Scarlet Hollow

Acabo de llegar al episodio 5 y puedo decir sin género de dudas que es uno de los mejores juegos narrativos que he jugado: la historia es muy interesante, con momentos muy buenos de horror y suspense (de los currados, bien construidos, cero jumpscares baratos) y te atrapa desde el inicio, La atmósfera es genial, los personajes son variados en carácter y muy carismáticos y tiene una rejugabilidad tremenda, tanto por la cantidad de ramas de elecciones que puedes tomar, con resultados muy diferentes, hasta el mismo hecho de que nada más empezar tienes que elegir el género de tu personaje y dos cualidades de varias que te ofrecen, que hacen que tu personaje tenga opciones de diálogo o acciones especiales a lo largo de la historia, incluso presentando a veces sinergias entre ellas. A nivel narrativo, las opciones son honestas (nada de elegir una decisión y que tu personaje haga algo tangencialmente diferente) y no son "dirigidas" -por ejemplo, que tengas una cualidad que te permita tomar una decisión especial en un momento dado no significa que sea la opción correcta-, pero la forma en que se aborda la toma de decisiones te permite pensar en lo que haces aplicando un poco de lógica e introspección, de forma que pase lo que pase nunca te sientes "traicionado" por la narrativa o sientes que has hecho una mala elección. De verdad se siente que vas tejiendo tu propia historia de entre las muchísimas opciones que se te presentan. Yo lo cogí en las rebajas, pero incluso al precio completo es un juego absolutamente recomendable. 10/10

This is the first linear narrative game I've ever played where the choices actually feel like they matter and genuinely change the story. Main characters can die, actions have consequences that sometimes aren't evident until chapters later, your choices/relationships can change everything from what dialog options you're given down the line to major story beats. It's really is an expansive, branching narrative that I doubt you'd even see a quarter of in a single playthrough. I've never seen traits/skills in a game like this before either; they add so much flair to each playthrough and help to make your character feel like *your character* and not just a bland POV character made to be a generic player surrogate and nothing more. They also change what options are available to you based on your strengths, which adds to the branching paths and also makes it feel more immersive. I really can't describe how fun, unique, tense, and captivating this game is. For as much time and effort has gone into this game & how fun/easy it is to sink time into it, it's worth well more than what they're charging. If nothing else, it should tell you something that the game isn't even finished and I already have almost 100hrs sunk into it. It truly is a one-of-a-kind experience with levels of branching paths, character interactions, and storytelling that's largely unheard of within the genre.

Amazing game

I ADORE this Game. I am always on the search for games in which your choices REALLY matter. And what can I say this game blew me off my socks. I played a few playthroughs to the end and yet still find new endings and choices. I also like the different characteristics you can choose from WHICH ALSO IMPACT YOUR GAMEPLAY, like excuse me?!?! Another thing which this game does amazing is the diversity of achievements. As a achievement enjoyer this is heaven :) Even my boyfriend, who isn´t into visual novels at all found it interesting to watch me. It is an amazing mix of horror and yet kinda comfy. I ADORE Tabhitha and i really want to learn more abour her and her past and all of that!

it's good. the game sits at the back of my mind at all times, every time i replay the game i see something new. as a result of playing this game, i have felt every single emotion. i wish i played this sooner 11/10

❤

I wish there was a 'maybe' for recommending it. At its core, Scarlet Hollow is a good game. It's very well illustrated and competently written. It's engaging. Its chief weakness is that the player agency is a little lacking, at least so far. You get certain 'big decisions' within some acts, but I've yet to feel any immediate impact from them. Though, I seem to have had a pretty good route my first playthrough here - and there are at least two decisions I hope would make a very large impact. Still, if the little details matter at all, it's at such an imperceptible level that I feel unrewarded and incomplete for engaging with them. Compared to their previous work, "Slay the Princess", it simply lacks the pacing and impact that made that game exceptional. Part of the issue there lies in these weird off-shoots and little character explorations, which only serve to reinforce the lack of player agency when forced upon the player character against their will. This makes the story feel much more 'told at you'. Especially where past events are concerned. Speaking of which, this game nearly necessitates some kind of journal for keeping track of your family history. I read every snippet of dialogue, and in chapter 5 I still have very little idea who key players are. My apologies for soft spoilers, but I have literally 0 investment, or notion, in/of who most of these characters are. Personal problem? Perhaps. But even here in chapter 5, I only even remember what's immediately apparent and narratively reinforced. For these reasons, sadly, I can't TRULY recommend it at this price, despite genuinely enjoying it. The full release might alleviate some of these problems, and tie some threads together. But even considering that, the narrative disjunction between chapters makes this feel too incomplete to me. And let me be clear: I do love the game. And the developers. I realize this review is much, much more critical than most. But it isn't meant to diminish the talent at play here. Rather, I hope it will be be of some small use in honing the game before release. I'm about to start a new playthrough, which might change this review considerably. But I wanted to get my thoughts down here on my first experience, because it is an important experience. [EDIT] Playthrough 2, enjoyable so far. Different enough to be fresh, which makes it much more viably worth the price.