The place for all of the best visual novels and dating sims used to be the PlayStation Vita, but following its tragic demise the Nintendo Switch has more than stepped up to the plate. Of all the modern consoles, the Switch is the place to go to play games with romance options, meaning that players are spoiled for choice. If you’ve been browsing the Switch’s library looking for your next dating sim visual novel to play, we have ten of our favorites that we want to recommend.

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The original Doki Doki Literature Club launched in 2017, so it’s likely that you know the twist by now. Aside from being a romance visual novel, it’s also a horror game with plenty of meta, and fourth-wall breaking techniques that work to make you feel uneasy, and chill your bones. However, the horror elements of Doki Doki Literature Club make for a more touching and overall more emotional story and game.

The original was free-to-play, but the Switch version Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! adds so many more touching moments. There are a number of additional episodes that show our four main characters interacting with each other outside of the titular literature club. You get to learn more about their backstories, as well as their relationships to each other. Doki Doki is so much more than a visual novel, and for those who love puzzles and easter eggs, you’ll find a lot more by exploring the in-game PC.

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On the surface Collar X Malice is your standard otome visual novel, but the themes are intriguing enough to carry the story by itself even if you aren’t into dudes. Collar X Malice is set in a time where mass police and government incompetence has led to the rise of a vigilante group, Adonis, which has pledged to sort out the crime and inequality that is rampant throughout the city. The group holds an eye-for-an-eye mentality, and Collar X Malice brings up the moral dilemma of how to get justice when the system doesn’t work.

Our protagonist is a cop living at a time when confidence in the police is almost zero. She approaches a private agency and asks them for help getting to the bottom of the current vigilantism crisis. What’s interesting is that the game doesn’t tell you what to believe, instead it is portrayed as the morally gray topic it truly is. Each route leads to the true ending, giving you a sense of accomplishment as you make your way through the story. One of the best overarching stories in any romance game.

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Chaos;Child is part of what I like to call the semicolon series that includes the hugely popular Steins;Gate. Just like Steins;Gate it has an intriguing story you can enjoy without the romance, but there are also romantic undertones between our protagonist, and the many women in his life. In Japan they released a side story that is exclusively a dating sim to tie in with the game called Chaos;Child Love Chu Chu. However, you can experience romance without learning another language.

Chaos;Child is set in a world where several people have awoken to their psychic abilities. While these superhuman talents should be seen as a benefit, a serial killer is on the loose targeting those who have these powers. Knowing several people with these special abilities, our protagonist is desperate to solve the murders before everyone he loves is gone. Just like Steins;Gate it has multiple endings, and you’ll want to play through several times to see all of the positive and negative outcomes.

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There are two games in this series available on Nintendo Switch, but they are both stand alone tales, and Nurse Love Addiction is our favorite of the two. The Nurse Love stories are yuri dating sims, meaning that they are based on the relationships between two women, and they play very differently to your standard heterosexual romance. Each route and romance shows a deep tenderness, and is (mostly) cemented in reality rather than an emotional rollercoaster.

Our protagonist Asuka is floating aimlessly through life like a jellyfish on the waves. She decides to the nursing school where her younger sister studies. She even moves into the same dorm as her sister as she feels like she can’t manage on her own. It’s not just about the romantic partnerships that she forges along the way, but Asuka’s personal growth as she tries to stand on her own for the first time.

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The House in Fata Morgana is very strict on the meaning of visual novel. There is almost no player interaction with the game, but the story is so intricately woven, and expansive that you don’t need to have an impact on it to improve the experience. The master of the house wakes up with no knowledge of their past, and the manor’s maid by their side. She guides you through the doors of the titular house telling various stories from throughout the domicile’s history.

The thread between the stories is a young person with albinism who appears in every tale no matter the time period. You have to figure out how your past ties to the house’s other residents, and why history has repeated itself time after time. It is both one of the longest and highest-rated visual novels of all time, and once you have played it for yourself, you’ll see why it is worth every word.

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People say that the Muv-Luv trilogy reaches its stride with the second game Muv-Luv Unlimited, however, we recommend that players start where it all begins with Muv-Luv. The first game in the series is a simple slice-of-life adventure where our protagonist Takeru can choose between the many women in his life. The main two love interests are Takeru’s childhood best friend, and a rich but sheltered girl who is new to town, but there are other girls in his class he can date too.

