Disclaimer: Game is currently in Early Access and as of writing this review only four of the planned seven episodes are playable. As such things may change in future updates of the game, for better or for worse.
(Item): “You want some boiled peanuts before reading this review?”.
Scarlet Hollow was a game that I actually ended up dropping not even 5 minutes into my first playthrough due to what I felt at the time were some seriously cringe-inducing lines. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was doing myself a massive disservice by skipping out on this game.
Fast forward two years and I found myself staring at my Steam library for the nth time, trying to find something that could hold my attention for longer than an hour. Scrolling through the wide assortment of games, I decided to flick on the ‘Choices Matter’ tag and try to find a game that would scratch that Telltale itch. There Scarlet Hollow was staring me in the eye and I thought to myself: “why not give it another shot”.
That was the best decision I’d made all week.
Scarlet Hollow is a passion filled, tightly written, choice heavy Visual Novel with stunningly beautiful yet equally unsettling art. It’s filled with a carefully constructed cast of characters, all with their own diverse personalities that you will quickly learn how to either placate or annoy to your heart's content.
The tag ‘Choices Matter’ is no decoration. Personal experiences can vary greatly as the choices you make have a large effect on the town of Scarlet Hollow, its inhabitants, and yourself.
The game reacts well to the choices you make: both big and small. I was very impressed at how often I’d found myself facing a consequence some time down the line and thinking to myself “Oh shit this is because of that!”
Big choices can branch the story greatly, opening up different paths for you to take. Characters live or die. Doors open and close. Smaller choices often affect your ability to make other choices, sometimes limiting you due to a bad decision earlier on or letting you make certain decisions due to a good decision you made earlier on.
With the amount of choices that they have to account for (many of which most players won’t even touch) it’s genuinely impressive that Scarlet Hollow is able to follow through on so many of these smaller things. I certainly wouldn’t blame the developers for forgetting a thing or two.
The way you talk to the different characters also has a noticeable effect. Characters will have varying opinions of you depending on how you act toward them and the things you do throughout your stay at Scarlet Hollow.
Depending on your relationships with these characters certain choices open up to you and they can become more or less trusting of you; possibly having an effect on further choices relating to them in the future. You can of course romance some characters should you see fit, there are certainly many worthy of such attention.
I was able to become quite close to certain characters due to the way I interacted with them. The character writing was very impressive. Characters reacted to different dialogue options realistically based on their personalities. It was actually remarkably easy to read the personalities of certain characters and to know what to say and what not to say.
I looked forward to talking to the characters. Whether it is about the underlying plot at hand or just to learn about them, the realistic character writing makes me feel as if I’m having an actual conversation rather than one where I have to guess what the writer arbitrary thinks a person would feel.
And these conversations are important as how you decide to develop your relationships with the characters in Scarlet Hollow can have an effect. Friendships, Rivalry, Enemies... all these different relationship types have an effect on how the characters react to you and your decisions and whether they might lend a helping hand or act in a way that might be to your benefit.
All of this leads to another facet of choice and consequence which Scarlet Hollow already does so well. Oh and did I mention this game has RPG elements too? Well it does.
There are 7 traits to choose from; all of which have an effect on things you can do in the game and dialogue choices you may have.
Can you talk to animals? Well there are plenty of animals to talk to in this game. Just what does that cat lounging around know? What about that dog? What about that chicken? What secrets do they hide?
What about your connection to the mystical natures of the world? Are you street smart? Are you super attractive? Are you strong?
All of these traits offer different dialogue options and a variety of choices throughout the game; again offering another level of variety in gameplay and choice. Like most of the stuff in this game, it’s very well done and it never feels like you messed up picking a certain trait over another. They all have their own flavors and uses.
After finishing what is currently available I have to say the experience has been nothing short of great. There has been no point in this game where I felt like I was having meaningless conversations or that my decisions had no impact. Scarlet Hollow has been funny, it has been scary, it has been interesting, and most importantly it's been fun.
However it is hard to give a proper verdict on Scarlet Hollow as it's something that isn’t yet finished. As of writing this review only four of a planned seven chapters are out which means forty percent of the game isn’t even out yet.
This is important to consider as how you stick the landing tends to be the most important thing for these types of games. It’s all well and good that my small choices here or there are having an effect and that my big choices branch pretty well, but if it all leads to a 3 color ending then what’s the point.
That is all to say that this review needs to be taken with a major grain of salt... actually scratch that, take the whole shaker.
The game is made with a lot of passion and hard work and it shines through in the writing and gameplay. It’s because of this passion that I’m pretty confident in believing that the quality will continue in future chapters.
Scarlet Hollow is on track to be one of my favorite choice based games and if it sticks the landing it just may very well get there. Black Tabby Games have a complete banger on their hands and I really hope they manage to stick the landing.
If you don’t mind taking the risk supporting an early access game and you like choice based games, I’d heavily recommend giving Scarlet Hollow a try. If you like your ‘Telltales’ and your ‘Life is Stranges’, you’ll probably find yourself right at home with Scarlet Hollow.
