The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince PC Review
I have always found joy in playing video games which use fairy tale storytelling as their main foundation. The developer NIS has made successful attempts to create this type of game but Child of Light succeeds as the best example of it. The Firefly Diaries and A Rose in the Twilight serve as platformer games which create an artistic experience through their difficult gameplay and storybook content.
We demonstrate an additional game in this particular genre which functions as an extension of The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince for PC after its seven year post Switch release period. The game presents NIS elements from its past. The game demonstrates a complete different experience through its lower difficulty setting.
The story involves two beings who originate from totally separate realms. A wolf who prefers to sing to the moon lives deep inside a dark forest which contains dangerous monsters. A human prince travels to the forest border every night to listen to her beautiful singing voice.
The prince's curiosity leads him to a tragic fate. He climbs a cliff to see the owner of the beautiful voice. The wolf used her paw to cover his eyes because she thought the prince would never come back if he learned she was actually a terrifying monster. The movement resulted in him clawing his eyes out which left him permanently blind.
The game delivers excellent storytelling throughout its entire duration. The story presents a fairy tale experience which teaches fundamental life lessons through its storytelling about themes of guilt and deception. The wolf acquires human princess transformation powers after visiting the witch who resides in the forest. The witch who protects her vision leads the royal disguise character to the blind prince through dangerous woods. The wolf must protect the prince from learning about her true identity as the monster who caused his blindness.
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince provides players with 2D platforming gameplay which contains minor action elements. The game requires players to complete stages in a linear fashion. The game begins with story scenes before players control the wolf princess character who must reach the exit while protecting the prince from all environmental dangers and monsters.
The main game mechanic requires players to alternate between different transformation forms at any moment because each form has its own unique function.
Princess Form In this form you are completely vulnerable and can be killed by absolutely anything. The prince's hand can only be held by you through this method which lets you guide him across the level.
Wolf Form Here you become an invincible killing machine. The character can jump higher than humans and fight against the forest's monsters while ignoring all fall damage. The game requires players to defeat enemies and obstacles using their wolf powers before they switch to their princess form to help the prince move forward.
Players need to maintain their human form for specific requirements yet all main tasks stay the same throughout the game.
The game design implements its game mechanics in an intelligent manner. The game presents new puzzle elements in each stage through which players need to develop their skills. The first stage of a new area begins as an empty space which lacks enemies to let players practice their skills with the upcoming mechanic.
The following stages will introduce advanced puzzles with multiple enemies and timing challenges which players must solve. The game achieves a perfect equilibrium between its narrative and its interactive elements. The game reaches its final point.
The final stage of the game presents a disastrous situation. The game introduces a massive difficulty spike that feels entirely out of place. The game suddenly transforms into a very difficult Firefly Diaries experience which contrasts with the easygoing game you played before.
The game does not provide the extensive exploration experience you want. I completed the entire game within four hours because it has a short length. The game offers no replayability because you need to collect all items to unlock concept art which you can see after your first playthrough while the game shows the true ending. Players who do not have an intense passion for concept art will find no reason to replay the game after they finish it.
The presentation of the game displays impressive visual quality. The hand drawn visual style perfectly creates the fairytale theme. The game maintains its visual quality between docked and handheld modes for Steam Deck users who experience no blurriness when playing in handheld mode. I encountered no performance problems throughout my experience.
Pros
- The fairytale theme of the game matches its beautiful hand drawn art style
- The story explores deep emotional themes through its portrayal of guilt and deception
- The game features intelligent puzzle systems which include character transformation mechanics
- Steam Deck provides perfect performance for the game without any technical issues
- The game becomes easier to use and access for players who find it difficult to understand NIS games from earlier versions
Cons
- The game has short playtime which requires around 3 to 5 hours to complete
- After completing the game once players cannot access any additional content
- The final stage contains a sudden increase in difficulty which disrupts the game's peaceful flow through its gameplay experience
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince creates an excellent fairytale game which combines an adorable story with an easily accessible game interface. The game offers an excellent experience but its brief duration and absence of replay value and unbalanced last mission prevent players from enjoying it fully. The game becomes an excellent experience which offers a genuine fairytale that you need to experience on your PC or handheld device when you purchase it at a discount and complete the boring last section.
Pc Version Tested.
Disclosure: We received a free review copy of this product from Devs
