Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood

About

"Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood" is a hand-drawn pixel adventure game with puzzle elements. Players control Scarlet, a young girl who must navigate a magical forest to rescue her friends from a wicked witch. The game features a unique fairy tale-inspired story, challenging puzzles, and a variety of characters to interact with. With its charming art style and engaging gameplay, "Scarlet Hood" offers a fresh take on the classic adventure game formula.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood screenshot

+14

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 56 reviews

story16 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The art style is beautiful and vibrant, creating an enchanting visual experience.
The music and sound design are well-crafted, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
The game features a unique time loop mechanic that adds depth to the gameplay and encourages exploration.

The dialogue is often criticized for being poorly written and filled with stereotypes, breaking immersion.
Many puzzles lack clarity and can be frustratingly easy or illogical, detracting from the puzzle-solving experience.
The game suffers from technical issues, including crashes and a lack of polish, which can hinder gameplay.

story
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
50%
8%
The story of "Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood" is a whimsical blend of fairy tale elements, humor, and time-loop mechanics, offering a captivating narrative that engages players through its charming characters and beautiful art style. While some players find the plot predictable and the gameplay occasionally repetitive, the overall experience is enriched by a satisfying finale and multiple endings that encourage exploration. However, the game may leave some wanting more depth in its lore and replay value after the initial story is completed.
- “Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood is a captivating blend of fairy tale charm, witty humor, and time-looping intrigue, making it a must-play for fans of story-driven adventures.”
- “The game's story is a delightful blend of humor, heart, and mystery.”
- “Overall, it is a wonderful adventurous game for those who enjoy some fantastical story.”
- “To me, a bigger problem is that Scarlet Hood hints at some kind of a deep story and lore but fails to deliver something interesting.”
- “Too often it is unclear what to do or how to proceed in the story.”
- “Also, the entire story of the opening segment feels mostly unrelated to the rest of the game.”
gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
70%
15%
The gameplay features a time loop mechanic that adds depth and strategy, making it engaging despite some repetitive elements in exploration and puzzle-solving. While the core gameplay can feel monotonous at times, the vibrant characters, captivating story, and enchanting visuals help maintain interest. Overall, the gameplay is solid but may not stand out for those seeking more complexity.
- “The gameplay is pretty varied.”
- “The time loop mechanic is the heart of the game's gameplay.”
- “There's a ton of charm in the dialogue, art and sound design and the gameplay is really fun.”
- “While its gameplay can feel a bit repetitive at times, the vibrant characters, enchanting visuals, and unexpected twists more than make up for it.”
- “[i]- repetitive gameplay:[/i] while the time loop is engaging, the core gameplay loop of exploration and puzzle-solving can feel a bit repetitive after a while.”
- “While the gameplay can be a bit repetitive at times and some puzzles may lack difficulty, the game's strengths lie in its captivating story, endearing characters, beautiful presentation, and the epic finale.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
30%
15%
The graphics across these games are consistently praised for their vibrant, hand-drawn art styles that evoke a storybook quality, with enchanting visuals and charming character designs. Players appreciate the atmospheric and colorful environments, which enhance the overall experience and complement the engaging narratives. The combination of beautiful 2D artwork and appealing soundtracks contributes significantly to the enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “What really makes this game so much fun is the unique and beautiful 2D art style.”
- “Scarlet Hood plays more like an interactive visual novel than anything else, featuring stunning artwork, great music, and fantastic dialogue.”
- “If you've played the previous The Coma games, you'll be much familiar with the art style and the game style.”
- “The art has the well hand-drawn, colorful animated visuals with charming details to the background environments.”
- “Characters are charming and the overall colors are very aesthetically pleasing.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
28%
17%
The music in the game is widely praised for its memorable and catchy soundtrack, which enhances the whimsical atmosphere and complements the visuals effectively. Reviewers highlight the jazz influences and energetic melodies that suit the game's setting, making it a standout feature alongside the engaging puzzles and charming art style. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant asset, contributing to the game's appeal and immersive experience.
- “[i]- memorable soundtrack:[/i] the music perfectly complements the game's whimsical atmosphere, with catchy tunes that will stay with you long after the credits roll.”