You can play the first episode for free (the save will transfer into the paid version too) so at the very least if it sounds interesting to you definitely give it a try.
4.5/5
(Item): “You want some boiled peanuts before reading this review?”.
Scarlet Hollow was a game that I actually ended up dropping not even 5 minutes into my first playthrough due to what I felt at the time were some seriously cringe-inducing lines. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was doing myself a massive disservice by skipping out on this game.
Fast forward two years and I found myself staring at my Steam library for the nth time, trying to find something that could hold my attention for longer than an hour. Scrolling through the wide assortment of games, I decided to flick on the ‘Choices Matter’ tag and try to find a game that would scratch that Telltale itch. There Scarlet Hollow was staring me in the eye and I thought to myself: “why not give it another shot”.
That was the best decision I’d made all week.
Scarlet Hollow is a passion filled, tightly written, choice heavy Visual Novel with stunningly beautiful yet equally unsettling art. It’s filled with a carefully constructed cast of characters, all with their own diverse personalities that you will quickly learn how to either placate or annoy to your heart's content.
The tag ‘Choices Matter’ is no decoration. Personal experiences can vary greatly as the choices you make have a large effect on the town of Scarlet Hollow, its inhabitants, and yourself.
The game reacts well to the choices you make: both big and small. I was very impressed at how often I’d found myself facing a consequence some time down the line and thinking to myself “Oh shit this is because of that!”
Big choices can branch the story greatly, opening up different paths for you to take. Characters live or die. Doors open and close. Smaller choices often affect your ability to make other choices, sometimes limiting you due to a bad decision earlier on or letting you make certain decisions due to a good decision you made earlier on.
With the amount of choices that they have to account for (many of which most players won’t even touch) it’s genuinely impressive that Scarlet Hollow is able to follow through on so many of these smaller things. I certainly wouldn’t blame the developers for forgetting a thing or two.
The way you talk to the different characters also has a noticeable effect. Characters will have varying opinions of you depending on how you act toward them and the things you do throughout your stay at Scarlet Hollow.
Depending on your relationships with these characters certain choices open up to you and they can become more or less trusting of you; possibly having an effect on further choices relating to them in the future. You can of course romance some characters should you see fit, there are certainly many worthy of such attention.
I was able to become quite close to certain characters due to the way I interacted with them. The character writing was very impressive. Characters reacted to different dialogue options realistically based on their personalities. It was actually remarkably easy to read the personalities of certain characters and to know what to say and what not to say.
I looked forward to talking to the characters. Whether it is about the underlying plot at hand or just to learn about them, the realistic character writing makes me feel as if I’m having an actual conversation rather than one where I have to guess what the writer arbitrary thinks a person would feel.
And these conversations are important as how you decide to develop your relationships with the characters in Scarlet Hollow can have an effect. Friendships, Rivalry, Enemies... all these different relationship types have an effect on how the characters react to you and your decisions and whether they might lend a helping hand or act in a way that might be to your benefit.
All of this leads to another facet of choice and consequence which Scarlet Hollow already does so well. Oh and did I mention this game has RPG elements too? Well it does.
There are 7 traits to choose from; all of which have an effect on things you can do in the game and dialogue choices you may have.
Can you talk to animals? Well there are plenty of animals to talk to in this game. Just what does that cat lounging around know? What about that dog? What about that chicken? What secrets do they hide?
What about your connection to the mystical natures of the world? Are you street smart? Are you super attractive? Are you strong?
All of these traits offer different dialogue options and a variety of choices throughout the game; again offering another level of variety in gameplay and choice. Like most of the stuff in this game, it’s very well done and it never feels like you messed up picking a certain trait over another. They all have their own flavors and uses.
After finishing what is currently available I have to say the experience has been nothing short of great. There has been no point in this game where I felt like I was having meaningless conversations or that my decisions had no impact. Scarlet Hollow has been funny, it has been scary, it has been interesting, and most importantly it's been fun.
However it is hard to give a proper verdict on Scarlet Hollow as it's something that isn’t yet finished. As of writing this review only four of a planned seven chapters are out which means forty percent of the game isn’t even out yet.
This is important to consider as how you stick the landing tends to be the most important thing for these types of games. It’s all well and good that my small choices here or there are having an effect and that my big choices branch pretty well, but if it all leads to a 3 color ending then what’s the point.
That is all to say that this review needs to be taken with a major grain of salt... actually scratch that, take the whole shaker.
The game is made with a lot of passion and hard work and it shines through in the writing and gameplay. It’s because of this passion that I’m pretty confident in believing that the quality will continue in future chapters.
Scarlet Hollow is on track to be one of my favorite choice based games and if it sticks the landing it just may very well get there. Black Tabby Games have a complete banger on their hands and I really hope they manage to stick the landing.
If you don’t mind taking the risk supporting an early access game and you like choice based games, I’d heavily recommend giving Scarlet Hollow a try. If you like your ‘Telltales’ and your ‘Life is Stranges’, you’ll probably find yourself right at home with Scarlet Hollow.
You can play the first episode for free (the save will transfer into the paid version too) so at the very least if it sounds interesting to you definitely give it a try.
4.5/5