Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star, previously released on Steam but now released on the Nintendo Switch, is a game containing a semi-autobiographical story designed, programmed, illustrated, and scored by Lorenzo Redaelli (developer Santa Ragione). It is about two characters, Nuki and Sune falling into a dysfunctional love one summer. The player is able to see the story through mostly Nuki’s eyes, with Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star containing branching storylines, twists, sudden changes, and an interesting mechanic of where you can choose which sense to use with Nuki’s boyfriend, Sune. Throughout this summer, you are able to learn about Sune’s personality, past, and anything about him, which makes you (Nuki as well) question everything.
Trigger Warning:
Before going through with the review, the subject matter of Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Staris heavy, so I want to issue a Trigger Warning (TW) to warn others who may not be able to handle the subject matter. Expect a story of abuse, manipulation, trauma, self-harm, and more. There is no sugar coating in Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star and expect to be met with it head-on. I would recommend playing this game only if you are 18+ years older and you are fully aware of the TWs.
Back to Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star:
Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star tackles the difficult subjects surrounding abuse or trauma, and the representation of it in the media. The depiction of it is accurate, and sends an important message to the world, especially through the usage of video games, like this one. The technique of Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star is well-made and it’s not just generic story-telling. You feel well-immersed into the story, almost as if YOU ARE NUKI and you are getting gaslighted or being love-bombed. The style that Redaelli uses is one where you explore, analyze, and challenge.
The main character, Nuki, has always been a romanticist about finding his Milky Way Prince, which is based on a story that he has fallen in love with all this time. The Milky Way Prince is a fabled lover who falls from the stars, inviting him on a quest to fix the universe. At some point, Nuki meets Sune, who is damaged and delicate. Nuki and Sune fall into this flawed version of love over the summer. Not explicitly mentioned in Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star, Sune has borderline personality disorder (BPD). Since this is a semi-autobiographical story, Redaelli compares his experience of being with a BPD partner and falling in love with him to becoming a part of a binary star system. A binary star system is the rarest thing in the universe, but the closer the stars get, the more unstable it is.
Redaelli has gone far and beyond creating an immersive experience where you are asked to understand the dynamics of this unusual relationship. Sune adapts to the choices you (as Nuki) make in Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star, whether he sets up a rage test, love bombs, gaslights, or guilt trips Nuki. This story is very vulgar, raw, and too real if you have experienced similar to Nuki and Sune. It is a very relatable plot. The branching of storylines is guided by variables like “submission” or “interest”, which fluctuates with each interaction. To Nuki and the player, Sune is figuratively and literally, a star destined for supernova, very unstable the closer the two become. You play Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star learning about both characters’ flaws and their desperation to be together, with Nuki trying to stop Sune from “exploding.”
The representation of Nuki’s struggle and Sune’s spiraling is uncomfortable and almost unbearable to witness. It’s difficult to sit through, and I personally, had to take multiple breaks during my playthrough because it just felt too real. The gameplay is set up to be like a visual novel and interactive first-person view of Nuki’s life where you make choices that matter to the branching storylines. Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star is very interactive, despite it seeming like a visual novel. Sometimes dialogue choices will repeat, disappear, or shapeshift as you progress through the story. Similar to how you want to say something to someone but it falls right out of your hands before you can say it. It can be intense, vulgar, or flip a switch and almost feel like everything is fine and dandy for a moment.
The music and sound in Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star are different from any other visual novel game I’ve played. Redaelli utilizes different sound effects, whether it be sitting in silence while waiting for Sune to respond, or small jerks of sound to show shocking development. Alongside that, he uses repetitiveness of sounds over and over again during a dialogue or conversation. The 2d aspects of Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star are simple yet powerful as well. Redaelli does an amazing job of utilizing the simplest shapes and colors to send a larger message in the story such as a crash of red or an all-gray tinge with hints of pink. The way the graphics progress and the story progress flow perfectly and the result is extraordinary, almost galactic (hence the Milky Way figure of speech).
Redaelli effectively incorporates one of the topics that are hardly used for video games: sex. He uses the metaphor of sex within Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star similar to a binary star, where the two need to orbit each other until it is mutual. Before the “constellation” forms, Sune always tests you with a questionnaire of something along the lines of “Will you always love me, protect me, etc.” However, as the story progresses and things go awry, these questions mutate into coercion or manipulation. With sex being represented by 5 different senses, you are able to choose some to briefly perceive or do something with Sune such as looking into his eyes or what it feels like when you kiss him. Visually it is a little vignette or snippet, but it captures the realness, awkwardness, and weirdness of sex, and represents a great example of how humans think and what they perceive during their most intimate moments. It is well written and made, and it shows a genuine maturity of sorts. While the focal point of the game isn’t the sexual orientation of the characters themselves, it is something to note that the two are in a gay relationship, which might entice potential LGBTQ+ players.
My personal experience with Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star was that I went in completely blind. I had no idea what it was about, and I just knew it was about two boys in a dysfunctional relationship. I was not prepared for what was to come in the story. At times, it resonated with me gravely, to the point where I needed to take a break for a day or two. I was unable to play a full route in one sitting. It just felt too real and too relatable, from personal experiences of helping friends in this situation. Nonetheless, I persisted and finished Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star left with an unsettling feeling but knowing that it has an important message to send across the world. While my experience wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, the gameplay and story were immaculate. I believe that it should be played despite the heavy subject matter as it is an amazing game created by Radealli.
Games of heavy and hard-speaking subject matter such as Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star are reasons that it should be played, and why it exists. It’s important to talk about these subjects rather than shy away from them because they are difficult. Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star is a powerful and raw experience, diving into the nitty gritty of the uncomfortable intimacy of sex to experiencing a relationship with someone who has BPD. It keeps players something to resonate with if they have experienced it themselves or tried helping others with a similar experience. Alongside that, even if you haven’t experienced something like this, it is something that will stick in your brain and leave an impression on you.
9/10
For more information, visit https://milkywayprince.com/
I really love playing video games! Growing up, my dad introduced me to video games, the first being Street Fighter. I have always been surrounded by them growing up and even now. They really impacted my life allowing me to share this commonality with my friends and new ones. I play a wide array of games, mostly PC, but sometimes PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Some of my favorite games are Final Fantasy VII, League of Legends, Persona 5, and Stardew Valley. As of recent, I've been playing Fall Guys and Among Us as well!
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