Niche Spotlight - Scarlet Maiden

Scarlet Maiden is an NSFW indie roguelike, currently on Steam’s Early Access, taking place in a world where mostly everyone’s boobs are huge.

I actually accompanied some of Scarlet Maiden‘s development through Twitter, I thought the pixel art was really well-made. Despite not knowing how the game would play at all, when trying it out I ended up finding a really charming and tight game under the visuals.

Scarlet Maiden is now available on Microsoft Windows (through Steam).

The game’s upgrade currency is sin, gained from killing or performing lewd acts to the enemies, and acquiring upgrades has you purging yourself of your sins, through spankings, of course.

The idea of acquiring sin through combat is fantastic and it’s really funny that this game seems to have beaten everyone to it.

Scarlet Maiden is also pretty hard, no pun intended, some enemies attack from anywhere on screen and the player has to be constantly aware of their surroundings.

The game’s upgrades definitely help in giving the player a fighting chance, but fans of challenging games will still be pleased.

The game is a masterclass in pixel art, it’s very easy to see how much effort went into each sprite and animation, as both the main character, NPCs, and enemies are all really well designed and animated.

Scarlet Maiden knows exactly what it is and fully commits to it, with charming NPCs, funny dialogue, beautiful animations and really fun gameplay.

The game currently only has three bosses, but it gets constantly updated and Otterside Games seem to be really serious when it comes to adding new content.

Critical Bliss seems to have a really good nose when it comes to sniffing out games like these, their partnership with Libra Heart, another very talented developer, shows that they are really good at finding hidden gems.

Scarlet Maiden is currently on Steam’s Early Access and is being developed by only two people, so anyone curious should give it a shot, especially considering the pretty accessible price of $10.99 USD.

Here’s a rundown on the game:

Scarlet Maiden

Story

A thousand years ago, the Maidens of the Sacred Flame fought and defeated the Prime Evil. Now that same evil is once again waking from its slumber in the depths beneath Sinner’s Rest Abbey.

Join Scarlet, the last remaining Maiden of the Sacred Flame, in her sinful quest to defeat the Prime Evil. Use your special abilities to harvest sin from your enemies and through repentance, increase your powers.

Explore the ever changing dungeons of the Underworld. Acquire powerful weapons, spells, and items. Engage in lewd encounters with the characters you meet along the way.

Discover the secrets of the Underworld and banish the Prime Evil once and for all.

Gameplay

Explore the randomly generated dungeons of the Underworld. Each time you enter you will find new paths, fight new monsters, and discover new items. Every adventure will be different!

Enjoy challenging roguelite gameplay! Sure, you may die a few times, but each time you re-enter the dungeon you will be more powerful than the last time.

Defeat enemies and complete quests to gain Sin. As a Maiden of the Sacred Flame, you have the ability to gather Sin and convert it to power through repentance. Mistress Julia will “give you a hand” with the repentance part.

Use Sin to unlock new abilities for Scarlet! Create a build that suits your play style. Maybe you want to focus on melee combat. Or perhaps powerful spells suit you better. How ever you build your character, it is up to you.

Increase the level of your companions at Sinner’s Rest Abbey. They will be able to provide you with more powerful weapons, spells and amulets for your adventure.

Complete Misty’s quests. Misty is a fellow resident of Sinner’s Rest Abbey. Her playthings have been stolen and she hopes you will be able to find them. Delivering her lost items will reward you with lewd scenes in Misty’s Sex Dungeon.

Engage in sinful acts in the Underworld. Sometimes you will be able to pump out extra Sin from defeated monsters with your magic strap-on.

Features

Challenging roguelite gameplay

Randomly generated dungeons

Randomized weapons, spells, and items

Character progression through unlockable abilities

Upgradable companions that provide you with equipment

Deadly boss battles

Fully animated lewd scenes