Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel

70%
Game Brain Score Based on 464 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • atmosphere
Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel Game Cover
A great entry into the survival horror genre, Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel serves up the frights good and proper.
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In "FOBIA: St. Dinfna Hotel," explore a haunting hotel filled with horrors and supernatural phenomena. Scavenge for supplies, evade monsters, and delve into a complex narrative filled with puzzles and conspiracies. Uncover the dark secrets of the hotel using a camera that reveals different timelines, all while navigating the dangers of the past, present, and future.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

70%
Audience ScoreBased on 464 reviews
story60 positive mentions
grinding10 negative mentions
  • The game offers a fantastic atmosphere and engaging puzzles that keep players immersed.
  • It successfully captures the essence of classic survival horror games, particularly reminiscent of Resident Evil.
  • The unique camera mechanic adds an interesting layer to exploration and puzzle-solving.
  • The lack of a map and confusing level design can lead to frustrating backtracking.
  • Combat feels clunky and unbalanced, with enemies often being bullet sponges.
  • The story can be convoluted and leaves many questions unanswered, detracting from the overall experience.
  • story220 mentions

    The story of the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it intriguing and well-written, while others describe it as convoluted and confusing, often requiring players to read numerous documents to piece together the plot. While it draws inspiration from classic survival horror titles like Resident Evil, many reviewers noted that the narrative can feel disjointed and lacks clarity, particularly towards the end. Overall, the game offers a decent amount of lore and atmosphere, but its execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a range of opinions on its effectiveness.

    • “Another little gem among the puzzle horror with a very well written story and original game elements to use.”
    • “In my opinion this is a great survival horror game with an intriguing story and pays homage to classic survival horror games while taking and doing its own thing that makes it just as good if not better.”
    • “The story is solid and I think has a lot of promise; I honestly couldn't bring myself to finish it as I found the gameplay too frustrating, but I want to give credit where it's due.”
    • “The story is very convoluted and messy, and the endings are really bad (like no spoilers but both of them just suck).”
    • “The story, whilst I won't give anything away, really wasn't captivating in my view and honestly by the end of the game I really didn't care or know what exactly was going on.”
    • “The plot became so convoluted and mismanaged that by the time I got my revenge on a certain stalker, I had no clue what any of it meant.”
  • gameplay110 mentions

    The gameplay is heavily inspired by Resident Evil 7, featuring solid mechanics, engaging puzzles, and an intriguing camera system that enhances exploration. However, players have noted issues with confusing puzzle solutions, slow combat, and frustrating navigation, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, many still find the gameplay enjoyable and recommend it for horror fans, especially given its atmospheric setting and lengthy playtime.

    • “Would still recommend though, has solid gameplay and very organic level design.”
    • “For such a small team, they managed to make a game with fun puzzles, good story, and fun gameplay.”
    • “Gameplay was fantastic, puzzles were great, straight out of Resident Evil but with its own touch.”
    • “I'd say 3 hours of my gameplay was just looping around floor 1 and the rat maze that is floors 4-6 to find one or two items I missed or a puzzle I finally found the item for.”
    • “I think there is a great framework for a game here, but it is held back by how frustrating some of the gameplay elements feel.”
    • “The story may not make much sense, the puzzles may be unintuitive, and the gameplay may be repetitive and boring, but underneath all those issues is a game with fun exploration that is sure to please horror fans craving another first-person Resident Evil experience, especially for the price.”
  • atmosphere80 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its tension and immersive design, effectively creating a creepy and supernatural environment that enhances the horror experience. While some players noted issues with backtracking and artificial difficulty, the overall mood, sound design, and graphical quality contribute to a gripping and engaging atmosphere that many found compelling. Despite some criticisms regarding jump scares and puzzle complexity, the game's ability to evoke fear and maintain suspense is consistently highlighted as a strong point.

    • “The strengths here lie in the atmosphere and puzzles, both of which are done very well.”
    • “The atmosphere is great as it definitely put me on edge when exploring the hotel.”
    • “The game oozes atmosphere and feels tense walking through the hotel, this is accompanied by creaking floorboards and doors and a creeping soundtrack that feels like it doesn't overstay its welcome.”
    • “Cheap jump scares without setting up any atmosphere.”
    • “Also, the game's atmosphere is lackluster in the horror category.”
    • “Puzzles are neat and the atmosphere is decent, but the artificial difficulty added to the game by adding storage limit, which forces you to go back and forth to the storage to retrieve key items, makes this game a frustrating experience and so I am not going to finish this game.”
  • graphics80 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers highlighting the impressive visuals and atmospheric design that enhance the overall experience. Players noted the game's ability to run smoothly even on lower-end hardware, showcasing realistic reflections and detailed environments, although some minor issues with lighting and washed-out graphics were mentioned. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's eerie and immersive setting.