- “The sound effects and track work really well and are carefully built, too; the menu music in particular is a lounge old-timey feeling melody that will easily charge the player with energy.”
- “The music is also very well chosen; the jazz influences suit this setting surprisingly well.”
- “The sound effects and track work really well and are carefully built; the menu music in particular is a lounge old-timey feeling melody that will easily charge the player with energy.”
- “I do wish there was a scaling review system on Steam instead of yes or no, because overall the music, art, story, and puzzles are pretty solid.”
humor
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its witty dialogue, colorful animations, and charming characters, particularly the lively fox familiar that adds a comedic touch. Players appreciate the lighthearted tone and laugh-out-loud moments, making it an enjoyable experience filled with quirky charm and engaging storytelling. Overall, the blend of humor and captivating visuals contributes to a fun and entertaining adventure.
- “The game doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's full of laugh-out-loud moments that will keep you entertained throughout your adventure.”
- “This adorable sidekick steals the show with its hilarious squeaking noises and endless energy.”
- “The game's story is a delightful blend of humor, heart, and mystery.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
29%
43%
The game offers moderate replayability due to its multiple endings and various approaches to solving challenges, encouraging players to explore different outcomes. However, some users feel that once the main story is completed and the time loop is mastered, the incentive to replay diminishes. Overall, while there are opportunities for varied playthroughs, the overall replay value may be limited for some players.
- “As for replayability, there are actually at least 6 main endings for which there are achievements, and likely even more minor variations.”
- “Replayable since you have various different ways of solving things, leading to different endings.”
- “Limited replay value: once you've unraveled the story and mastered the time loop, there isn't much incentive to return for another playthrough.”
- “Because of there being multiple endings, there is some replayability in going through it again to progress through them all, facing the good ends and the bad ends.”
- “Each area is fairly short, but there are multiple ways to get through them, so the game actually has some replayability.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The atmosphere in these games is characterized by a blend of whimsical and dark elements, with memorable soundtracks enhancing the experience. Titles like "The Coma" series and "Distraint" delve into horror and psychological themes, creating suspenseful and haunting environments. Meanwhile, "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" combines a dark atmosphere with engaging gameplay mechanics, contributing to its lasting impact.
- “The music perfectly complements the game's whimsical atmosphere, with catchy tunes that will stay with you long after the credits roll.”
- “These atmospheric 2D psychological horror adventures explore themes of loss, regret, and redemption through a haunting story and unique art style.”
- “A classic time loop adventure game, Majora's Mask is known for its dark atmosphere and its unique gameplay mechanics.”
- “The Coma: Recut & The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters: From the same developers, these games offer a similar blend of horror, mystery, and puzzle-solving, but with a darker and more suspenseful atmosphere.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some users noting noticeable performance issues, particularly in technical details, despite the excitement surrounding the gameplay. The decision to forgo early access may have contributed to these rough patches.
- “Though the choice to forego early access may come across in the game's technical details, some rough patches in performance are noticeable.”
- “Though the choice to forego early access may come across in the game's technical details, some rough performance issues are noticeable.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers praise the character development for its vibrant and visually appealing designs, highlighting the use of bright colors and lively themes that enhance the overall experience.
- “I love the bright colors, character designs, and the themes.”
- “The character design is gorgeous, colorful, and full of life.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players appreciate the game's art and characters, but find the grinding for achievements to be a negative aspect, impacting their overall experience despite a good story. The game received a score of 7/10.
- “Great art, great characters, but the grinding for achievements is frustrating.”
- “The grinding feels endless and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “While the story is engaging, the excessive grinding makes it hard to stay motivated.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game experiences occasional freezing during scene transitions, which can disrupt the overall gameplay experience.
- “The game occasionally freezes when loading a new scene.”
- “I frequently experience crashes that disrupt my gameplay.”
- “There are moments when the game becomes unresponsive, requiring a restart.”