Scarlet Hollow Episode 5 Review – Uncovering The Roots of Horror

Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing Scarlet Hollow, an indie horror visual novel from Slay The Princess developer Black Tabby Games. Despite lacking the final three of its planned seven chapters, I still found Scarlet Hollow to be immensely gripping and I was left eager to know just where the story would lead in the next chapter and beyond. Not only that but I was incredibly impressed with just how well the game handled player choice and branching narratives. Player chosen traits allowed for an impressive degree of roleplay and leads to a game with an incredibly elaborate web of narrative choices and world-shaping decisions.

Now with the release of Episode 5 we creep ever closer to the end of Black Tabby Games’ horrifying tapestry, with Episodes 6 & 7 launching at a later date to bring the whole story to its conclusion. Needless to say, the deeper you delve into a branching story like Scarlet Hollow, the more the weight of your decisions will start to pile up, the consequences of your actions will inevitably start to catch up to you. Sure enough, Episode 5 is where things really start to reach a fever pitch. And that is certainly saying something, given the rollercoaster of events within the prior four chapters.

A Decrepit Path – Scarlet Hollow’s Branching Narrative

First, a quick, and spoiler free, summary of Scarlet Hollow thus far; upon receiving word of their aunt’s death, the player character travels to the ghostly mining town of Scarlet Hollow to attend the funeral. Staying with your ill tempered cousin Tabitha Scarlet in the run down, decrepit Scarlet Estate, the player soon finds out that not everything is as it seems. A great tragedy is set to befall Scarlet Hollow and it seems that the fate of the whole town is resting upon your shoulders, whether you like it or not. There are many choices to be made, the lives of the people you meet are very much dependent on what you say or do and you won’t always have the power to do the right thing.

The first four episodes of Scarlet Hollow followed something of an established formula, one that added a layer of comfort or safety, even considering the horrifying situations you find yourself in. Episode 5 immediately breaks that tradition as you find yourself in unfamiliar surroundings, faced with answers to questions you have long since been asking yourself, although you are left with just as many new questions as well. To say that Episode 5 feels like a table flip moment is an understatement as much of what is established is given new meaning, following the many revelations this chapter presents to the player.

Of course, much of your own situation will be dependent on your past decisions. Despite my many playthroughs, I still feel like there are so many more scenes I have yet to witness, which is true for the whole game actually as well. The strength of your bond with the various characters will play a huge role in the tone or meaning of certain scenes here while your ability to save others will also hugely depend upon your chosen traits. The idea that there are still so many different outcomes I have yet to witness in this chapter alone is just so incredibly exciting. And on top of experiencing all of those outcomes myself, I’m incredibly eager to see what other people encounter in their own playthroughs. This is the kind of game that can really say something about the person playing it and each playthrough has an engaging level of personalisation to it.

Each of Scarlet Hollow’s individual narrative elements are commendable in equal measure; the usage of horror here is absolutely masterful, often the scariest things at play here are the choices of the individual characters and the gruesome fates your decisions can lead them to. There’s a sense of powerlessness as well in certain circumstances which only further aids the sense of dread; some characters you just cannot save, some characters will bear a scar no matter what you do and you’ll have to live with that decision. The actions of certain characters as well are equally dark and horrifying, but when you dig deeper, you find motives that feel very human and understandable. The inhabitants of Scarlet Hollow are at their worst and at their best here in Episode 5.

A Wonderful Gloom – Scarlet Hollow’s Visuals & Audio

Scarlet Hollow’s core remains its narrative, character depth and the twisting nature of its many paths, but all of that is wrapped up in an immaculate visual style and presentation. I’d say the background work here is some of the strongest in the game so far with some excellent depictions of the withered Scarlet estate during the first half, alongside some much more gruesome and grotesque backgrounds for the latter half. Black Tabby Games are just so wonderfully adept at creating visuals that enhance the mood of any given scene. Not to mention facial expressions on the characters as well, truly making each character come alive.

This is accompanied by some more incredible music and sound design. The music of Scarlet Hollow in general stands out, as it is often both beautiful and truly haunting. But I really love dedication to adding sound effects during every portion of the game as it enhances the immersion considerably. Something as simple as just hearing the sounds of footsteps as you step from one scene to another, or the sound of an old, withered desk drawer opening up. That adds so much and in a visual novel, it works wonders in getting you hooked and immersed into each scenario.

There really isn’t much to complain about with Episode 5, with my only minor nitpick being that a focal character for this episode is somewhat underdeveloped, but that could also be down to just the path my own playthroughs took. It’s very likely that I may have missed a conversation that provided more context or background, with so many paths to choose from it can be very easy to miss out on some information. Scarlet Hollow still does a good job catching the player up, despite any gaps they might have in their knowledge.

I also previously complained about a lack of voice acting and I would mostly like to retract that complaint, since I think the lack of voice acting is actually an aid to the story, as you are more naturally able to interpret how a character is emoting yourself. I actually had a lot of fun imagining voices for the characters in these more recent playthroughs.

Verdict – Is Scarlet Hollow Worth Your Time?

Ultimately, my opinion of Scarlet Hollow now following the release of this newest episode is much the same as before; this is a must play for indie game fans, horror lovers and those who love their gaming narratives multilayered, branching and twisty. As plot threads start to get tied up in a narrative as complex as this, it can be easy for them to get caught up in their own threads and stumble at the finish line. But Black Tabby Games seem fully capable of bringing this all together and i’m all the more excited now to see just how this all concludes. For a unique horror tale that gives the player a unique sense of agency and presents them with some truly gripping scares, Scarlet Hollow still remains a cut above the rest.