Rapunzel Is Raised by Her Stepmother

Chapter 2: Rapunzel the Prison Breaker (1)

Ever since I was young, I had a hobby of playing various games and writing reviews about them to post online.

Action, strategy, fighting, puzzles, R-rated games, and so on—

From indie games made by unknown companies to highly anticipated releases from famous developers.

I truly didn’t discriminate. I enjoyed games of all kinds and wrote reviews about them. At first, it was just for fun, simply jotting down my impressions of the games I played.

“This part was good, but that part was disappointing.” I wrote short reviews like that... almost like writing book reports or review events on delivery apps.

But as those reviews accumulated—over 100, then 200, then 400, and finally surpassing 500—the number of reviews I had written became quite substantial.

Before I realized it, my reviews had turned into a reference for gamers deciding whether a game was worth playing or just a trash game.

Maybe that was why? I’d become somewhat well-known in certain online communities, and occasionally game companies would reach out to contact me.

They’d say things like, “We’ve created a game, and we’d like you to play it and write a more positive, sincere review for us.” In other words, they were offering me promotional deals.

Back then, I was a student struggling with money, so I was definitely tempted by the hefty sums these game companies were offering. Who wouldn’t be enticed when a month’s worth of part-time wages could come just from writing a single review?

But...

I turned down every single one of those offers.

I don’t know why, but I felt like if I accepted those promotional deals and wrote reviews, it would make all the reviews I’d written so far lose their meaning. So I firmly rejected all advertising offers.

However, there were a few times when I accepted free games under the condition that I would write honest reviews. Since no money was going into my bank account, I figured that was fine.

Anyway, that day was no different.

“Hello, ‘Trash Game Sommelier’! I’m a solo indie game developer, and I’ve developed a beta version of a female-oriented romance simulation called Rapunzel in the Golden Cage!'”

I received a message from someone asking me to review their game.

Honestly, I seriously debated whether to accept the offer or not. After all, the game they wanted me to review wasn’t just any genre—it was a female-oriented romance simulation.

No matter how open I was to trying all sorts of genres, the fact remained that I was a guy. I couldn’t help but wonder, “Could I, as a man, properly play a game meant for women?”

“I assure you, the game I’ve made can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders. And while it’s a female-oriented game, I’ve included certain elements that some male players might enjoy... You could even call it a twist!”

"[A twist? Can you give me a hint about what it might be?]"

"[If I tell you in advance, it won’t be fun. I believe that twist is the 'alpha and omega' of our game.]"

The developer’s provocative response sparked a sense of anticipation. In the end, I thought, “Why not give it a try?” and decided to play the game.

Rapunzel in the Golden Cage, a game created by a one-person development team whose name I didn’t even know.

The game itself was a 2D side-scroller. Moving dot characters around while advancing the dialogue through beautiful character illustrations felt unusual for a romance simulation game.

Typically, romance simulation games consisted of illustrated dialogues and narration, so being able to control a character in a 2D side-scrolling format was a fresh experience.

But perhaps I had set my expectations too high.

To be honest, the gameplay was close to a disaster.

For an indie game developed by one person, the illustrations and background music were excessively extravagant, but the actual gameplay left me wondering how it could even be called a "romance simulation."

I mean...

"Wait, this is supposed to be a romance simulation, right? Where are the love interests, and why do I keep getting caught and dying? Wait, am I seriously dying? Starving to death while trapped in a tower? ...Is this how it's supposed to go?"

The developer had introduced this game to me as a "female-oriented romance simulation game," but the early part of the game felt more like a "survival thriller game" where you were running for your life.

In fact, there were no love interests introduced in Chapter 1. The entire goal of Chapter 1 was to escape the tower and mansion. There was no time for romance.

The story revolved around Rapunzel, imprisoned by her stepmother, escaping from the tower, evading the terrifying butler and maids in the mansion, and finally running away from the stepmother to get outside the mansion.

That was Chapter 1 of Rapunzel in the Golden Cage, as I experienced it.

"Well... as a romance simulation, it’s a zero because there’s no romance yet, but as a thriller, it’s not half bad. Oh, so after escaping the mansion, you end up getting kidnapped by slave traders. Makes sense."

After finishing Chapter 1, I opened my notepad to write a preliminary review. Even though I had only cleared the first chapter, I was eager to share my thoughts with the developer.

"First off, the illustrations and background music are excellent. Did you create them yourself? The gorgeous artwork and the appearance of the love interests aren’t bad either. If I were a woman, I’d probably feel like I was being spoiled. But—"

I paused at this point to take a deep breath before continuing.

"[You call this a romance simulation, but why does Chapter 1 have no romance elements at all? At this rate, it’s practically just a thriller game. Also, the hidden spaces and item placements in the mansion feel completely random and lack coherence. And why does the stepmother chase me relentlessly until death? Can’t she take a break at least once? The way she starts chasing immediately on encounter and doesn’t stop until I die feels more like a bug. Even for a thriller, the escape sequence at the end is unnecessarily long—]"

I began jotting down every problem I noticed while playing.

