Joyful Stick: Scarlet Maiden And The Power Of Homage

Good day my lovely Deviants. Welcome back to Joyful Stick, our video game review/editorial series. Miss the last entry? You can catch it here. Today, we’re going to be talking about Scarlet Maiden by Otterside Games-and how celebrating pedigree isn’t a bad thing. 

Metroid, Castlevania And Their Long Legacies

The original Metroid and Castlevania premiered on the Famicom in 1986 and 1987 respectively. Close to forty years have passed since then and both IPs have secured their foundation at the base of the industry. You can see traits of them in countless imitators over the last four decades. This has been so prevalent that it’s created an entire sub-genre: Metroidvanias. 

But all of you know that already. Regardless of how terminally online you are, you’ve likely played a title that borrowed heavily from both of these titles at some point. Perhaps you were even lucky enough to have gotten the opportunity to play that metroid fan game that came out before Nintendo stomped it (hey, go fuck yourself for that one, Kotaku). What’s really wild in the current era is seeing imitators of the imitations-is it still a metroidvania if it’s an incredibly similar take on an already existing metroidvania title? Can we even call it a metroidvania at that point? Or has the genre itself advanced enough from the past for us to shake such terminology?

The idea hadn’t occurred to me until I’d picked up Scarlet Maiden, a raunchy pixel platform combat game. If you’re wondering if you should buy it, I’d say that question is limited only to “do you enjoy this genre”. I most certainly do, and at a $20 price tag I’d say the game is well worth it. Pick your 8Bitdo controller of choice and have at it. As I’m innately biased, this review isn’t going to focus on that. Rather, I want to talk about a feeling I couldn’t shake as I slung spells and struck enemies down.

It plays a lot like Dead Cells. 

Like, it’s almost literally Dead Cells with tiddies.  

I’d know, as I spent nearly 80 hours in DC beating the title over and over, going through the challenge modes and unlocking everything. I still love the game and there’s a non-zero chance I’ll boot it up when I’m done writing this. 

As DC itself proudly wears its pedigree out in the open, that makes me question what Scarlet Maiden itself actually is. Is it a homage? If so, to what? If it’s only a metroidvania, then why does it borrow so liberally from an older title? I want to make it clear, I don’t think this is a bad thing by a country mile. SM is quite good, and I had a wonderful time with the tens of hours I spent playing it. 

But when does an imitation cease to be an imitation, and become its own thing? 

Diverging Paths On The Same Road

Both Dead Cells and Scarlet Maiden feature extremely similar combat, with randomized rooms filled with enemies. They both also feature progressive gear/ability unlocks via resource purchasing. Both (in game) feel kinetically similar-move fast or die. Time your jumps. Bash your head against the boss until your stats are high enough or you get the right gear to do so. Where the titles differ is through minute design choices that lead to drastically different play styles. 

Your experience in each run of Dead Cells is highly dependent upon the choices you make with gear, how you level up your three respective ability classes in play and your own IRL reflexes. The game is fast, and while not especially punishing, a few poorly timed choices can kill you quick. You can ease your progression based on which mutations you choose to focus on or unlock first. However, any health bonuses, gear or more is reset through each run. Progression is made by being forced to spend every single cell you have as you make your way through levels. This way, you’re constantly making progress regardless of how well your run goes. Each run feels unique from the last, though it can lead to frustrations at absolute dog water runs. 

Scarlet Maiden has a concurrent leveling system, meaning that you don’t lose any “sins” (this title’s version of DC’s cells) regardless of how bad your playthrough is. You can choose to spend your sins in a variety of ways: an ongoing leveling tree, the blacksmith shop that gives you gear and more. You also get sins for slaying every enemy, with stat boosts that profoundly expand your sin gathering ability. If you’re paying attention and have some luck, it’s very easy to power level your Maiden in an afternoon and make the game significantly easier. 

While both games play almost identically (and are priced identically), this one design choice leads to radically different vibes during play. Dead cells feels manic and quick, with a determined amount of stakes in each run. Scarlet Maiden is much more fluffy and bouncy, with less “unfair” moments. If you die, you just bounce back. 

