
The free-to-play first episode of a horror-mystery game with dark humor and hand-drawn art by Black Tabby Games. Note — we are retiring this store page. While the build here is still up-to-date, please download the DEMO from the main Scarlet Hollow store page. Thank you and have fun!
Modeled estimate, not a reported figure. How we estimate →
Media

About
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
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.
Stats
Languages: English
Engagement
Reviews
+++ easy, fast & free 100 % Steam Achievements https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3275437375 +++ a lot Options even if the most End in very close same Endings for an Free Indie Game Good for Achievement Hunters & Casual Visual Object Fans https://store.steampowered.com/app/1406040/Scarlet_Hollow__Episode_1/
You're on a path in the North of Carolina...
༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶ I LOVED this demo for Scarlet Hollow. It's so mysterious and the plot is interesting, I'm a sucker for horror like this. I will definitely buy the full game once it's got a good discount.
Related
Related
Trends
Modeled estimate over time.
Hours played at review time, across 40 reviews with recorded playtime.
---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☑ Easy ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☑ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if you care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second life for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☐ No Story ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Lovely ☑ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☑ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☑ It's free! ☐ Worth the price ☐ If it's on sale ☐ If you have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☑ Never heard of ☐ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☐ 9 ☑ 10 ---{ Notes }--- I spent time 100%ing the first episode, and i must say that it was totally worth it. The amount of hidden secrets and foreshadowing in this game is amazing!
From the developers of "Slay the Princess" here comes...wait, this one came before her, scratch that. This short review is specifically for the first episode a.k.a. Free Demo, FYI. So far, it's good, the style of storytelling reminds me about the other mentioned project. The plot itself is very local, compared to the cosmic horror, obviously, but, it's intriguing nonetheless. No complaints so far, but one nitpick - skipping dialogues during speedruns doesn't work quite well(this glitch(?) migrated to Princess as well). Some scenes are skipped, some don't, and it's not clear why. Will buy the remaining episodes during the spring sale.
Anyone who likes the vibe of Slay the princess should try episode one of Scarlet hollow, i love it, the nagging unease at the back of the mind, the unique avenues the story can go down and its focus of detail from the start. I've played it for more time than a few other games in my library, its almost 1/5 the play time of slay the princess and i've only played it 3 times. I swear this is in my top three favourite games i've played this year, episode 1 is great cause its free, it lets you test the waters before jumping in so if you want to think before you act give the game a spin, you won't lose anything if you don't like it and if you do you'll get an idea of the full game.
Play it. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ play it. No amount of describing my experience with can encapsulate the seer quality this demo has. I'll buy the other episodes as soon as I have money to spend.
Really enjoying this. So much variance in both the text and art. Looking forward to picking up the full game!
10/10 will play this on a plane to get on international tabloids. I think one of the secret achievements is bugged, though
good
Momentum
Pace estimated from the game's recent review growth (our daily snapshots) at its own sales-per-review ratio — a momentum signal, not booked sales.
Audience
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.