Unravel “The Roads Untraveled” Update with more choices, consequences, UX renovations, hand-drawn art, and more
TORONTO, Canada – Feb. 11, 2025 – Scarlet Hollow, the award-winning gothic horror narrative developed by Black Tabby Games (Slay the Princess), relaunches with The Roads Untraveled, a massive update introducing significant content and improvements to the Early Access release, launching Monday, March 3 in time for Steam’s Visual Novel Fest.
Ahead of Episode 5’s release, return to Scarlet Hollow, North Carolina — or visit for the first time, all are welcome — and you’ll find things are…different. The married powerhouse fueling Black Tabby Games continues to mine the Hollow’s cold, dark earth, renovating the user experience, expanding the script by more than 70,000 words across four chapters, and improving the UI. Bask in even more of Abby Howard’s evocative, award-winning artistry.
One week in Scarlet Hollow, North Carolina, will change everything. Your aunt Pearlanne Scarlet, owner of the coal town’s Scarlet Mine, is dead. You return home to pay your respects, only to find that your cousin Tabitha, Pearlanne’s daughter, hates you. Weird things are afoot in the midst of this strange place in an uncertain time of change, as something otherworldly stalks you from the shadows.
It was more than the funeral that pulled you to this town. Whatever this gravity is, it’s not from here. Upon arrival, this compulsive frequency leads you beyond the veil through an episodic adventure where every decision directs the story’s cursed course. Steel yourself: your aunt may not be the only life mourned this week. Welcome home.
Combine character traits — like communicating with animals and/or being hot — to encounter unique narrative trajectories exclusive to each. Discover that romance can bloom even in a graveyard and seek out potential partners, from the town’s resident cryptid hunter, to a strange and rotting specter who stalks your every move. Make Scarlet Hollow’s tale your own by directing the story’s course in a complex web of branching paths through seven planned chapters.
“Before diving into Scarlet Hollow’s final chapters, we wanted to take the opportunity to make its opening act more reflective of the extreme agency and deep character writing that defines the later episodes,” says Tony Howard-Arias, co-founder at Black Tabby Games. “Episode 1 was the very first game we made, and while we’re so proud of the impact it’s had on people, we’ve also learned so much since its release. We’re better game designers, better writers, and we know our characters much more intimately now than when we started. We’re so excited to give old fans an opportunity to re-explore the beginning of their journeys, and we can’t wait for a whole new crop of players to enter the Holler for the first time.”
Scarlet Hollow – The Roads Untraveled Update launches with the start of Steam’s Visual Novel Fest on Monday, March 3, on PC via Steam. The entire reworked first episode will be available alongside this release as a free demo, with the ability to directly carry your progress over into the full game.
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.