This simple setup is vital for fully understanding and enjoying the next two entries, Muv-Luv Unlimited and Muv-Luv Alternative. It introduces you to most of the characters to the story, and lets you see Takeru’s normal life before things go off the deep end. Without spoiling what is in store, it’s an epic adventure dating sim that is worth sinking a hundred hours or so into.

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If you’ve ever played Among Us you know the basic plot of Gnosia. You are out on a space station with various others, and some of them are infected with Gnosia, which turns them against their crewmates. You use social deduction to figure out who has the disease and put them in cryogenic stasis before they wreak havoc on the ship. The twist here is that you will be reliving the experience over and over with increasingly more complicated mechanics.

Not everything continues between loops, but your knowledge of each crewmate, the things they like and the things they do will expand each time you meet them. This means that every loop your deductions – in theory – become more accurate as you get to know how people work, and how they would act in certain situations. Once you have met all the characters Gnosia opens up, and you can control different factors in each loop and get closer to certain cohabitees.

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One of our favorite recent otome games, we almost considered putting it on the list of dating sims that aren’t visual novels. Unlike many of the other games on this list, Jack Jeanne has a number of gameplay modes that don’t surround player choice, most notably the numerous rhythm sections. You play a promicoming actor, but the best acting school where you live only accepts men, and you’re a woman. However, amazed by your talent the director approaches you and asks you to enroll while disguising your gender.

In an all boys acting school, males have to take on the female roles in the performances. This is why students are split into the mascs, the Jacks, and the femmes, the Jeannes. Because of this the characters of Jack Jeanne are used to people challenging the typical gender norms, and a new normal emerges in this enclosed society. The play on gender, and inclusion of rhythm game elements leads to a truly unique otome experience.

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Unlike Jack Jeanne the gameplay in Slay the Princess focuses heavily on the choices you make. That being said, it gives you seemingly endless options to choose from. Each fork in the road has literally dozens of options you can choose from, making you feel more in charge of where the story goes than most other games. Each decision you make has a drastic outcome on the story in a way that feels refreshing when compared to the majority of dating sims.

There are only three characters in Slay the Princess: the Princess, the Narrator, and you. The Princess changes based on things you say, how you treat her, and how you react to her. Sometimes you go past the point of no return, and there is no way to undo the things you have done, but that is the point. While the Princess and you wrestle over and over in ways that can range from sweet, to slaughterous, to sad, it truly is a love story.

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VA-11 HALL-A’s catchphrase is “It’s time to mix drinks and change lives” and that describes the game precisely. You play Jill, a bartender in a futuristic saloon, whose job is to make drinks and talk to customers. Players can influence the story by giving the customers the drinks they want, rather than the ones they ask for, because in the world of VA-11 HALL-A the customer isn’t always right.

It’s a deep character study surrounding not just Jill, and the affection she holds for her boss, but each person that comes to the bar, and the effect that just having someone to talk to has on their lives. Outside of the story, you can use the wages from the bar to design your room and make things feel more homey, making Jill just a little more upbeat. It’s a story about caring for others, but also taking care of yourself.

What are some of your favorite visual novels? Or which visual novels are you looking forward to getting your hands on? Let us know in the comments below.

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I had no idea what to expect when I began playing Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut. All I knew is that the original edition received tremendously high praise when it was released back in 2023. This disturbingly dark visual novel breaks away from the norm in every way possible. It twists the traditional love story of a courageous hero rescuing a damsel in distress into an unsettling Lovecraftian tale, proposing fascinating psychological and philosophical ideas in the best way.

We often encounter narratives in modern media that stick to familiar, tried-and-tested formulas. While these stereotypical approaches can be effective, they don't always require a deep understanding of lore or a strong emotional investment in the backstory. Let's take one of gaming's most iconic icons, Mario. I don't think the majority of people who play the Mario titles are motivated to because they want to save Princess Peach from Bowser, but it's an easy-to-understand premise that lets you jump into the action rather quickly.

This is where Black Tabby Games recontextualizes and cleverly plays with the accepted formulas in Slay the Princess. Like Doki Doki Literature Club, this is not the type of horror experience that delivers jump-scares, but allows you to make decisions that will shape how the story will turn out. It uses the visual novel format to mimic the experience you would find in a Choose Your Own Adventure storybook. The premise is relatively simple, and the title of the game slightly gives it away. Instead of rescuing a fair maiden trapped in a tower, your mission is to eliminate the princess imprisoned in the basement of a cabin.

