Award-Winning Gothic Horror Scarlet Hollow Premieres First Half of Episode 5 Today

[IBJamon]

Award-Winning Gothic Horror Scarlet Hollow Premieres First Half of Episode 5 Today

Second Half to Debut on Friday, Feb. 20

TORONTO – Feb. 13, 2025 – Love and death hang hand-in-hand in the air as the first half of the 5th episode of Scarlet Hollow, the award-winning gothic horror narrative developed by Black Tabby Games (Slay the Princess), launches today on PC via Steam as a free update. In order to alleviate crunch and ensure the best possible experience, the second half of the episode will premiere on Friday, Feb. 20.

A heavy curse pools underneath Scarlet Hollow, pulling in anyone susceptible to its unseen tendrils. Grab a bag of boiled peanuts (or don’t, why would you— ???), pick a combination of character traits, and step off the bus into the rural North Carolina mining town you once called home.

You remember your darling cousin Tabitha, don’t you? Her familial warmth may be dampened by stressors from managing the town’s coalminers and the recent death of her mother — your aunt Pearl — but don’t worry. You just have to make it through the funeral next week…then it’s back on the bus. Easy! If only the town didn’t have…other plans.

Explore multiple paths of choice-based storytelling to sculpt survival into many dreadful shapes, with a single playthrough providing only ~15% of possible branching content. Embody a booksmart beefcake, divine Dr. Dolittle, or other imaginative pairs of characteristics to navigate the unknown, unnatural events that begin to bear down on the town’s denizens during your stay.

Meet a menagerie of memorable faces as they react to critical decisions. See how your choices affect not only the people around you, but the story’s entire trajectory as branching narrative paths culminate into several horrific ends told through more than 930,000 words to date in the complete Episode 5 from award-winning writer and developer Tony Howard-Arias, paired with expressive new illustrations from award-winning artist Abby Howard, the married duo also behind 2023’s critically acclaimed bestseller Slay the Princess.

Episode 5 serves as the final major content release for Scarlet Hollow in Early Access, with Episodes 6 and 7 to arrive in the future as part of The Final Chapters, when the game will leave Early Access.

“Our ambition with Scarlet Hollow is to make the most reactive narrative game that’s ever been made,” says Tony Howard-Arias, co-founder of Black Tabby Games. “There are countless ways the story can change depending on even your smallest choices, and wherever there’s a temptation to cut corners or write inconveniently quagmired characters out of the story, we just keep going. No two playthroughs will ever be the same."

Shape surreal storylines as part one of Scarlet Hollow - Episode 5 launches today as a free update on PC via Steam. For more information on Scarlet Hollow, check out the official website, follow developer Black Tabby Games on Twitter and Tumblr, and join the official Discord and Reddit.

About Black Tabby Games

Black Tabby Games is an award-winning indie studio composed of Abby Howard (Ignatz-winning graphic novelist) and Tony Howard-Arias. Their combined penchant for powerfully interactive storytelling forms a consistently unforgettable duo of horror and humor as seen in 2021’s award-winning Scarlet Hollow and 2023’s acclaimed smash hit, Slay the Princess.