Hotel Barcelona

Enemies are lacking in character, all drawn from the B-movie guide to horror monsters.

Hotel Barcelona had potential with its intriguing premise, but it falls short due to lackluster gameplay, visuals, and stage design.

Under New Management takes the crazy concept of Hotel Barcelona and transforms it into an action roguelite that finally stands on its own two feet: the combat now flows smoothly and responsively, the balance of enemies and bosses is convincing, the difficulty rewards intuition rather than frustration, and the Hotel – with its B-movie serial killers, a soundtrack blending cheeky references and raucous guitars, giving the whole thing a powerful personality, and surreal dialogue – proves to be an irresistible resort of carnage for anyone who loves the auteur-style of Swery and Suda51. It isn’t perfect – the engine still has a few glitches and the structural roughness remains in the project’s core DNA – but it is a triumph of creative coherence, where the Slasher Phantoms system shines as one of the genre’s most ingenious twists and every death tells a story to be exploited, not endured. If the base version was a rough diamond in need of polishing, this update turns it into a finished work, polarising enough to (once again) divide the audience (while remaining a far cry from titles like Hades or Dead Cells) but capable of winning over anyone willing to check into the madness of the Hotel Barcelona.

The Hotel Barcelona isn’t trying to be as fancy as the best roguelites on the market. It’s not trying to be perfect. It’s about personality. Fans of Suda 51 and Swery 65 will get exactly what they want: a weird, messy, and personal experiment that is full of fun references to horror and inside jokes. It might feel rough to fight. It may take a long time to grind. But the journey is memorable because of the people, the style, and the crazy ending.

Slick gameplay, stylish visuals and an interesting narrative with a timeless underlying theme of cooperation, respect, and understanding of each other's points of view.

Hotel Barcelona has a handful of flaws, but if you're willing to stick it out, there is a gem of a game underneath the rough surface. While I would've liked to see more polish and a few more levels to explore, the core gameplay loop is solid. I continually went back to Hotel Barcelona for "just one more run," even after I'd beaten the main story. It's also a good choice for busier gamers with limited play time, since a single run can be completed in a 15-minute setting. Hotel Barcelona is not a game for everyone, but if you're a fan of cheaper, quirky titles (like me), this is your jam.

Hotel Barcelona doesn't motivate players to endure or dig through this pile of «brilliant ideas» from Suda 51 and SWERY.

I am left conflicted with Hotel Barcelona. It absolutely oozes the kind of style you'd expect its leading creators and there is real potential in the setting and story, but the actual game just isn't that fun to play. The clunky controls stand out against the many similar action platformers and the multiple currencies make upgrades an unwelcome grind. I can't help but think the story would be better suited to an anime rather than its current form.

The best feature in Hotel Barcelona is easily its personality and style. The game is oozing with character despite its shortcomings. The outrageous climax completely won me over, and even though I didn’t need to, I kept coming back for more because I grew to love the characters and that God damned hotel.

Seeing how far the roguelite genre has come over the years, it falls short of what it could have been with the combat, platforming, difficulty and level design not being up to snuff. Hotel Barcelona may be worth a stay if you’re a die-hard fan of Suda and/or Swery and can muster through the lack of polish, but only at a discount. For anyone who’s wanting a more enticing roguelite experience should find it elsewhere.