardless of how you reach her, she is a gruesome sight to behold. The Fury is a soul in anguish because of you. It’s painful to watch all that anguish and hatred spill forth from someone you personally hurt. In the end, knowing she was one of the versions of the Princess featured in the DLC, I decided to face her anger. I’m glad I did.

The Fury is an excellent example of what The Pristine Cut has to offer. Before the DLC release, her encounter was very short and without much variation. This path would only end one way, no matter what you chose. This route indicates trends you’ll find across the new options in the Pristine Cut.

I first chose to summon the Fury by provoking the Adversary. To meet the Fury in this way, you must either meet the Adversary as a pacifist or as a pugilist. Before everything was done, I saw both permutations, but I began by defeating the Adversary through pacifism. This proved to be a fateful decision.

Your choices matter now more than ever when facing the Fury. Meeting her as a pacifist introduced the Voice of the Cold to my encounter with the Fury. Meeting her as a pugilist instead brings in the Voice of the Contrarian. Each voice is best suited to different types of encounters. Choosing the right actions that complement your voices is essential for success. This remains true throughout the rest of the Pristine Cut.

“What is a Person?”

The Fury plays with themes that echo across the Pristine Cut. Namely, “What are you?” If you meet the Fury as a pacifist, this is a question she’s extremely interested in. Are you a body? She unwinds you piece by piece to find the answer. She’s quite literally attempting to see “what you are made of.”

In the end, my answer to her question was “No.” A person is not a body, and neither am I. In order to do this, I had to lose some voices along the way. Not everyone is capable of withstanding the power of the Fury. 

When her torture was over, and I was still me, I couldn’t help but feel sad. The Fury is hurt. Everything about her, from her design to her abilities to her voice, conveys her pain. Pain has become her entire existence. Emerging victorious, I decided to free the Fury from the cabin and from the pain. Walking out together was a powerful experience I won’t soon forget.

In my time with the Pristine Cut, I’ve tried three different encounters with the Fury, all of which were wholly different. In each, the themes of body and soul were examined, and in each, the Voices in your head mattered much more than the strength of your body. My first encounter with the Fury remains my favorite with her so far. While it’s empowering to fight her and show her a glimpse of what you truly are, freeing her from her pain felt so much more important.

“What Will You Choose For Me?”

The Fury’s evolution in the Pristine Cut is something glorious to behold. Before the Pristine Cut, the Fury was a terrifying, but one note encounter with a single conclusion. Regardless of the choices you made, you would always be “unwound.” Now, the Fury is a nuanced and tragic encounter with various endings, some of which I still haven’t seen.

The Fury is a great encapsulation of what the Pristine Cut aims to do. The Pristine Cut is all about answering a question asked by the Princess in the Long Quiet. What will you choose for her when the curtain is drawn?

While I’ve previously focused on which Princess I’d like to meet when playing, the DLC shifted my focus. What matters most is not which version of the Princess you encounter but how you treat her in each encounter.

Routes that previously had one finite conclusion now have a plurality of choices. You’ll have to choose what voices to listen to and decide how you want to face the Princess. Each choice begets more choices and consequences for your choices in the next chapter. You’ll have to tread carefully to find the path you want. 

The Apotheosis is Limitless

Like the Fury, The Apotheosis is one version of the Princess that previously didn’t have much variation. Whether or not you chose to take the blade to face her, the Apotheosis would be taken away before the encounter could escalate. Now, Black Tabby Games has built a new Apotheosis, and she is limitless.

I didn’t expect what I found in the Apotheosis. The game describes her as a terrifying and divine heart… but in this update, I found a surprising grace to her. She is terrifying, and you do pale in comparison to her power, and she can cause you pain. However, the Apotheosis is also the most godlike version of the Princess you’ll find. For as much as a god can be terrifying, so too can they offer mercy, grace, and absolution.

When I first met the new and improved Apotheosis, I ended up defying her and laying her low. Even this did not happen how I expected it to. I did not anticipate that when she awakened to the pinnacle of her power, that we might, too.

