Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 18/Mar 02:40

Scarlet Hollow – Preview

Black Tabby Games, the creators of Slay the Princess, have been working diligently on their new title, Scarlet Hollow, for quite a few years now. It arrived on Steam in Early Access back in 2021, which is a long time for a visual novel in particular. In February, Scarlet Hollow received a major content update, which seemed like as good an opportunity as any to take a look at what the visual novel had to offer. Currently, five out of the seven planned chapters are available, so while we won’t get to see how the story ends, we’ll probably be able to give you a good idea of whether or not those first five chapters are worth reading. We weren’t quite sure where to begin with Scarlet Hollow, because, on paper, this isn’t a particularly special or impressive title. After all, this is “just” a horror visual novel that was made using the Ren’Py engine. Over the years, Ren’Py has become the standard for visual novels, because it’s free, easy to use, and just works. Of course, the engine is just the framework, and it’s up to the authors and artists to make a visual novel successful. Doki Doki Literature Club and WTC: Relentless Protagonist are both Ren’Py titles, but the difference in quality is day and night. This brings us to what makes Scarlet Hollow such a special and impressive title. We initially didn’t quite understand why the novel had been in Early Access for four years, not to mention why a Ren’Py visual novel needed an Early Access release in the first place. As we dove deeper and deeper into Scarlet Hollow‘s story, things got increasingly clear. This is without a doubt the most ambitious and fleshed-out visual novel we’ve seen in years. Not necessarily in terms of how long it is, mind you, but in how much things branch out depending on the choices you make. Most visual novels only offer a handful of choices to the reader, and their impact is often minimal. That’s definitely not the case here, as the twists and turns are driven by early decisions, even late in the narrative. Now, we won’t be giving away too much, as this is a story that is best experienced going in as blind as possible, but we can tell you the basic premise at least. Scarlet Hollow’s story starts with a self-insert protagonist, whose name and pronouns you get to pick, traveling to the titular town. A distant relative, Aunt Pearlanne Scarlet, has recently passed away. The protagonist is heading there to attend the funeral. Pearlanne’s last name already gives away that the family has been highly influential in the town of Scarlet Hollow, or ‘the Holler’ as the locals call it. It also quickly becomes clear that there is some bad blood between Pearlanne’s side of the family and the protagonist’s deceased mother, as evidenced by the hostile attitude of cousin Tabitha. After settling in Pearlanne’s house, the protagonist learns that the funeral isn’t for another week. With Tabitha not happy to involve her cousin in the funeral preparations, the protagonist heads into the town. As it turns out, not all of the inhabitants of Scarlet Hollow are happy to welcome a stranger into their midst. Some are friendly though, like the cryptid-hunting YouTuber Stella. What mysteries does the town hold, and what role does the protagonist’s family play in them? We won’t be spoiling anything else, but if you’re a fan of horror stories, you’re going to want to pick this one up. The flow of the story is determined by which two abilities you pick for the protagonist at the start of a readthrough. You can choose to talk to animals, for example, which allows you to obtain valuable information about the goings-on that people might not tell you. Other abilities include physical prowess, street smarts or simply being hot. The traits you pick determine how you’re able to act in the situations that the story puts you in. You might be able to talk yourself out of a sticky situation instead of having to rely on your fists. The traits alone are enough to give Scarlet Hollow plenty of replay value, but the novel’s choice-driven outcomes go beyond just those initial picks. If it’s any indication of just how much there is to see here, there are a whopping 152 Steam Achievements to obtain. You have your work cut out if you’re going to get all of them, and multiple playthroughs are a requirement so that you utilize each trait at least once. In addition to the attention that went into the branching narrative, Scarlet Hollow also impresses with its hand-drawn artwork. There are hundreds of illustrations here, and they all look absolutely gorgeous. Granted, like so many other visual novels, Scarlet Hollow’s visuals suffer from being a bit too static, but that’s a very minor complaint in this case. If there’s one thing we’d want to change between the current build of the novel and the full release, it’s a more expanded soundscape. The soundtrack is a bit repetitive and limited at the time of writing, and hopefully, it can be expanded upon, alongside a more expansive selection of ambient sound effects. However, while the story itself isn’t complete yet, the way Scarlet Hollow presents itself could’ve fooled us into thinking we were reading through a final build of it already. Conclusion Any doubts we had about Scarlet Hollow were eviscerated once we actually got into the story. This is one of the most impressive visual novels we’ve had the pleasure of reading in recent years. From the beautiful visuals to the replay value to the actual writing itself, Scarlet Hollow surpassed our expectations, and we highly recommend even the current Early Access build to anyone who is into horror stories or visual novels in general. We can’t wait to see how the story is expanded upon as more content gets added to this one.