REVIEW / Scarlet Hollow (Steam Deck)

October is one of my most favorite months of the year, second only to December, for obvious reasons of course. Every year during this month, I like to indulge in all things concerning ghouls, goblins, ghosts, demons, burned maniacs with knives for fingers and/or a silent indestructible psycho killer sporting a worn William Shatner mask. Video game wise, I normally like to jump into any selection of the Dead Space series, Alien: Isolation for damn sure or any selection in the Dark Pictures Anthology series in order to celebrate the season of Halloween. This year I decided to jump into a visual novel called Scarlet Hollow that is currently in Early Access on Steam. Black Tabby Games, the acclaimed developer of Slay the Princess, weaves a tale of monsters, strained familial ties and a complex branching narrative that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Visual novels aren’t normally my jam but when a good one comes along, I don’t mind jumping in and seeing what type of tale is being told by way of my favorite choice in entertainment media. Two great ones that comes to mind is Lux-Pain on the NDS and Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom on the PSP. As good as these were, they are pretty old games so I was looking to try a new one just as an opportunity to do so arrived. In addition, being as I was in the mood for something on the scary-story side, Scarlet Hollow was just what the doctor ordered. Comprised of a solid horror story, stylized hand-drawn visuals and a bevy of grotesque alien creatures, this visual novel is one that will definitely have you checking under your bed before you go to sleep tonight.

The story in Scarlet Hollow is the piece de resistance of the whole seven part series. Yes, you read that right. The game is broken up into seven episodes with the first four being available now and the remaining three will be released at some later date as they are completed. I won’t spoil too much about the story as this is the reason you would chose to play the game, but I don’t want you to go in totally unawares. Here’s the deets.

The premise is that upon learning of the death of a family member who resided in the backwoods town of Scarlet Hollow, you must return to deal with the fallout. As your time in town draws on, you learn of strange creatures that are preying on livestock, vengeful spirits that have taken up residence in many of the homes in town, and a coal mine that unexpectedly collapses burying many of the towns residents alive. You will have to come to grips with all of the unfortunate events that are taking place but it’s not in your nature to just throw in the towel and skitter out of town. The branching narrative in this game is so thick that you will only see a small portion during your first play play-through. The developers want you to know that as hard as you may try, you won’t be able to save everyone…or will you?

The visuals in Scarlet Hollow are very interesting and brings the story to life in a stylized and unique fashion. The events of the game are played out in scenes that are all hand-drawn which definitely helps in keeping with the theme and feel of the game. Lines are stark and sharp to help in creating characters and environments that are memorable and eye-catching. Colors are dark and muted conveying a sense of impending doom on a scale that is initially unfathomable to most of the denizens of Scarlet Hollow. Booting up the game for the first time, I wasn’t immediately drawn into the game from the visuals, however, after an hour or so in, I was actually able to appreciate the simplicity and boldness that the art style seems to achieve in order to complement the horror aspects in the game.

Gameplay in Scarlet Hollow is a feature that will turn away those folks who like to have a more tactile experience when they are playing a video game. As I stated earlier, this game is a visual novel so “gameplay” consists solely of choosing dialogue options in a way that points the story in the direction that you want/hope it will go. That’s how visual novels operate, for the most part. You are there for the story and reading the twists and turns that it may take. The hope is that you have chosen a novel that is well written and sucks you in from the very beginning so you don’t feel like you wasted your money when the story is over.

One of the highlights of Scarlet Hollow is definitely the soundtrack. Being that this is a story about monsters, dark places, and strange events, it is very important that the music that is chosen sets the tone and is able to complement the movement of the story as it makes its way to its final conclusion. Not only is the story well-written, engaging and fun, the music simply takes the experience to the next level by perfectly matching the feeling of loss, fear and hopelessness of the written words and enhancing it in a way that creates an experience that is easy to get lost in.

All told, I rather enjoyed my time in Scarlet Hollow I and can’t recommend this title more wholeheartedly and say that this one is a must play if you are into this genre of video games. I have played a lot of high-octane action based games this year so sitting down with a game that allows me to just relax and see where an awesome story takes me was a nice change of pace while I wait for my copy of NG4 to arrive. Black Tabby Games is a small independent developer putting out some really good work and definitely have earned their base of loyal followers. If you are into visual novels and episodic games, you could do a lot worse than giving this game a go. Let me know what you think. 🙂

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.