Award-winning gothic horror narrative adventure Scarlet Hollow gets a release date for Episode 5

Just in time for Valentine's Day next year, Scarlet Hollow will expand with the fifth episode the day before on Friday the 13th but the story isn't over yet. There's still another two episodes to go for it to leave Early Access but they work well as standalone episodes.

Scarlet Hollow has Native Linux support, it's Steam Deck Verified and it has an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam. It genuinely is one of the nest visual novel styled narrative horror adventures ever. There's a demo available which is the first episode for you to try.

More about it: Enter the fifth episode after last chapter's harrowing end, and cling to sanity throughout the onslaught of unpredictable scenarios rooted in the choices made in previous episodes. Experience more than 870,000 words of branching storytelling from award-winning writer and developer Tony Howard-Arias and compelling new illustrations from award-winning artist Abby Howard, the married duo behind 2023’s critically acclaimed bestseller Slay the Princess.

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“This is far from the end, but that doesn’t mean Scarlet Hollow is ‘unfinished’ necessarily,” says Tony Howard-Arias, co-founder of Black Tabby Games. “Each chapter has its own self-contained story, even as each of them slot into a bigger overarching narrative. For us, Scarlet Hollow has always felt like a seven-game series where you get to carry your choices forward into each new installment. And if you don’t believe me, Episode 1 is free. You can always see where it takes you.”

Game Highlights:

• A heavily branching narrative where your decisions (actually) matter. The relationships you forge and the decisions you make will dramatically alter your journey.
• A complex paranormal mystery. Investigate haunted houses, strange sightings in the woods, a deteriorating mine, and more as you try and piece together what happened in Scarlet Hollow.
• 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? Can you talk to animals? 21 different character builds change how you interact with the world and how your story unfolds.
• A dynamic relationship system that reacts to your every choice and changes how your story unfolds. People won't just like or dislike you. Become friendly rivals, bitter adversaries, best friends, or mild acquaintances with everyone in town based on how you approach the story.
• Original monster designs inspired by Appalachian myths and cryptids.
• No jumpscares. All of the horror in Scarlet Hollow comes from dread, tension, and a sprinkle of disturbing imagery.
• A touch of romance. Whether you're into goths, dads, moms, paranormal investigators, mysterious recluses, or actual monsters, you'll find something waiting for you here. And if you'd rather avoid that entirely, your story won't be any less for it.
• Hundreds of meticulously hand-drawn and traditionally inked backgrounds. Every background in the game is hand drawn and inked by Ignatz-winning graphic novelist Abby Howard.
• Fully immersive art. Each major character has dozens—and often hundreds—of hand-drawn sprites that interact with backgrounds and capture a full range of lighting, emotion, environment, and outfit changes.