Aesthetically both titles are also very obviously different. Dead Cells has a high-speed violence focus, with 16 bit blood and gore frequently splashed by the bucketload on screen. Scarlet Maiden has no gore whatsoever, and instead enemies simply disappear in a puff of smoke. 

Oh, and the adult content. Dead Cells features our mutant experiment protag kicking open chests, arguing with NPCs and reading graffiti carved into rock to reveal the story of their imprisonment. Scarlet Maiden instead features our protagonist drinking from giant breasts, sucking dick, getting fucked and fisting stat-bonus granting NPCs throughout. It’s all done in a very fluffy, fun and less grotesque way than you’d find in many adult titles. I’d say it’s akin to Lucy’s Got Problems in terms of cheek.

As Dead Cells came out in 2017 and was applauded as an indy success, that brings the question of where Scarlet Maiden got its inspiration from. Was it DC, or those original progenitors of the sub-genre?

Does it ultimately matter either way? 

Yes and no, I think. 

A Homage, A Copycat

A homage by definition is “a special honor or respect shown publicly”. In media, more often than not this materializes as a dialogue line, a scene shot similarly or some such. In horror films, it’s not uncommon to see cinematography compositions that harken back to 1970s Italian cinema. In the hiphop and rap tracks I myself enjoy, I’ve now been around long enough to see new artists sample songs that were “new” when I was a youth-which themselves were sampling motown and older songs. All done with respect that borders on open admiration. Hell, sometimes the creators getting a homage are even mentioned in the credits. 

Scarlet Maiden does no such thing with Dead Cells, and I don’t think it has a responsibility to do so. Frankly, I don’t think any title is under any responsibility to do so. Which is another key difference between the two-as Dead Cells is packed full of homages to other titles. 

In DC, you can get Gordon’s crowbar from Half Life and his suit. You can get the needle used in Hollow Night. There’s a pistol and katana that look awfully like the equipment used in Katana Zero.  There’s countless others, some overt and some far more subtle. Dead Cells loudly proclaims it’s love for its progenitors, whereas Scarlet Maiden abstains with such from DC. 

Is that problematic? I think if we’re to say that, then instantly so much media would be problematic as well. And that’s fucking stupid. Countless creators, artists, singers, writers and more curtailing at the altar of ideas would inevitably lead to everything feeling like the book of Genesis: And Samus Begat Simon, who begat…

Splathouse itself, especially my storyline audios, would owe the creators of John Constantine, Mike Mignola and Kentaro Miura huge cheques. Love you boys, thank you for everything. 

Homages can be as overt and loving as we want them to be, and are a great way to share the joy certain media brought us. As stated above and elsewhere, “Jack The Magician” wouldn’t exist without Alan Moore’s run in Swamp Thing and the Hellblazer comics. I’m sure to tell folks I stole John’s whole shtick too because I want people to pick these comics up and love them as I did. The design choice Scarlet Maiden very obviously made with its homage wasn’t that, and I feel it’s a stronger (if softer) title for it. It took the principles of play DC laid down and decided to focus on fun rather than stakes. Both titles are a joy, but if I’ve had a rough afternoon-I’m way more likely to boot up SM over DC. 

So. Does that make it a homage, a copycat?

Frankly, I think it’s neither, even if it’s directly copying DC’s style. In the modern creative era, people tend to think there’s either no new ideas/stories/concepts worth telling or that everything is a remix. Personally speaking, I find this line of thinking to be a trap. It enables negative attitudes towards our creative processes and experiences as consumers of art. We’re way less likely to make something at all if we convince ourselves all the good or worthy ideas have already been taken. 

And I can’t suck giant mommy milkers in Dead Cells. 

Be it that it’s a homage or a copy cat, I think Scarlet Maiden is a nice mutation on the formula Dead Cells loudly proclaims to be a part of. It’s a rewarding title full of fun, and I personally believe it is well worth the purchase. Dead Cells itself is also an excellent game, and I think both can be enjoyed for their own (however borrowed) unique play experiences. 

-j