Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

I had a lot of enjoyment with Hotel Sowls, which lasted for its entire run time and never overstayed its welcome. Its one of those games which cares about quality over quantity, and the control over tone and mood which Studio Sott exhibits is genuinely admirable. This game goes highly recommended to the inquisitive, the curious, and those for whom your standard video game characters and settings are proving just a tad predictable. You won’t have any idea what’s up ahead in this hotel.

Studio Sott has managed to create a short game filled with wonderful characters and atmosphere. This brilliantly realised story reminds me of The Shining but filled with Mr Men. While Hotel Sowls doesn’t innovate the basic point and click formula, it fills it with quality content and a surrealist vibe that really elevates itself. It’s just a bit short.

Hotel Sowls is undeniably charming. The cast is easily lovable and the world as quirky as one could hope. Still, it’s also undeniably simple. I would suggest Hotel Sowls as a sleepy afternoon game to relax with if you are at all drawn to its art and atmosphere, but I would keep in mind the limitations of a two person team making their first game. If you aren’t bothered by a small soundtrack, occasional bugs, and a hotel with many rooms where there isn’t any room for questions, then you may just spend more than one span of five days in Hotel Sowls.

Hotel Sowls joins the niche of point and click adventure games in the Nintendo Switch and even though it does not reinvent the genre for a new age, it does a good job at delivering an experience akin to that of its peers. Featuring interesting characters, involving dialogues and a plot that can reach a surprising turnaround, Hotel Sowls does not go so far as to provide the player with a groundbreaking experience but it does a competent job at creating a game world and the atmosphere to go along with it.

Beneath the veneer, there isn’t much that makes Hotel Sowls shine. The plot, the characters, and the gameplay are all wax-paper thin. The game ticks away mechanically under its inspired art style. I’m actually taken aback by how soulless Hotel Sowls really turned out to be. I guess it just goes to show that you can’t judge a hotel by its chandelier.

Building an evident framework for a "good ending" without detailing a clear path to find the requirements, Hotel Sowls struggles between being a true mystery, and holding the player's hand with clues. Replayability, rather than a compelling journey, seems to be the main through line for this title. That being said, the impossibly cute art direction and interesting visual language will keep audiences charmed and engrossed, even if they are not usually fans of the mystery and thriller genre.

As one of the most visually unique indies out there, I recommend playing Hotel Sowls although its campaign isn't all that challenging.

Hotel Sowls is a really interesting game if you see it as the side project of two college students that it really is, but as a full indie game, there are many flaws to allow it to become something more than just an enjoyable but mediocre game.