If you’re looking into Scarlet Hollow, there’s a strong chance that its distinct, hand-drawn aesthetic – or maybe Black Tabby Games’ other work, Slay the Princess – has already grabbed you by the collar. And if so, good. Because you’re in for one hell of a ride.
I’m here to do my absolute best to tell you why this horror visual novel is absolutely worth your time – without spoiling too much. But fair warning: much like Scarlet Hollow itself, I make no promises about your safety.
Key Details
- Platforms: PC (via Steam)
- Price: $21,99
- Developer: Black Tabby Games
- Review Copy Provided: Yes
Welcome to Scarlet Hollow – You Poor Thing
I love horror, but I have my limits. First-person horror makes me physically ill – I will not, under any circumstances, wander down a pitch-black hallway with a dying flashlight and ominous whispers.
I also flat-out refuse to open that bathroom door, the one echoing with eerie, ceaseless baby cries. My heart isn’t built for that level of stress.
So when I first read about Scarlet Hollow, I thought a text box and a mostly still image would put enough distance between me and the nightmare fuel on screen.
I was a fool.
Like Slay the Princess, Scarlet Hollow is visually distinct from anything else in the horror or visual novel space. Black Tabby Games has a way of making everything look…wrong.
Characters don’t just swap between “neutral” and “angry face” expressions; their portraits shift with an almost imperceptible unease, dripping with so much detail and discomfort that even a casual chat over coffee feels unsettling.
These people look weird. But they’re also brilliantly written. You will fall in love with them – and you may date them, provided you play your cards right.
And the horror is not static. No cheap jumpscares here – just the slow, creeping realization that something is very, very wrong in Scarlet Hollow.
A Town That Shouldn’t Exist
Ah, the small-town horror trope. We’ve seen it before—Twin Peaks, Stranger Things, It, Carrie – but Scarlet Hollow does something different.
You arrive for a week-long visit with your estranged cousin, Tabitha Scarlet, after the passing of your late aunt. The Scarlet family name carries weight here, though whether that’s a blessing or a curse is yet to be seen.
And Scarlet Hollow itself is just wrong.
There’s Scarlet Estate, the decaying mansion hanging off a cliffside, its grandeur long since eroded by time and disrepair. I can’t smell it, but I know it reeks.
There’s the town, its businesses boarded up, its streets eerily empty, its remaining residents oozing unease. And then there’s the wildlife, which is just… off.
The eerie atmosphere only deepens with some of the creepiest, most skin-crawling sounds you’ll ever hear. Trust me – play this game with headphones. You’ll feel unholy voices whispering straight into your ears, hear heavy, shuddering breaths just behind you, and pick up on noises so unnatural they defy explanation. It’s the kind of sound design that doesn’t just scare you, it stays with you.
The game lets you soak in these details, and that’s what makes it terrifying. This place feels real. It feels alive. And it feels like it wants something from you.
A Visual Novel Where Choices Actually Matter? Gasp
You’ve played choice-based games before. You know how this usually goes. A dozen dialogue options that all lead to the same outcome, the illusion of choice rather than actual consequence.
Not here.
Every decision you make in Scarlet Hollow matters. Choose to investigate one area, and you may completely miss out on another. Choose to be kind, and someone might just remember that when you need help. Choose to be a complete jackass, and, well… good luck with that.
And then there are traits.
Think Fallout: New Vegas, but if the personality traits were perfectly woven into a horror narrative. My character was Mystical and could talk to animals – a combination I will defend objectively as the best.
Why? Because I got to chat with Tabitha’s snobbish French cat, Frou-Frou. I befriended a pair of possums squatting in my room. And most importantly, I could hear what some very important non-human characters had to say.
With Mystical, I could also say ominous lines that put the weirdest characters on edge. I outcreeped everyone in the town. I win.
Every trait feels fully integrated into the story. Pick a different set, and you’re getting a different game. It’s genuinely impressive, and I need to know how other trait combos affect the narrative.
Just One Week – And a Lifetime of Trauma
Despite the pacing feeling natural, it’s wild to think that Scarlet Hollow unfolds over just one week. Seven days. Seven chapters.
And in that time, you and your companions go through so much. I’m struggling to keep this spoiler-free, but the sheer amount of trauma my character is racking up is staggering – if she even makes it out alive.
As you dig into the town’s secrets, it becomes clear that you’re not just some outside observer. You are a Scarlet, and whether you like it or not, that means you played a part in this story well before you, the player, started the game.
Every day is another descent into the unknown, and it’s up to you how much of it you’re willing to face. Some things are better left buried. But then again… some things don’t want to stay that way.
Final Score – 9/10
Scarlet Hollow is still in early access. The game began development in 2020, and as of now, four out of seven chapters are available, with Chapter 5 expected sometime in 2025.
Black Tabby Games took a brief detour for the runaway success of Slay the Princess, but they’re back to continue this monstrous masterpiece.
Even in its unfinished state, Scarlet Hollow is one of the best horror experiences I’ve had in years. If you enjoyed Slay the Princess, you’ll adore this. And if you haven’t played Slay the Princess, well, you have homework.
Will we survive long enough to see Scarlet Hollow completed in 2026? Hard to say. But in the meantime, I’ll be diving back in, uncovering every secret I missed, every branching path I ignored, and maybe – just maybe – falling in love.
(Which will probably end in tragedy. But hey, that’s horror for you.)
**Bonus Action was provided with a PC code of Scarlet Hollow for the purpose of this review**
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