Recent reviews by lavastrawberries

PEAK is a very fun game. Most of the time.

There are a few bugs that while annoying are ultimately not a huge deal. What IS a huge deal to me however, is the rope cannon. There have been three or four instances before today where the rope will start to unwind from the little spear, only to get caught up on a ledge and never come down no matter what I threw at it. Those times it happened in the Tropics, or the Alpines, and even though I hated it I was able to find another way around.

And then today, it happened at the TIPPY TOP of the Kiln. Where there are almost no alternative routes near the top. Ruining my entire run just before I made it out. If the rope had worked properly, I would've secured my first ever win/rescue in this game. But because of the rope, I was forced to throw myself off the ledge trying to grab at it and fall to my death. I could see the sky and the edge of the volcano. I was one rope away from making it. But this bug rendered all my efforts fruitless. On the graph it showed that I was on the second highest dot/height marker. I have not been this frustrated with a game in a WHILE.

So yeah. Fun game, but if you think you can rely on a rope cannon, think carefully about it. Because if I'd had a chain launcher instead, I might not be frustrated enough to be uninstalling this game right now. I'll probably pick it back up again sometime, especially if this mechanic is fixed, but I need a long break from this before I make another attempt.

Absolutely breathtaking story and art. Call me the Voice of the Smitten because there is not a single side to this Princess that I don't love. Now that the Pristine Cut is out, I plan to play with my wife and find each and every bit of love that the devs put into this game!

EDIT: Finished the Pristine Cut!
This update is late, but the game awards voting reminded me that I intended to say more about StP. My wife and I played the Pristine Cut together over the course of a week. We took turns holding the mouse and making the choices, so we got extremely different outcomes depending on who was behind the wheel.

The update (and continual support from the devs) really helped this game shine even brighter. The art and music, while great before, feel even more polished here, and the expansion to different routes shows just how much thought they put into each corner of the game. The story feels complete, and I had a blast filling the gallery and getting all the endings. This world is well written, fleshed out, and the story of Slay the Princess has made itself a home in my heart and mind.

Choices actually feel like they matter, thanks to the masterful writing and forethought from StP's team, and I immediately felt a connection with each character. I find that in VN type games it's very easy for characters to feel flat, but StP took that problem and chucked it out the window.

If you've got time to kill and an appreciation for art/storytelling, I have a good feeling that you'll fall in love with Slay the Princess over and over again.