Image via Black Tabby Games
Slay the Princess proved to be a stunning accomplishment for Black Tabby Games. The team crafted an exceptional story that defied expectations and felt like a refreshing addition to our visual novel libraries. Scarlet Hollow, an episodic follow-up, proves that wasn’t a one-off. The developer once again shows it knows how to handle compelling narratives with many possible outcomes. While there’s still The Final Chapters to close things out and we typically don’t review early access games here at Siliconera, I feel confident in already stamping a seal of approval on this already-impressive title.
You’ve never been to Scarlet Hollow. You know the Scarlet came from there and is renowned, or rather notorious, but your mother Vivian never brought you to her hometown. After learning your cousin Tabitha’s mother and owner of the town’s Scarlet Mine died, you take the bus in to stay with her for a week to be there for her and attend the funeral. However, something you soon learn your mother had good reason for leaving, as things are off in the small town. It isn’t that it’s a dying community with a failing mine. There are otherworldly and supernatural things going on, and it seems things will only get more dangerous the longer you stay.
While Scarlet Hollow is a traditional visual novel in that involves reading the story and making choices at certain points that change the course of relationships and directions, there are a few elements to it that almost make it feel a bit more like going through a D&D campaign due to the way you establish yourself early on. You aren’t a default and predetermined individual. You select two out of seven traits at the outset, which can determine different responses or possibilities when exploring the town and dealing with situations. So Talk to Animals perk will let you talk to the critters around the area. (But at the same time, you need to be careful about doing so in front of people so they don’t get suspicious!) If you select Powerful Build, you’ll be able to get physical to solve problems. Going with Mystical as one of your innate abilities means you’ll be more aware of the supernatural elements.
Another thing that makes Scarlet Hollow stand out is how involved the choices can get. With most visual novels, you make a choice and it sets you down a certain route toward a certain ending. (Black Tabby Games’ Slay the Princess worked like this.) But there’s so much going on here with a staggering number of variants that can affect certain outcomes, relationships with individuals, information you do or don’t possess, and possible options available to handle situations. I feel like sometimes it can feel more like an adventure game, given how often I’d need to think critically about how a choice might affect my character heading into future episodes in terms of their capabilities or potential allies and enemies.
This is especially true with Tabitha, our cousin in Scarlet Hollow. While there are some more friendly and even romantic-leaning relationships with other characters, there’s a sense of nuance to the dynamic with her that really makes the game stand out. There are many times when I felt like choices I made or responses I chose, even if they weren’t directly to her, shaped her opinion of me. Given the connection throughout the episodes and storyline, it results in some fascinating outcomes. Even better, the reactions made me want to know what would happen if I did choose other extremes or possibilities.
Which is another plus about Scarlet Hollow, as it’s evident this will be another Slay the Princess style game where Black Tabby Games makes replaying seem so appealing that it’d be mandatory. The number of cogs and factors here seem staggering. Especially when you factor in the traits. Different combinations feel like they could be so fun! I have two save files going right now with different builds so I can (hopefully) see two different endings from different extremes, but I’m still tempted to go through even more.
Also stunning is the visual direction in Scarlet Hollow, as Black Tabby Games went with a similar artistic direction as Slay the Princess. There are occasional bits of color, which feel muted and sepia-toned, but it’s largely a monochromatic kind of affair. Everything looks hand-drawn and sketchy, like the kind of art you’d see used in dark, original Grimm’s Fairy Tales or the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark illustrations. It’s eerie, haunting, and gorgeous.
Between Slay the Princess and Scarlet Hollow, Black Tabby Games is fast turning into a developer whose titles you can’t afford to ignore. The creativity, character development, and world-building are excellent in this latest visual novel, and the degree to which our experiences can change based on our choices is astonishing. It’s so well-thought out and impressive, and a perfect example of “your choices matter.”
Scarlet Hollow episodes 1-5 are available in early access for PCs via Steam, and the first episode is free in the demo.
Scarlet Hollow
Between Slay the Princess and Scarlet Hollow, Black Tabby Games is fast turning into a developer whose games you can’t afford to ignore.