Your journey starts in the dank and eerie woods, where you will be accompanied by a voice called The Narrator. This ominous voice will tell you to kill the princess. If not, the world will end. You will then be bombarded with many options, from probing this narrator with questions about potential actions you can take. Later down the line, other voices will you, challenging the authenticity of the first narrator's words and creating a conflicting, but humorous dialogue exchange that mimics the angel and devil on your shoulder dynamic. With such high stakes supposedly on the line, what will you do? Will you listen to The Narrator's words and murder the princess in cold blood or attempt to save her? Regardless of which option you pick, the story will raise profound questions surrounding life and death, free will, and the purpose of existence.  

It might sound like I'm being very vague about the plot, and that's because, to an extent, I am. It's hard to divulge massive details about Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut without spoiling the experience. The less you know, the better. However, I will say that it's incredibly hard not to become engrossed in its narrative, as your actions will create a butterfly effect that directly affects how the world and the princess interact with you. Even merely picking up an item will block out potential outcomes. My first playthrough, which took me about four hours to complete, led to me multiple times physically putting my hand over my mouth in sheer disbelief at what I had witnessed, which resulted in me eagerly starting a new run, wanting to see what would be the aftermaths of different actions.

That being said, the fantastic narrative is not Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut's only draw. The voice acting also plays a key role, as it really helps bring the world to life and makes you feel like you're in the middle of a fairy tale. Some of the voices will be optimistic, while others will be downright snarky and on the verge of condescending. The best performance is delivered by The Narrator voice actor Jonathan Sims, as he will quite literally cover everything that transpires and will take every opportunity to remind you that you must kill the princess. Honestly, the entire game just wouldn't be the same without the stellar voiceovers.

Another standout feature is its artistic design. Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut harbors a striking monochrome black-and-white aesthetic, with every background and character being hand-drawn. It only deviates from this color scheme when depicting serious dialogue or blood, making these moments feel genuinely sinister. The imagery is also clearly inspired by cosmic horror, as some of the figures you encounter will be extremely unsettling and grotesque. Some of the most powerful images come from the portrayal of the princess. The fair maiden can display various expressions, from a radiant, warm smile to a sinister stare. The pencil-drawn art beautifully captures the eyes in particular, creating the impression that they are looking right through you.

If you're a returning player, you might be wondering about the new content in Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut. There are three new chapters, and they're all pretty solid. One of the new chapters was actually one of the first scenarios I came across, which is called "The Cage." It was super creepy, and I thinking near the end that no matter what option I picked, I would not like what I was about to see. Some previous routes have also been expanded upon, including "The Den," "The Fury," and "The Apotheosis." A new achievable ending can also be triggered by selecting specific options in the final fight. As mentioned above, I didn't play the original edition, but I like all the new content here. My only minor critique is that I wouldn't say any of the new content is must-see material, so The Pristine Cut may not pique the interest of all the fans who played the previous version. But, given it is a free update for the PC version, it could be worth returning if you enjoy the title.

Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut is a fantastic horror game that you will think about weeks after you finish playing, as you will be captivated by the story and message the game is trying to portray. It's the type of game where you'll want to close the curtains, dim the lights and binge on for the evening alone or with a friend (if you can agree on options, of course). This is a perfect indie horror title to play during the spooky season and should not be skipped by avid fans of the genre.

Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut is now available on the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

The post Review: Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut Tears Up the Rule Book appeared first on Siliconera.

Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut, the enhanced version of the psychological horror visual novel, will be released on October 24, 2024. Developed by Black Tabby Games and published by Serenity Forge, this updated edition will bring the beloved game to consoles for the first time. 

You can watch the official trailer below:

The Pristine Cut adds three new chapters, expanding on key routes like The Den, The Apotheosis, and The Fury. The game will include thirty-five percent more content compared to the original PC version, with Black Tabby Games intending to add new endings, additional hand-drawn art by Abby Howard, and over 2,500 new voice lines by Jonathan Sims and Nichole Goodnight.

In related news, Slay the Princess received a significant free update called The End of Everything back in March 2024, ahead of the Pristine Cut release. While this update didn’t introduce new routes, it expanded existing ones with additional content, new music, and enhanced animations. Over 3,000 words were added to the visual novel, along with reworked orchestral tracks as well as general improvements to UI.

