Scarlet Hollow — Episode 1
Black Tabby Games · 2020 · Horror, Story Rich, Choices Matter, Choose Your Own Adventure, Visual Novel
PC
Overwhelmingly Positive96% · 707
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →
Screenshots
About Scarlet Hollow — Episode 1
✦ AI summary
You're trapped in a dying Appalachian mining town for your aunt's funeral when a dark mystery emerges that puts your life in danger—navigate branching storylines, forge complex relationships, and uncover original supernatural horrors in this hand-drawn horror visual novel where your choices reshape the fate of an entire town. From award-winning graphic novelist Abby Howard, Scarlet Hollow combines meticulously inked backgrounds and sprites with a trait-based dialogue system and five romance options to create an immersive world where who you become fundamentally changes how your story unfolds.
Note — we are retiring this store page. While the build of Episode 1 here will be kept up-to-date with the current state of the game, please download the DEMO from the main Scarlet Hollow store page. Thank you and have fun!
This page is a free demo for Scarlet Hollow that contains the entire first episode. If you'd like to purchase the rest of the game, we're releasing it episodically on our Early Access page. Episode 4 is out now on that page, and we'll update that build with future episodes as they release. All of your Episode 1 saves should automatically transfer to the full game as well.
Trapped in the dying Appalachian mining town of Scarlet Hollow for the funeral of your estranged aunt, you quickly find yourself at the center of a dark mystery that threatens your life.
From award-winning graphic novelist Abby Howard, Scarlet Hollow is a horror visual novel and adventure game where your choices deeply matter. Hand-drawn backgrounds and sprites work together with a complex relationship system to bring to life an immersive world of charming (and terrifying) characters. Who lives, who dies, and the fate of an entire town rests on your shoulders.
Features
This page is a free demo for Scarlet Hollow that contains the entire first episode. If you'd like to purchase the rest of the game, we're releasing it episodically on our Early Access page. Episode 4 is out now on that page, and we'll update that build with future episodes as they release. All of your Episode 1 saves should automatically transfer to the full game as well.
Trapped in the dying Appalachian mining town of Scarlet Hollow for the funeral of your estranged aunt, you quickly find yourself at the center of a dark mystery that threatens your life.
From award-winning graphic novelist Abby Howard, Scarlet Hollow is a horror visual novel and adventure game where your choices deeply matter. Hand-drawn backgrounds and sprites work together with a complex relationship system to bring to life an immersive world of charming (and terrifying) characters. Who lives, who dies, and the fate of an entire town rests on your shoulders.
Features
- A heavily branching narrative where your choices matter. The relationships you forge and the decisions you make will dramatically alter your journey.
- Good jokes and good spooks.
- A complex relationship system that changes how characters act around you. Characters don't just like or dislike you. Become friendly rivals, bitter adversaries, best friends, or mild acquaintances based on how you approach the story.
- Trait-based dialogue and role-playing. Scarlet Hollow's dialogue system is driven by role-playing elements that let you choose who you want to be. Are you quiet and observant? Hot and clueless? Over a dozen different character builds change how you interact with the world and how your story unfolds.
- Original monster designs. Every monster and supernatural being in the game is an original Abby Howard design-- you won't find any predictable vampires or zombies here.
- Five romance options. Whether you're into goths, dads, plant-lovers, Youtubers, or skeletal boys, we've got all your bases covered.
- Dozens of meticulously hand-drawn and traditionally inked backgrounds. Every background in the game is meticulously drawn by hand and inked on massive 19x24 inch paper.
- Hundreds of hand-drawn, immersive sprites. Each major character has dozens of hand-drawn sprites that interact with backgrounds and capture a full range of lighting and emotion.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
I just looked at this game on my library and realized I finished Episode 4 in Feb of 2023..... Episode 5 is a lie.
Thanks to this game I have learned NEVER to buy a game in Early Access. A valuable and time-saving lesson that I am grateful for and certainly worth the cost of buying the game that is still not finished. Life is too short! Move on!
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Absolutely hooked. Rarely do I ever become so invested so quickly in a game when time and money are always tight. I played Slay The Princess before trying this and also loved it so much I beat it in one sitting so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I am liking Scarlet Hollow even more. Try the first episode for free and judge for yourself but I can't recommend this highly enough.
I love the art, I love the music, I love that the whole thing reminds me a bit of Tim Burton style movies. It is a bit bonkers, a bit bizarre and spooky. Can't wait to play the whole thing.
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