After more than three hours of writing, I had typed up nearly 50,000 characters.

It was late, and since I had work the next morning, I reluctantly set aside my desire to write even more and sent the feedback to the developer.

“Surely they’ll be thrilled with how detailed this is,” I thought, my shoulders lifting in pride. Honestly, who else but someone like me would write such a sincere review?

...At least, that’s what I shouldn’t have thought.

At first, I genuinely thought I was dreaming.

My last memory was of sending that critical email to the game developer before falling asleep.

Besides, it wasn’t unusual for me to dream about a movie or game I had immersed myself in during the day.

Thinking it was yet another one of those game dreams, I approached a cracked mirror nearby and examined my body.

A girl with scruffy, floor-length hair, dressed in an oversized, musty shirt that smelled like mildew. She had bright red eyes and soft, squishy cheeks.

“Oh! It’s Rapunzel! How cute.”

The reflection in the cracked mirror was nearly identical to the Rapunzel illustrated in the game. When I pinched the soft cheeks, the Rapunzel in the mirror smiled shyly.

“The illustrations were cute, but seeing it in a dream makes it even cuter.”

After confirming my appearance, I looked around at the room that seemed to imprison me. Floating specks of dust were visible in the air, and the wooden furniture around me was rotten and crumbling.

“Wow, it’s just like the game. It feels like VR, even though it’s a dream.”

Let me emphasize again—

At this point, I fully believed I was dreaming.

I mean, who would immediately jump to the conclusion, “I just woke up, and now I’m a game character!” and realize they’d been transported into a game?

Sure, it’s a common opening in novels, but if it happened to you, your first thought would probably be, “What the heck? Another crazy dream,” and mistake it for just another vivid dream.

That’s the normal reaction, isn’t it?

Probably...?

...Anyway, fully convinced that this situation was just a dream, I decided to enjoy this incredibly realistic dream to the fullest.

The best way to enjoy this dream?

"...Since this is a game dream, how about I try a speedrun?"

A speedrun of Rapunzel’s escape from the mansion.

Perhaps because I had just finished playing the game before falling asleep, I vividly remembered the escape routes. I figured the most enjoyable way to experience this dream would be to attempt a speedrun.

There wasn’t much of a deeper reason.

It just seemed like it would be the most fun.

Having made my decision, I immediately set to work.

Since it was just a dream, I’d wake up midway anyway, and if I didn’t know when I’d wake up, it made sense to act as quickly as possible. That’s just common sense for someone having such a vivid dream.

Without hesitation, I turned toward the crumbling fireplace on the opposite side of the room rather than the firmly locked door. Strangely enough, the escape route wasn’t through the door but through that fireplace.

"The starting quest was ‘Get out of the room,’ but it didn’t tell you how to escape, which was ridiculous. In the game, I had to interact with everything in the room before figuring out this was the exit—it was pretty funny."

Well, there were a few items in the room that I could collect, but...

I was doing a speedrun now.

Since I already remembered where the mansion keys and secret locations were, there was no need to pick up notes or items just to uncover secrets.

That’s what a speedrun is all about.

Nodding to myself, I brushed the dust off the fireplace and tapped on the wall. Oddly enough, it felt like I could hear the in-game dialogue, so I instinctively began repeating it.

"...There seems to be a gap. Let’s try knocking again."

Following the line, I tapped on the bricks making up the fireplace once more. Then, just like in the game, the bricks slid outward with a soft scraping sound. Which meant—

"Bam!"

With enough force, the wall would collapse.

I kicked the wall with all my might. The bricks inside the fireplace gave way, revealing a small "crawl space" just big enough for someone the size of Rapunzel to pass through.

Excited by how closely the situation mirrored the game, I crawled through the hole and escaped the room where I had been confined.

Ah, I had just barely left the room, but why did this feel so thrilling? Was it because Chapter 1 was a thriller game? A sense of being chased crept up my spine, sending chills down my back and making my heart race.

Yes, this was what a thriller was all about.

The tension of being hunted, and the exhilaration of successfully escaping!

I quickly climbed down the tower and, just like with the fireplace, broke through a decrepit section of the wall to escape. Normally, there were various objects and interactions on each floor, but... who cared?

They were all useless for the escape anyway.

“Hah! Hah hah! Hihihik!”

In an instant, I escaped the tower and headed straight for the main stage of Chapter 1—the "mansion."

From this point onward, I had to evade the butler, maids, and stepmother who were chasing after me to lock me up again, while also collecting "items" to escape the mansion.

In other words, what I was about to attempt was a speedrun with no misses.

Now, I was going to enjoy the ultimate "dream play"!