Hotel Barcelona review

The legend of Hotel Barcelona dates back for years, revealed as a dream-team collaboration between two of Japan’s most subversive game designers: Hidetaka “Swery65” Suehiro (Deadly Premonition) and Goichi “Suda51” Suda (No More Heroes). For a long time, the project felt more like an aspiration than a concrete project. It was coyly announced before fading from discussion, and it seemed like my two favorite gaming auteurs wouldn’t consolidate their busy schedules.

Now, now Hotel Barcelona finally exists in playable form. Much like the patchy communication leading up to release, it’s an uneven experience, with play that struggles to match the intrigue laid out by the game’s grindhouse premise. Yet, it’s also an experience that’s brimming with so much eccentricity, it’s easy to forgive the game’s deficiencies.

A Decoupage of Dread

At its core, Hotel Barcelona is a side-scrolling, action-roguelike where players battle their way through themed floors of the game’s eponymous resort, confronting serial killers, ghosts, and other creepy entities. Like Suehiro and Suda’s previous work, the plotline shifts between satire and sincerity, while offering a regular drip-feed of pop culture references.

From an opening, overhead flyover recalling Kubrick’s The Shining to Tarantino-esque intermingling of banter and unanticipated brutality, cataloging the allusions Is part of the fun. And even if you aren’t a cinephile, the game’s haunted hallways, twisted carnival rooms, and grindhouse set pieces document essential tropes. But know that Barcelona isn’t straight-ahead horror. It’s a freewheeling absurdist take that reflects the creators’ infatuations. As such, this isn’t a world meant to be taken at face value. It’s a deliberately campy send-up that harnesses horror while also poking fun at it.

A Literal Witch Hunt

Despite an interest in lampooning trope, Barcelona’s premise is atmospheric. The storyline finds the game’s protagonist waking up inside the twisted resort. Hellbent on seeking revenge after the killing of her father, Justine soon teams with the enigmatic Dr. Carnival, with the pair committed to execute the serial killers who reside across the different biomes. While some might find the cryptic dialog and persistent sense of ambiguity aggravating, but I enjoyed how Hotel Barcelona strung me from one beat to the next, stimulating a sense of curiosity.

Barcelona’s gameplay draw blend action-platforming with a few roguelike elements. Runs are short, usually lasting under an hour, as you navigate through static rooms and face randomized hazards. Largely, combat is simple, as you dish out light and heavy melee strikes, dodge opponent attacks, and utilize ranged weapons. Pleasingly, you’ll get different loadout choice between each run. Although household appliances and makeshift armaments don’t radically change how Barcelona feels, they do inject a bit of playful novelty. You can also harness the power of up to three Phantoms. These are ghosts from previous playthroughs, and they can be immensely helpful during boss battles.

The downside is that combat doesn’t offer precision, with some long, uninterruptible animation routines, floating physics, and an overall speed that lacks snappiness. What’s move hit detection occasionally wavers, with assaults passing through foes or Justine missing her footing when the game requires platforming. Fundamentally, these technical hiccups undermine the game’s style. Sure, the animated boss intros are thrilling but the showdowns themselves can test your patience.

“But You Can Never Leave”

Barcelona’s roguelike progression is the glue that holds subsequent runs together. Across each attempt, you acquire Killer Coins which are used to unlock permanent upgrades like increased stamina, faster dodge recovery, or expanded weapon pools. Unlocking new killers to fight and new floors to explore ensure that your stay at Hotel Barcelona doesn’t become dull too soon. That said, after about eight hours or so, you will have the bulk of the meta-game offerings.

One of the game’s more surprising strengths is how it handles narrative across runs. Deaths are woven into the writing, with the hotel’s peculiar inhabitants acknowledging your repeated returns. Sometimes they’ll mock your failures or even hint at hidden story fragments. Rather than letting the roguelike restarts break the immersion, Hotel Barcelona embraces them, with its loop poking fun about horror sequels and endless franchises. If anything, I would have appreciate more of Suehiro and Suda’s media commentary.

A Playground of References and Roguish Action

At its best Hotel Barcelona lets you roam through an imaginative, referential playground designed by two of gaming’s great auteurs. Sure, it can’t match the polish or mechanical precision of Dead Cells or Hades, but if you’re tolerant toward a bit of jank, Swery65 and Suda51 will take you on the kind of wild ride that’s all too infrequent in contemporary game. Let the corporate publishers deliver polished, but sterile efforts. I’d rather savor an unconventional experience crafted by a couple of misfits who embrace chaos and charm in equal measures.