Recent reviews by It's Ya Bees

1000xRESIST is an absolute masterclass in storytelling, pulling together threads of inspiration from both video games and other artistic mediums - theatre being one of the more prominent such influences - and interweaving them with a dazzling variety of themes to create one of the most incredible science fiction works I've experienced this year (in excellent company with the novella This Is How You Lose the Time War), even several months removed from my playthrough.

I can appreciate this will be a hard sell for some, what with it being so light on gameplay and mechanics (to the point of it barely being there), but if you already enjoy narrative-driven videon games and/or believe in gaming's merit as an art form capable of telling powerful and important stories (and believe me, recent real world events have only made this game even more relevant), you owe it to yourself to experience 1000xRESIST.

(ALSO you should totally buy this in the bundle with Slay the Princess if you don't have either of these games yet, they're both fantastic.)

Slay the Princess is a game about life, death, and the winding journeys our decisions lead us along.
Slay the Princess is a game about love, hate, and the irreversible mark two people’s actions can leave on one another.
Slay the Princess is a game about humour, horror, and the surprisingly thin line between the two.

But let’s back up for a moment. Slay the Princess is a choice-driven visual novel in which you have, according to the Narrator, one simple job to do - it’s right there in the title - but as in all things in life nothing is as simple as it appears at first glance.
The decisions you make will find you wandering down myriad paths, each one wonderfully written with just the right balance of unsettling, atmospheric horror and tension-easing dark humour - all delivered by some truly impressive performances from the two voice actors involved, Jonathan Sims and Nichole Goodnight - that I never once felt overwhelmed with anxiousness or fear in my initial two playthroughs, always instead finding myself morbidly curious where said path was leading me next.
The visuals of Slay the Princess also help convey so much of the game’s atmosphere, making good use of the scratchy pencil-drawn style and predominantly black, white and grey presentation to create images that have stuck in my mind well after I played the game.

Slay the Princess is a wonderful example of the kind of player-informed storytelling that only video games can achieve, and while at times that can perhaps feel a tad disjointed, I personally can’t help but marvel at how willing it is to make the player feel like a core part of that experience. This game is a special kind of indie gem and though it was easily drowned out amidst the torrent of 2023’s AAA juggernauts it remains a treasured find that I will remember and hold near to my heart for a much longer time to come.

(Updating because of the Steam Awards, and also because I wanna say the Pristine Cut update is very much worth coming back for if you haven't played this in a while!)