I treasure my first encounter with the Apotheosis. In that playthrough, it felt important to meet pain with pain, godhood with godhood, and force an understanding she may not have otherwise had. Now, however, I think I prefer what happens if you join forces with her and withstand your pain. The Apotheosis hurt me… but when the end came for her, she chose to save me rather than fight back. That action says something profound about her true nature. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

Lost in The Den

The Pristine Cut has made the Den one of my favorite versions of the Princess in the game. She has joined the likes of the Adversary, the Thorn, and the Wild as versions that are hard to resist passing up in a playthrough. In my second playthrough with the DLC, I even retraced my footsteps just so I could see her again.

I love my monster wife with every fiber of my being. At once uncaring and empathetic, vicious and tender, terrifying and terrified, the Den is fantastic. The Pristine Cut has transformed the Den into something special. The Den is now a fully realized, beautifully complex character. A previously brief encounter now has fleshed-out, compelling scenes. Without a single spoken word, the Den is an enthralling presence in every scene she is in. 

When I first met the Den, it was with violence. The resulting fight was one of the most epic and exciting sequences in the new update and wonderfully grotesque. However, as much as I enjoy seeing the Voice of the Hunted become the hunter, I prefer what happens if you meet her without violence. With the Skeptic in tow, I reached a happy ending for the Den that I truly didn’t think was even a possibility. 

Before the Pristine Cut, meeting the Beast was my preferred method for meeting the Wild (so I could meet the Thorn after the Witch). Now, each encounter with the Beast will be a painstaking choice between two of my favorite versions of the Princess. The Pristine Cut made the Den capture my heart in a way I truly didn’t think it could have.

Trapped in The Cage

The first time I ever played Slay the Princess for myself, I met the Prisoner. In that playthrough, I found myself bound in chains beside her. Together, we waited until the cabin around us crumbled into nothing. I have also tricked the Narrator and freed her using her desperate gambit to bring what was left of her outside the cabin. I have never done what was necessary to meet the Cage, before now.

I’m not done with Cage yet. I’ve been waiting to meet her since I first saw chains in a trailer for the Pristine Cut, but what I found has perplexed me. The Cage is a version of the Princess that is the cycle of the game made manifest. I’ve encountered her in two ways so far, but none of them have satisfied me so far. I’ve yet to find a way to break that cycle for her. Perhaps this is why I’m unsatisfied. Maybe with another voice in tow, I might be more successful.

The Cage is wonderfully complex. In many ways, she is an examination of the entire game. I’m still trying to understand her. In a way, I think this means I’m still trying to understand something profound about this game. That’s alright. There is still more I want to see. Just as my time with the Cage is not yet over, my time with this game is not yet over.

The Princess and the Dragon

The new Chapter III following the Spectre may be my new favorite Princess in the entire game. Here, the question asked by the Fury is answered, and we come full circle. What is a Person, and, more importantly, what are you? 

This is a question players have asked since the first demo. Your hand gripping the blade is a claw. Every character in the game describes you as having feathers. When the Narrator produces a note with your handwriting, it looks like it was written by a serial killer. So… what are you?

The Princess, at last, gives us an answer. You’re a dragon. At least, that’s how the Princess perceives you. In a game about perception, isn’t that enough?

The Dragon

The Princess and the Dragon is everything I’ve ever secretly wanted from Slay the Princess. Joined together, now a voice in her head, we finally get to see things from the Princess’s perspective. It is fascinating to see what she sees and what she hears. 

We listen as the cabin door opens. Caught between two states, our form only solidifies when the Blade is audibly drawn from the table above. It is only then that the Dragon has decided what the Princess is. 

Finally, we hear him descend. I never realized before how much sound we make in our original body while descending the stairs. I never realized that the Princess could hear everything before we even saw her. 

When at last, the Dragon arrives, players get the clearest image of what “You” look like yet. “You” are a mass of feathers and scales, and you are always smiling. “You” are also unnervingly silent… because inside “your” body the voices and the Narrator argue with each other. Yet, despite your terrible exterior, every time you greet her without the blade in Chapter I, the Princess greets you with a smile and always without fear.

Dealing with the Dragon will go down as one of my favorite experiences in the game. As he speaks with the Princess, you hear the voices speak out of “your” body, including the new voice in Chapter III. Without your usual subtitles, you’ll have to puzzle out which of the voices is speaking. 

I thought at first my actions might have brought forth the Voice of the Cheated. Dread rushed through me when I realized that it was the Voice of the Opportunist instead.

