If I had a nickel for every horror-based VN using a black-and-white artstyle centering around the player playing as the male in an incredibly toxic relationship, released in October 2023, that appeals to very specific fetishes, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice.

That said, I feel Slay the Princess achieves what it's going for much better than the Coffin of Andy and Leyley. It feels as if it's trying less hard to be shocking and gross, yet its darker and gorier elements hit so much harder. The atmosphere is incredible, at times making me hang on every word.

And what words they are. This and Scarlet Hollow prove to me Black Tabby Games are incredible writers. The story manages to be impressibly simple and unendingly complex all at once. It took me a few replays to truly get what the game was trying to say, and I recommend you do the same, as you'll only scratch the surface of the dizzying number of branching routes and the memorable experiences they provide.

I won't go much more into specifics, as I feel it's best to go in as blind as possible, and hopefully this review hasn't spoiled too much of that. Just know that this game may seem simple on the surface, but turns into a deep rabbit hole I had a blast diving into.