    • “Fantastic atmosphere and graphics.”
    • “The visuals are a strong point of this game; it really does look good with a few minor blemishes, but it really doesn't take away from this game at all.”
    • “I mean, the game has RTX, but even though I'm running it on my GTX 1050 Ti, it still has very realistic (and impressive) reflections and it runs at 70+ FPS with high graphics configuration, which is absolutely insane; the game is so greatly optimized.”
    • “There are some questionable design choices such as the washed out graphics settings (very fixable with suggestions in the Steam forum) and the horrible head bob with currently no option to turn it off, though they said they would address that.”
    • “No matter what I set my gamma to or what graphics settings I modified, the game looks washed out.”
    • “[h1][u]Graphics and technical issues[/u][/h1]”
  • optimization20 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while many players report smooth performance with stable frame rates and impressive visuals even on lower-end hardware, others have experienced significant performance issues, including stuttering and choppy gameplay. Recent patches appear to have resolved some of these issues, but some players still find the overall performance lacking, particularly in specific scenarios. Overall, the PC version is praised for its optimization, running well at high settings for most users.

    • “Other than that, I hardly had any performance issues at high settings, and the frame rate remained at a stable 60 with or without DLSS.”
    • “I mean, the game has RTX but even though I'm running it on my GTX 1050 Ti, it still has very realistic (and impressive) reflections and it runs at 70+ FPS with high graphics configuration, which is absolutely insane; the game is so greatly optimized.”
    • “I will say as of the recent patch, the performance issues are, as far as I can tell, completely resolved.”
    • “The performance of the game is awful.”
    • “The performance especially interacts badly with this design choice as when the character is lurching back and forth, the game chugging and stuttering just makes it feel horrible.”
    • “Would love to give it another go if it got a technical/performance pass as it seems like there was some care put into it, it's just too rough to love at the moment though unfortunately.”
  • music18 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the atmospheric soundtracks that enhance the tension, particularly during boss fights and chase sequences. However, many criticize the lack of ambient sound and background music, noting that some tracks feel dissonant and detract from the overall horror experience. Overall, the music is deemed decent but in need of improvement, with an average rating of 3/5.

    • “The game oozes atmosphere and feels tense walking through the hotel, this is accompanied by creaking floorboards and doors and a creeping soundtrack that feels like it doesn't overstay its welcome.”
    • “Music fits nicely.”
    • “+ soundtracks”
    • “However, as you proceed, you find yourself getting more and more well equipped, and unfortunately, the psychological scares start to give way to attempts at cheap spooks and musical stings.”
    • “Some music tracks gave me dissonant vibes (not in a 'fits the horror mood' sense).”
    • “"Ambient" sound is nonexistent; you can hear some sounds if you turn the volume up, but there is no background music or anything. The boss fight/chase sequence sound is great.”
    • “But the background music department needs a lot of work.”
  • replayability10 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability through features like multiple endings and a New Game+ mode that allows players to carry over weapons. Additionally, the challenge of collecting achievements and the potential for speedrunning contribute to its appeal for repeated playthroughs. Overall, it has the potential to develop a dedicated following similar to classic titles.

    • “It certainly adds to the replayability of it.”
    • “It also has a New Game+ mode which gives replayability to the game and there are multiple endings.”
    • “The New Game+ mode with our weapons carrying over is nice, giving it some good replay value.”
    • “If you are a collector of achievements, you will have to play it 3 times, so good luck.”
    • “It has a new game+ mode which adds replayability and there are multiple endings.”
    • “I see this game becoming a speedrun title with a cult-like following, similar to the early Resident Evil titles.”
  • grinding10 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, primarily due to excessive backtracking and a lack of guidance, which detracts from the overall experience. The absence of a map exacerbates the frustration, making navigation cumbersome and leading to a less engaging gameplay experience. While the atmosphere and storyline are praised, the repetitive nature of traversing the environment and solving puzzles can diminish the game's initial thrill.

    • “But it was very tedious, lots of backtracking, and the game doesn't do a great job at guiding you.”
    • “The only big problem is the backtracking: the game lasts way more than it needs to be and it's pretty tedious to traverse the map, especially when a lot of ways are stuck or become inaccessible.”
    • “It does get less scary and more tedious when you're just running around blind trying to figure out where to go because there is no map you're carrying around as you do in almost every survival horror game. A map would certainly be helpful with the size of the levels you will go through for a huge chunk of the game.”
  • humor8 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by unintentional hilarity, particularly from the main character and amusing glitches, which some players found endearing despite the janky animations. However, the use of "easter eggs" received mixed reviews; while some were clever, others were overly obvious and detracted from the game's immersion. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch, though it can be hit or miss.

    • “The main character is unintentionally hilarious.”
    • “Dinfna Hotel has some janky character animations and funny glitches, but it is a really nice game.”
    • “A few of the 'easter eggs' were funny, but some were so blatant that they didn't just ruin the immersion; they were an ejector seat out of the setting.”
  • stability8 mentions

    The stability of "Dinfna Hotel" is mixed, with users reporting janky character animations and occasional glitches, including instances of falling through the world. While some players experienced smooth performance and appreciated the graphics, others encountered buggy interactions that detracted from their overall enjoyment.

    • “The graphics are very nice and the game runs great (at least it did for me).”
    • “The graphics are very nice and the game runs great (at least it did for me).”
    • “I really wanted to like this game, but came across several janky/buggy interactions.”
    • “In terms of glitches, I fell through the world once and was able to 'leave' the hotel, running towards the moonlight without a care in the world.”
    • “Dinfna Hotel has some janky character animations and funny glitches, but it is a really nice game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

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