Scarlet Hollow

Released: Jun 11, 2021
Platforms
Last updated: 15 Sep 2026, 22:36 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

12 Sep 2026Developer post
Sept 12
Catching up on reported issues, including a handful of overflow issues w/ the larger textbox!
10 Sep 2026Developer post
I want to YEAH and I want to do it on a SHIRT!
do you want to YEAH? i’m YEAH right now and so can you!!! i want to YEAH shirts are BACK and ready to go on YOUR back, so get BACK to your wallet and YEAH like you've never YEAH'D before GET EM Brought to you by the original YEAH guy himself
07 Sep 2026Developer post
Black Tabby Games September Update!
Hey folks! Now that Scarlet Hollow's Rumors Update has launched and we're back from a quick post-release break, it's time for another update on how things are going at the studio! But first, things you might have missed: 1. We released the Rumors Update for Scarlet Hollow at the
20 Aug 2026Developer post
Aug 20
Fixed an issue where the scaling textbox was not always correctly turning on by default.
11 Aug 2026Developer post
Dynamically Scaling Textbox!
Heya Cousins! Here with a quick (and optional) UX update. The textbox can now change size when the player is presented with a large enough list of dialogue options! (So most menus.) Normal dialogue still plays over this smaller textbox... But now, when you're presented with enoug
08 Aug 2026Developer post
Aug 8th
Minor bug fixes
05 Aug 2026Developer post
August 5th
Fixed an error message linked to the "Back Away" option in the farm basement. Fixed an error where being arrested in certain routes would move the player to a non-arrested story branch.
04 Aug 2026Developer post
Aug 4
Up-to-date on fixing reported bugs. Notably, the "Reunited" achievement should be back to behaving correctly.
03 Aug 2026Developer post
Aug 3
Minor bug fixes
03 Aug 2026Developer post
Small (and final) price increase coming August 13th
Hiya folks! We're so glad that everyone's been enjoying the Rumors Update. Thank you all so much for giving us some extra space to really fine tune Episode 5 and align it with our vision. Outside of bug fixes, Scarlet Hollow's content is pretty much locked until Episodes 6 and 7
02 Aug 2026Developer post
August 2nd
Added extra dialogue options to Oscar's Episode 5 basement scene, allowing discovery of the church stone location. Now warning the Pastor is tied to visiting a saved library rather than a single permutation of it. This was intended from the start, but didn't make it into the laun
01 Aug 2026Developer post
July 31st
Fixed reported bugs on discord
30 Jul 2026Developer post
catching up on reported issues
most small things like single-line incosistencies related to new content or minor display errors. if you've been playing our games for a while, you know how it goes. when there is an issue i cannot rest until it's squashed. i hope you're all enjoying the update!
30 Jul 2026Developer post
July 30th small patch 4
Corrected an issue where visiting the church wasn't properly incrementing the police timer. Made the Tabitha confrontation the tiniest smidgen more difficult. Will revert this one if it becomes too difficult.
30 Jul 2026Developer post
July 30th, small patch 3
One more achievement added, a couple of small bug fixes, and restructuring one of the menus in the Episode 5 basement.
30 Jul 2026Developer post
Okay, fine, you can have some achievements.
4 new achievements. Minor bug fixes.
30 Jul 2026Developer post
The fastest turnaround on a hotfix of all time
Fixed an issue where music would not play during the first half of the church scene in some worldstates.
30 Jul 2026Developer post
Rumors Update OUT NOW
Hey folks! The Scarlet Hollow Rumors Update, a 60,000-word expansion to Episode 5, is out now! This is the last major content update before the release of the game's final chapters. If you've yet to play Scarlet Hollow, the release of this update is the perfect time to catch up,
Hey folks!

The Scarlet Hollow Rumors Update, a 60,000-word expansion to Episode 5, is out now! This is the last major content update before the release of the game's final chapters. If you've yet to play Scarlet Hollow, the release of this update is the perfect time to catch up, and the game is 25% off on Steam for the next two weeks!

