Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood Review
Release Date: April 8, 2021 (PC), TBA (Nintendo Switch, Xbox One/Series S | X, PlayStation 4/5)
Developer: Devespresso Games
Platforms: PC (Steam, GOG)
Price: $14.99
Every once in a while a game will come out with a signature look from a developer that immediately grabs your attention and has them on your watchlist. Years ago that game for me was The Coma, where Devespresso wasted no time showcasing their talents from screenshots alone before having played the game where you could immediately tell their artistic vision would be a driving force into what the game would be, and not only did The Coma provide that great art associated with it, but help complement a unique horror experience that, to me, is still unrivaled in both its debut and its sequel. Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood succeeds Vambrace: Cold Soul to be Devespresso's latest title, where they continue to showcase their talents and growth both artistically and as game developers to make their most fluid and responsive title yet, all nicely packaged together.
Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood sees Scarlet and her band going to try out for a chance at being signed to a new record label and living their dreams, but when the otherwise stellar performance gets targeted towards the favor of Scarlet herself, where the agent would prefer to have her a solo artist focusing on a solo career rather than be behind the guise of a band to "drag her down", she's left with a tough decision to make. Unsure of herself, she decides to think on it after an unsurprising falling out with the band, but on the way back home gets caught in a tornado where she's suddenly transported to a location she's completely unfamiliar with. Dazed and confused, she comes to terms being in this new land as you take the role of the new red witch and help the elves, some known as munchkins, to repair the bridge from the damage you caused via the teleporting tornado and heading to the castle of their land to attend a prince's coronation. Along the way you'll meet plenty of allies and foes as you try to come to terms with your new role while simultaneously trying to find your way back home from this fantasy land.
As you make your way through, Devespresso's design will intuitively take you through your button inputs as well as a nice touch of Easter eggs for past titles that show up through clever visual cues and helpful but brief tutorials that get right to the point so you can get back in on the adventure. Icons and other cues are easy to read and perceive, and the overall design of both its HUD and menus is beautifully structured and easy to read. Gameplay may *look* different but ultimately functions similarly to The Coma with other words and replacements effectively serving as the same thing with similar mechanics. The biggest difference, however, is undoubtedly the emphasis on puzzles that help drive Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood forward by adding further gameplay elements rather than just running and hiding with backtracking almost working against the overall design of the game, and instead feels a lot more reasonable and seamless, causing for a more fluid structure so people don't get as frustrated, though there's more of a Metroidvania approach in you'll weave through the map to find key items and obstacles to overcome and bypass other blocks in various areas. Even though this one has more of an emphasis on puzzle design over Devespresso's previous efforts, Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood does them in a fitting way that never feels like you need to think much more than what you would expect each respective puzzle to take, making good use of the time and, so long as you think logically, are all feasible that never feels overly easy or more tedious than one would appreciate. The design of these puzzles can be done in a variety of ways that include key items but of course use of the environment to help find answers to unlock a door, chest, etc. to get that next big item to help progress. Regardless of what you find or uncover, just about everything you do through exploration will be helpful and rewarding, so it helps the overall comfort and progression of the game design as well.
Devespresso has an interesting way of making their games feel simultaneously fun and seamless while being frustrating and tedious, and though this was hugely the case with The Coma and Vambrace: Cold Soul - as great as those games were - Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood doesn't tend to have as much of this, though on occasion you'll still find yourself cursing at the annoyances of poison and bleeding and the sort that will chip away at your health, and interestingly any replenishment items feel a lot more scarce this time around than an actual survival game like The Coma, which seems to be backwards for a game like this even if the frequency of death may be significantly less than their prior works. Even if you can't seem to find any items around, there's thankfully a merchant that comes along with you and your newly met crew, who also happens to show up sporadically in various places of the woods to help you along the way. Though it's nice to meet a traveling merchant, the coins you'll find scattered about are mere scraps as what you'll need tends to take a lot of searching for particular items that he happens to be selling, even if they're only just a few gold depending on the item you need or want. This is once again a stark contrast to the likes of The Coma, where there happened to be a plethora of currency that you could get to use at vending machines even though a lot of the time that was unnecessary as well if you did thorough searching in every area you were in and didn't find yourself constantly being hit. The similar mechanics here like the ability to dodge at the cost of a huge amount of stamina to save yourself from certain death are obviously helpful, but even with locations mostly feeling fair, it's that one slip up that could make or break your ability to keep moving forward without having to backtrack for resources or do a full-on restart of your last save to get back to a healthier position.
While far from perfect, there's no denying that Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood is a uniquely good time, however, and Devespresso's efforts at constantly making one-of-a-kind titles with a unique signature that only they themselves can pull off from game to game, regardless of how different each property is, is commendable and what makes them one of the top Indie studios in my eyes. Even with the frustrations that inevitably pop-up that feel like more of a nuisance than a challenge, Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood is a wickedly good time, and both a visual and technical feast for the eyes and for the player as they'll make they way around in a wonderful world that feels alive and inviting. Not only that, but Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood continues to show off the caliber of Devespresso's talents with an art direction that keeps them and their games leagues above the rest, and the colorful nature of the game also shows that Devespresso can do much more than darker material, introducing a more lighthearted narrative and game that doesn't introduce anywhere near as much stress (or backtracking) as The Coma or Vambrace. While backtracking is still very much present and gives that interesting twist on a Metroidvania profile, it thankfully feels a little more forgiving and rewarding, presumably due to the fact Scarlet Hood isn't meant to be as intense, though moments will still come where you're faced with the occasional challenge and inevitable restart, but regardless of whether you're playing with keyboard/mouse and/or gamepad, controls are solid, fairly easy to pick up, and the clean interface brings together a solid package that would arguably make Devespresso's most well-put together title yet.
PROS:
Devespresso's art remains in a league of its own
Signature gameplay that's familiar yet with its own flair
The variety of environments and dialogue is well done
CONS:
Some backtracking can become tedious after a while
Sometimes feels like it's artificially prolonged, sitting at around 8-9 hours to complete
Our sincere gratitude goes to Headsup and Devespresso for providing us a copy of
Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood for the purposes of this review.