HOTEL BARCELONA

This is a game that, on every level, is built around reaching out to the player and making sure they’re having a good time. The developers have tuned every part of it to put power in the player’s hands, as long as they’re willing to learn. No, it doesn’t play like anything else out there – it’s not supposed to, because it’s something better.

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. It’s worth a look if you can see past the jank (and many longtime fans of Swery and Suda51 are well used to that) but its shortcomings make this a booking you might regret.

Despite its punk charm, clever ideas, and quirky narrative tone, Hotel Barcelona suffers from weak combat design, repetitive structure, poor performance, and clunky controls that undermine its creative potential and make it enjoyable mainly for fans of Swery, Suda51, or 80s horror references.

Hotel Barcelona is an entertaining but uneven experience. Its chaotic, unpolished, and occasionally frustrating nature will appeal to fans of Swery and Suda, though it doesn’t fully deliver on expectations. The gameplay is serviceable but too ordinary, and the visuals feel bland. The story is enjoyable, some concepts work, and there’s replayability, but it’s hard not to feel disappointed it didn’t come together better.

Hotel Barcelona's horror-film pastiche amounts to little more than references, and without the unifying sensibility that defines Swery's best work, the game is a series of mismatched parts, idea in want of a whole. [Issue#416, p.116]

I know the charm of Swery games (and, to a lesser extent, Suda51 titles) is how utterly bizarre they are, but any chuckles Hotel Barcelona’s quirky sense of humor may elicit were drowned under a sea of head-scratching and outright bad design and storytelling decisions. No matter how many secrets it may have or surreal moments it assaults players with, it’s all wrapped around a dull, limited, and flawed core gameplay experience. You don’t have to go home, but you shouldn’t stay here.

Hotel Barcelona might offer you a bizarre universe and strange characters, but in the end, it leaves you with an unsatisfying experience. If exploring the absurd worlds of SUDA51 and SWERY65 is enough for you, you might give it a chance. But if you're looking for a fun and fluid roguelike, unfortunately, it's very difficult to find what you're looking for here.

Based on Swery65's resume, we expected Hotel Barcelona to have a lot of kinks to work through, but we still weren't prepared for the god-awful controls, the poorly-implemented invasion mechanic or the wacky, zany plot. A waste of great artworks.

Hotel Barcelona is messy, weird, and sometimes downright frustrating, but that’s exactly what you’d expect from Swery65 and Suda51 teaming up. It may lack polish, yet its eccentric charms and grindhouse style make it a ride worth getting on.

I’ve been playing Hades 2 at the same time as Hotel Barcelona, and the former captured my attention more than the latter. Hotel Barcelona sure is quirky, but lacks some much-needed polish that could have truly elevated it. Know what you’re in for, and pull the trigger accordingly; though kudos to publisher Cult Games for setting this at a very digestible $60 AUD price point. I had a blast setting things to easy in order to blow through the lion’s share of its story (as in I missed a side mission or two) in roughly 6 or 7 hours.

Hotel Barcelona is unfortunately a big disappointment. Technically, it needs improvement, the plot and characters have nothing to say to us, and there is never that madness or strangeness that one would expect from Swery and Suda51. The gameplay is banal and gets in its own way with poor design choices or choices that cancel each other out, resulting in a linear roguelite that can be completed in 5 hours.

Hotel Barcellona has a plethora of interesting concepts, but the majority of them are executed so poorly it almost ruins even the merits of the ideas. Simply, the game just isn’t enjoyable outside of some dialogue.

Behind the janky combat in Hotel Barcelona, the lackluster stage design, and the annoying difficulty, there's actually an interesting story and narrative that had me wanting more. I was expecting to get a lot more lore bits each time I came back to the Hotel after dying, but that just didn't really happen. There aren't many cutscenes in Hotel Barcelona either, and it's a shame since the few that are there are quite fun to watch, like the intro.

Hotel Barcelona is a wild, unfiltered roguelike horror-action experience from the minds of Swery65 and Suda51. Packed with creative chaos, the game delivers a surreal narrative, inventive systems, and unapologetically janky gameplay that somehow keeps pulling you back in. Despite technical hiccups and clunky combat mechanics, its relentless pace and bizarre charm make it a standout for fans of experimental indies.

Hotel Barcelona is a messy but ambitious experiment that often feels like it’s trying to do too much at once. Its style and inventive ideas, like Slasher Phantoms, branching levels and absurd characters, show flashes of brilliance, but the clunky combat and overstuffed mechanics make many runs more testing than enjoyable. In the end, it’s memorable for its imagination, but not for being a satisfying or polished experience.

Hotel Barcelona is just as strange as you’d expect from SUDA51 and SWERY: stylish, bloody, and dripping with atmosphere. The combat feels clunky, but those who push through will find bizarre bosses, hidden secrets, and an unforgettable horror vibe.

For the vast majority of both Suda and Swery’s works, you don’t really show up for a high-quality gaming experience. You show up for the weird vibes, and indeed, Hotel Barcelona is rich in delightfully weird vibes that are appealing enough to get me through. However, there's a certain point where a game cannot carry itself on vibes alone. No More Heroes 3 had some visual jank, but was still a solid game. The Good Life ran terribly on my computer, but still had an engaging core loop. With Hotel Barcelona, I feel as though both Suda and Swery's typical shortcomings are multiplying against each other, resulting in a game that has good bones and a fun, wacky premise, but falls well short on actual execution. If a game with this kind of slow, sticky gameplay and graphical shortcomings came from any other directors, it probably wouldn't be on my radar.

If you can overcome its tight combat and find beauty in its bizarre world and characters created by SWERY and SUDA51, Hotel Barcelona is a solid roguelite with some innovative additions (I love the Slasher Phantoms) and some very cool moments. If that's something that piques your interest, why don't you check into the hotel and join me?

HOTEL BARCELONA is good, with a unique take on combat and some nice narrative touches. Phantoms initially seem like a diversion, but they give players a ton of ways of influencing every level and, with some preparation, make it trivial to take down the powerful bosses. Fans of horror will also have fun exploring the hotel and the story. But the game will struggle to bring in players who don’t already like side-scrolling action titles, and even some fans might have an issue with the slow start. HOTEL BARCELONA wears its influences on its sleeve and is a bloody good time once a few phantoms roam through a level.

Hotel Barcelona is a bloody fun Roguelike, with a whole heap of creative ideas and just as many unhinged characters to meet.

Hotel Barcelona is the result of a creative synergy between Suda51 and SWERY. The game does not position itself as a highly polished product, but rather as a deliberately unconventional experience. It scores points with its chaotic ‘slasher phantom’ mechanics and dirty aesthetics, which will appeal especially to fans of classic horror films. Although the (more or less deliberate) messy style and technical quirks will be a hurdle for many, these elements are part of the artistic vision for die-hard fans. Hotel Barcelona is far from a perfect game, but it is perfect for its very narrow target audience.