On top of this, we've also just released a new Supporter Pack DLC on Steam that contains a lossless version of the game's soundtrack (over 80 tracks), 34 pieces of concept art, and over 85 HD wallpapers. This DLC will continue to update with additional tracks and art in the future.

If you already own at least one of the (now retired) soundtrack DLCs on Steam, you've either already received this new DLC as a free upgrade, or will be receiving it shortly.

As for what's in the Rumors Update...

Episode 5

The Episode 5 panic sequence now has an option to visit Scarlet Hollow's First Baptist Church if certain conditions have been met.
We've gone to great lengths to expand the lead-up to Episode 5's farm sequence across most methods of reaching the farms, this includes: If the player travels with Avery to the farms, there's a new transition scene that takes place during the ride over. If the player travels with Doctor Kelly to the farms, there's a new transition scene that takes place during the ride over. If the player was arrested, there's a brief transition scene that takes place during the ride to the farms. Stella's farm sequence has been greatly expanded. For players reaching the farms alone, with Reese, with Doctor Kelly, with Tabitha, and with Stella, there's an opportunity to discuss the situation with Irma before continuing forward. The player's rescue from the squad car has been expanded.
The Tabitha office confrontation has been rebalanced. Overall, it should be more difficult to get the "breakdown" resolution than it was previously, though it should be a little easier for builds that were underpowered for this confrontation.
Keen Eye has received significant buffs, including access to new information in the Estate, unique dialogue options for the Tabitha office confrontation, and gentle social cues that give the player a sense of what actions might be received well or poorly in high stakes social situations.
If the player is romancing Reese in a worldstate where they used the (Hot) trait save in Episode 4, they will now have an option to insist they talk to Tabitha instead of being forced to go to the farms.
The Fusion!Avery sequence has been reworked for greater visual and textual clarity.
Episode 2

Added a confirmation screen before taking The Roads Untraveled route in Episode 2, with in-universe narration suggesting that the player might miss out on things by staying at the Estate.
We think this route provides a compelling perspective on certain characters and events, but it also makes the game’s social elements harder to navigate, and it makes it easy to miss context around Avery and Julius. We think it’s best to take on a second playthrough, but we also don’t want to fully restrict players from taking options that feel correct for their characters. Hopefully this nudge balances things out!
Expanding on the above, the player now has the option to return to the Estate in Episode 2 after visiting town, allowing for more exploration (General Store + Diner) without committing to the Stella/Kaneeka library route. This opens up Avery’s content and Julius’ introduction in the diner while still allowing the player to roleplay as avoiding danger and respecting Tabitha’s wishes.
Removed the Street Smart requirement for giving Isaacs the player’s contact information specifically for The Roads Untraveled mines route. This should both open up more story avenues for players taking this route, and serve to boost player relationships compared to the default route. Snitching on the strike should give the player an opportunity to avoid Tabitha’s hangout without taking a further penalty to her relationship, and also opens up an opportunity to take a hangout with another character.
Episode 3

Avery’s brief scene in the general store in Episode 3 now occurs across all playthroughs. Previously, it only occurred if the player missed Avery’s introduction in the first two chapters.
Powerful Build can now prevent Tabitha from sacrificing herself in the player's stead.
Episode 4

