Scarlet Deer Inn PC (Tenoke-Final)

Sinister secrets hide below. Scarlet Deer Inn is an embroidered dark medieval folk tale. While life in a seemingly ordinary village is all about simple chores and idle gossip, sinister secrets hide below. It almost has that Forgotton Anne cinematic quality, possibly because of its Ghibli-inspired art direction. Scarlet Deer Inn lasts roughly 4–5 hours when played casually, with a few optional interactions and side activities that are easy to miss. That being said, despite the excellent visuals and enjoyable soundtrack, the gameplay segments don’t feel playtested enough, with several objective issues such as awkward checkpoints and frequent trial-and-error moments.

To be clear, this is a narrative platformer, and the gameplay primarily exists to move the player from one story segment to the next, which is perfectly fine, but there are still areas that could have been handled better. There was a curious argument in the forum regarding “frustration,” with some claiming Scarlet Deer Inn was intentionally designed that way. In reality, both sides have a point. Scarlet Deer Inn is extremely easy, yet it’s also surprisingly easy to die by accident due to a lack of feedback in the level design. It’s obvious the developers prioritized a narrative experience, but they occasionally overdid the one-hit deaths and awkward checkpoint placement.

The gameplay itself is fairly simplistic, consisting mostly of following the correct path, with the most challenging puzzles requiring only two or three steps. As a result, there isn’t much mechanical depth—find the correct route, and if a mistake leads to death, repeat it a little faster the next time. More narrative during the cave sections would have helped these sequences feel more meaningful, as the gameplay often comes across as filler rather than something visually compelling or mechanically engaging. Without going into major story details, the narrative leaves mixed impressions.

The world-building is solid, and the first three-quarters of Scarlet Deer Inn remain engaging, but the ending feels somewhat unceremonious. There is plenty of mystery, yet it never develops into anything particularly satisfying, resulting in a fairly straightforward folklore tale. One important character initially seems poised to receive a compelling backstory, given their constant presence and role as a source of conflict for the protagonist, but that potential never fully materializes. This is a visual and narrative experience first and foremost, and it succeeds in those areas. The presentation is beautiful, and aside from the ending, the world-building remains consistently engaging.