PC Critic Reviews

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 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 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.

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 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.

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?

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.

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.

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.