Scarlet Hollow is a brilliant horror experience

The pitch?

You, the player, have received an invitation from your cousin. Their mother, your aunt, has recently died and you are now invited to come visit the old family estate in preparation for the funeral.
Thus, you find yourself travelling to Scarlet Hollow - an old but destitute mining town. However, something seems off and just shortly after your arrival, you'll find yourself thrown into a world of horror.

"You won't be able to save everyone. You might not even be able to save yourself. Welcome home."

What IS Scarlet Hollow?

Scarlet Hollow is a visual novel created by Black Tabby Games and first released for early access back in 2021. So far, four out of the planned seven episodes are playable; Each episode encompasses one day in Scarlet Hollow, where your choices end up mattering more than you might think...

This is a horror story that lets you make the decisions and even if you think you're making good ones - maybe it's not as clear-cut as you'd initially thought.

What is the game's draw?

For one, I just love the hand-drawn art throughout it all. Abby Howard's work on this game is beautiful and grotesque when needed. The visual horror is so well done and the atmosphere of Scarlet Hollow is just so different from what I've seen before. There's a lot to love when one is looking at the visuals, but the narrative and soundtrack are the perfect match for it.

Moreover, I am surprised by how many potential branching paths are even possible. The characters are so lively and real, it's just been so interesting to try and learn more about them. Moreover, there's also a dynamic relationship system, that makes interacting with any of the characters just such a treat.

For those that are interested in the mechanics behind the system, Tony Howard-Arias from Black Tabby Games elaborated on it and how it works over on Medium.

Lastly, there is "the horror" and the overarching mystery that lies within the town of Scarlet Hollow. It's just really fascinating. None of the horror elements is reliant on jumpscares. It's all focused on tension and unease, the slow realisation that there is something out there to get us... (or is there?).

My favourite part is that the game plays with the player's expectations. We might be familiar with horror tropes, we might think we know how to deal with something like this, but the game will prove its tagline to you. You might try to save everyone, but you cannot. - And then you'll still have to play through the aftermath of your decisions.

How does it play?

It's a visual novel, thus, the game plays like any visual novel would. There will be a certain amount of choices and depending on these choices, the outcome of the story will change.

However, the game asks a few questions before you start. Your Name, your preferred pronouns, where you are from, and which personality traits you'd like to have throughout your playthrough.

These traits are what are so fascinating. You are free to pick whichever two in whichever combination - and these traits will influence the way you'd play the game.

It's a fascinating system that certainly adds to the game's replay value. Additionally, there are enough achievements that can push people to experiment more with the array of choices.

Each episode feels complete, and the overarching mystery is intriguing. The only drawback would be the fact, that one has to wait for the final three episodes.

Who'd be interested in this?

Anyone who enjoys either visual novels, or any other 'choices matter' type games, anyone who enjoys good horror stories that are also character focused, anyone who'd enjoyed Slay The Princess....

This game is brilliant for people who enjoy an immersive world that is actively trying to haunt them.

Scarlet Hollow is currently available on Steam for 23.99 CHF / 18.74 US$

For those unsure if the game is for them, but are still interested in trying it out - the demo, which includes the complete Episode One, is available for free.