An Empathic Heart

As “The Princess and the Dragon” escalated, I got to see two very different endings play out. I can’t decide which I like more. 

After making physical contact with “You,” you end up back in your body. What you choose to say to the Princess next determines how this chapter will end. If you choose poorly, the Princess may attack you. However, as always, when it comes to the Princess, violence does not necessarily bar you from your happy ending. In some cases, it paves the path toward it.

The first path forward I chose saw the Princess throw the knife out the window, and we walked out of the cabin together. The second time I played this chapter, the Princess stabbed me, but not to kill me. She was taking me back. Even after everything, she still wanted me with her.

There are many reasons I love this new chapter. However, in the end, what I love about it most is the Princess. Meeting the Spectre is such a lovely experience. You would expect the woman you murdered to be hateful and vengeful, set on punishing you. However, for the most part, the Spectre is kind, patient, and accepting. This quality carries over to Chapter III.

The Empathic heart is just that. While she’s not always kind and no stranger to resorting to violence, she cares about you in spite of the hurt you’ve caused. Just as you do for her. The Princess’s compassion and empathy are a core piece of her character, even when she really should hate you. In this chapter, this quality is rendered in loving detail. 

Your Happy Ending

The Epilogue to the Damsel is one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking things I have ever seen. New in the Pristine Cut, this route made Nicole Goodnight, the voice for the Princess, cry. In a twist of fate, the victim becomes a victimizer, and love becomes a prison. 

Reaching the Damsel’s epilogue, and your happy ending, may initially seem like a good idea. When the Damsel has no desires of her own, no wants other than for you to be happy, and questioning her lack of personhood starts to break the world apart… it may seem preferable to stay.

The “Happy Ending” portrays love turned to obsession and control. It is a loveless marriage and a metaphor for abusive and controlling relationships. Joining the Princess in your “happy ending,” the two of you will attempt to keep a fire alight that was always destined to go out. Wonderful dinners turn to dismal affairs. A game played between two cannot be played forever. 

The Princess cannot be happy within a prison, and a part of you has become her prisoner. The Voice of your own Smitten infatuation has become her Narrator, her voice inside her head. Whispering sweet nothings, telling her you love her, telling her she can be happy, that she is happy… as long she stays.

The ‘Happy Ending’ is the dark reflection of the ‘Good Ending.’ A voice within keeps an entity beyond its control locked away, telling it that it can be happy forever. Watching the scene play out before him, the Narrator sees that he was wrong. This is the one route where he offers no objection as you take the Princess’s hand in yours and walk out the door.

In the end, I freed her. I don’t know if I can ever bring myself to keep the flame lit forever.

Always More To Find

I’m missing something. I know there is at least an entire ending I haven’t seen and more than one new interaction I have yet to find… but I haven’t found it yet. However, there is a lot to find that I haven’t seen already. The same goes for you, too.

A cursory glance at the achievements for Slay the Princess reveals that not everyone sees everything this game has to offer. It’s telling that less than twenty percent of players have seen two of the variants featured in this update. Only 19% of players have encountered the Den. Even fewer players have discovered the Apotheosis, at 17%. The two paths I tread to reach the Fury are encountered by only about 10% of people.

This game is huge, and there is a ton to see. Very few people will see all of it. Playing this game results in unforgettable experiences. Every playthrough feels wholly unique and can result in moments that not many people in the world have ever seen. That’s a special feeling. 

The End of Everything

To me, this is a perfect game. If you have not yet played Slay the Princess, please go play it.

Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making what is perhaps the most important game in my life. Black Tabby Games, Abby and Tony, have created something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Nicole Goodnight has voiced one of the most profound characters I’ve ever seen and one of my favorite characters of all time. Jonathan Sims has been the voices in my head, and in all of your heads. He has inspired me, sabotaged me, guided me, and supported me at the end of all things. Brandon Boone has created a masterful soundtrack. (“The Song We Write In Our Blood” is my favorite!) I save almost every new variation of “Our Song” that I get. Thank you as well to everyone I have missed who made this game possible. 

There is still more I wish to see from the Pristine Cut. One day, I may even complete the memories gallery, literally seeing everything this game has to offer. For now, I’m blown away by this DLC. I can’t wait to see what new secrets I can find, and I can’t wait to keep playing.