Slay the Princess is available now on PC. Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut will be released on October 24, 2024, for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Slay the Princess: Pristine Cut Release Date Set appeared first on Siliconera.

Amazon Canada is known for occasionally leaking or putting games up for sale early, and that just happened with the Slay the Princess Collector’s Edition. While the Serenity Forge official storefront already had it live for $199.99 USD for a Q1 2025 launch, Amazon Canada now also has the CA$279.99 Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 editions as well and says those will be available in February 2025.

As a reminder, both of these are for the Switch and PS5 Collector’s Edition variants are for Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut. This is the updated version of the game set to launch on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC digitally in Fall 2024. (The game is currently only on the PC.) This version adds new chapters and potential encounters. A new ending is also promised.

Amazon Canada says the Switch version of the limited edition will ship on February 25, 2025. The PS5 version has a February 28, 2025 release date. The social media for developer Black Tabby Games joked about this reveal via sharing a retweet of someone that found the product listings.

The Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut Collector’s Edition product listing again reiterated everything you get. Many of the items refer to situations in certain routes in the game. There is a seven inch tall figure of the Princess, which shows different sides of her. There’s a reflective lenticular “mirror,” and the sheet of stickers also resembles a broken mirror. There’s a metal bookmark of the dagger and the princess and knight’s hands. You get a code to the soundtrack on a note that resembles the one in-game. There are also references to the Princess’ actions via a swinging arm action acrylic standee and a severed arm enamel pin.

Slay the Princess is on the PC via Steam now, and the Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut will come to the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC in Fall 2024. 

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Ahead of the the Slay the Princess: The Pristine Cut release, Black Tabby Games shared a free update to routes called The End of Everything. While it doesn’t add new paths, existing routes, new music, and new animations appear. The game is also on sale on Steam for $14.39 until April 8, 2024. 

As noted in the announcement, the goal of the update is the means of preparing for The Pristine Cut that will add new routes to the game. The End of Everything’s goal is to expand on the endgame currently there. This means the existing routes and ends may be longer or be slightly different. The announcement noted there are over 3,000 words added to the visual novel in this update. There are also new animations for certain segments.

Here are the full patch notes for the Slay the Princess free update. Note that these do contain spoilers. In particular, the end game section goes over the changes and additions to the Slay the Princess routes.

End Game

• The Shifting Mound encounter now has fully animated transitions between vessels.
• Menus in The Shifting Mound encounter have been expanded and restructured — it should now be more clear which dialogue options are specific to a given vessel vs which options directly address the Shifting Mound.
• Added several argumentative through-lines for the encounter; it is also now clear when a given response is a continuation of a previous option.
• Edited several vessels' "poems" to have improved flow. Re-wrote The Eye of the Needle's "poem" entirely.
• Significantly expanded the conversation in the basement at the start of the "Unknown Together" ending.
• Added two new dialogue options in the Long Quiet scenes to challenge the unfinished mound's style of speech.

Music

• "Transformation," "The Apotheosis," and "The Shifting Mound (Movements II, III, and V)" have been reworked to include live orchestral performances.
• The entire soundtrack has been converted to FLAC and remastered for an overall improved audio experience.
• The er's Pack has been updated to include a new orchestral EP. In addition to the tracks mentioned above, this EP also includes live renditions of "The Princess" and "The Damsel"

Miscellaneous

• The quick menu has been updated to have icons/a proper UI. It's also been moved to the top left of the screen, which should resolve the majority of issues players have had with the controller getting stuck.
• The narrator's scream in the Tower route has been re-recorded to be a little more tonally fitting.
• We should be caught up on bug fixes.
• The Voice of the Broken no longer appears for a single line in the Razor route for playthroughs where he isn't present.
• A small number of lines previously cut in the pacing patch have been restored.

Legacy Build

• For archival purposes, we've moved the final updated version of the release build to a separate beta branch on Steam. We think the changes in this update (and the changes in the Pristine Cut) only make the game better, but in case you prefer that earlier version, or in case you're curious to see what older versions were like, it's now available to you.
• You can access this beta branch with the "originalrecipe"
• To enter this , right-click the game in your Steam library, select properties, and then navigate to "betas" in the sub-menu.

Slay the Princess is available on PCs.

Slay the Princess, Black Tabby Games, North America, Europe, 

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