Our original plan for this update was to add an extra resolution to the clinic conflict where a player with Powerful Build could use the axe to subdue Reese, allowing them to replicate the outcomes of calling Tabitha to the clinic without her presence. We ultimately decided to cut this addition because it wasn't meeting our quality standards, and it felt like it undermined the development of other characters in the scene without meaningfully heightening the narrative in other ways.
Instead, we've removed the interaction where the player can pick up the axe during the clinic conflict.
Loosened the restrictions on starting Oscar's romance.
There's plenty of other small changes sprinkled throughout the text for you to find as well
Happy hunting!
Tony and Abby
Original post
01 Jul 2026Developer post
Scarlet Hollow 2026 July Progress Report - Rumors Update Releasing on July 30th!
Hey folks! The first five episodes of Scarlet Hollow are now a combined one-million words long! On that note, we've wrapped up writing work on our planned expansion to Episode 5, which means we're moving on to art. We'll be looking to get a build of this update out to testers in
Hey folks!
The first five episodes of Scarlet Hollow are now a combined one-million words long!
On that note, we've wrapped up writing work on our planned expansion to Episode 5, which means we're moving on to art. We'll be looking to get a build of this update out to testers in about a couple of weeks, so if you're interested in checking it out early, you can sign up for our Patreon and get access to exclusive Discord channels on our server.
Here's (some of) what you can expect from this upcoming expansion:
Episode 5:

About 70,000 words of new and remastered content, with most of it expanding some of the shorter sections of the chapter.
Visit the church for spiritual guidance!
Chat with Avery and Doctor Kelly while driving to the farms.
Talk at Franklin from the back of the squad car after you've been arrested.
The transition to the farms should be smoother and more drawn out across most playthroughs, including longer interactions with Reese, Wayne and Irma.
Players romancing Reese with the Hot trait will have the ability to more thoroughly explore the town, though this might come with its own set of consequences.
Going to the farms with Stella will have more route-unique content, including some entirely new backgrounds.
Most routes through Episode 5 now contain more background context for Julius, helping bring players who skipped Julius-relevant scenes in previous Episodes up to speed.
The Tabitha office confrontation scene has been rebalanced. Overall, the "best" outcome should be harder to obtain, without making it easier to trigger a hard failure. The "most powerful" strategies for this scene have been nerfed, and the weakest strategies have been buffed.
Keen Eye has been given a number of buffs. Notably, it now gives the player warnings ahead of major relationship checks that the player is likely going to fail before the player locks in to an attempt. This further cements its role as a powerful trait for first time players, while falling off for players with significant game knowledge.
Reworked the farms ending where the player transfers the baby to a wounded Avery to communicate what's going on more clearly, and bring it in line with our original vision.
Earlier Episodes:

Added a confirmation screen before taking The Roads Untraveled route in Episode 2, with in-universe narration suggesting that the player might miss out on things by staying at the Estate. We think this route provides a compelling perspective on certain characters and events, but it also makes the game’s social elements harder to navigate, and it makes it easy to miss context around Avery and Julius. We think it’s best to take this on a second playthrough, but we also don’t want to fully restrict players from taking options that feel correct for their characters. Hopefully this nudge balances things out!
Expanding on the above, the player now has the option to return to the Estate in Episode 2 after visiting town, allowing for more exploration (General Store + Diner) without committing to the Stella/Kaneeka library route. This opens up Avery’s content and Julius’ introduction in the diner while still allowing the player to roleplay as avoiding danger and respecting Tabitha’s wishes.
Removed the Street Smart requirement for giving Isaacs the player’s contact information specifically for The Roads Untraveled mines route. This should both open up more story avenues for players taking this path, and serve to boost player relationships compared to the default route. Snitching on the strike should give the player an opportunity to avoid Tabitha’s hangout without taking a further penalty to her relationship, and also opens up an opportunity to take a hangout with another character.
Avery's scene in the general store in Episode 3 now occurs across all playthroughs, instead of just serving as a catch-up scene for players who didn't meet Avery in previous episodes.
New rare resolution to the clinic in Episode 4.
There'll be more to find than the above, but we'll leave of that to fan discovery :]
Writing for Episode 6 is also well under way!
Cheers,
Tony and Abby
Original post
25 May 2026Developer post
New Devlog - On Writing Scarlet Hollow
Hey folks! Hot from the presses with a 16,000 word devlog for Scarlet Hollow! In it, we look at player data from our three most recent major releases (Episode 4, The Roads Untraveled, and Episode 5) and talk at length about how narrative design process, and how this batch of play