Sanator: Scarlet Scarf is a dark fantasy mystery novel inspired by the Plague Maiden tale. It’s written by Russian book author Serafim Onishenko, and is being designed by Russian indie team Ignis Sanat.

The studio is made up of comic book artists, musicians, and narrative designers poised to design games that fit within sub-genres and niches oftentimes overlooked or underutilized. That’s perfectly highlighted by the studio’s upcoming titleSanator: Scarlet Scarf, which is about a plague doctor attempting to discover the origins of a mysterious plague that is wiping out the townsfolk in a small village.

The stern Sanator will have to use his wits and wisdom that he learned from within the walls of Kerneberg in order to heal the townsfolk and be rid of the plague for good, but it won’t be that easy.

The game is a choice-driven title themed around the occult, the epidemic ravaging Reustadt, and the fate of Sanator, who must go through the process of making painstaking choices that will affect the lives of all who have crossed his path.

Sanator: Scarlet Scarf has been in development for the past eight years. The game was originally Greenlit back when the Steam Greenlight section was live. The developers finally finished enough of the game to get a working demo up and out for gamers to try out as the plague doctor scours the streets of Reustadt to find out why the homes with the scarlet scarf on them are stricken with plague.

The dark fantasy title could be an interesting take on the visual novel genre if it’s handled well enough. The art is definitely interesting and the setting is a far-cry from most other visual novels out there.

The full version of Sanator: Scarlet Scarf is due out in March of 2019 on Steam. You can download the free demo right now from over on the Steam store.