Horror visual novel spreading like the Ring video is already one of the year's highest-rated Steam games

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Slay the Princess is a dating sim where if you don't kill your date, the world ends

Slay the Princess
(Image credit: Black Tabby Games)

This wildly popular horror visual novel/dating sim tasks you with killing a dangerously charming princess, and if you fail to resist her charms, "it will be the end of the world."

Slay the Princess just launched a week ago and has already racked up more than 2,000 Overwhelmingly Positive Steam reviews and landed itself in the top 150 highest rated Steam games of the year, and it's easy to see why with such a compelling hook. The premise is highly alluring, tasking the player with simply killing a princess who will do and say anything to convince you to spare her. 

"She will do everything in her power to stop you," reads the Steam description. "She'll charm, and she'll lie, and she'll promise you the world, and if you let her, she'll kill you a dozen times over. You can't let that happen. Don't forget, the fate of the world rests on your shoulders."

Gameplay wise, Slay the Princess is described as a hybrid between a visual novel and a dating sim, with a branching, choice-based story and some "light RPG" elements thrown in for good measure. "Hopefully you won't die," Black Tabby Games says. "But if you do, you'll die a lot. Be careful and stay focused on the task at hand!"

It is worth noting the studio's own content warning for Slay the Princess, which apparently features some pretty explicit content related to suicide and self harm. "If suicide is a significantly triggering topic for you, we suggest you take care of yourself while playing the game, or for you to possibly avoid playing it," reads the disclaimer. 

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Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.