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HOTEL BARCELONA

While a bit uneven, Hotel Barcelona is a blast to play. It starts a bit rough, but as more upgrades and abilities become available, the creativity behind the game really shines through.
HOTEL BARCELONA Game Cover
67%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, story
Most mentioned negative aspects:optimization, music
70% User Score Based on 220 reviews
Critic Score 65%Based on 15 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCXbox Game PassPlaystation 5CloudXbox Cloud GamingXboxWindowsPlayStation
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HOTEL BARCELONA Game Cover

About

HOTEL BARCELONA is a single player and multiplayer hack and slash game with horror and comedy themes. It was developed by White Owls Inc. and was released on September 26, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Justine, a rookie U.S. Marshal, thought this was just another routine case. But when her car crashes in a freak accident at the edge of nowhere, she finds herself trapped in a twisted new world: HOTEL BARCELONA. Seven serial killers. One haunted hotel. And a second personality living inside her head… Meet Dr. Carnival: murderer, psychopath, devastating ancient monster. THIS FALL… DEATH HAS A RO…

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HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
HOTEL BARCELONA screenshot
+8
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70%Audience ScoreBased on 220 reviews
gameplay27 positive mentions
optimization8 negative mentions
  • Unique and intriguing roguelike platformer with a strong horror movie homage and Swery/Suda51's signature quirky style.
  • Distinctive art direction and character design add greatly to atmosphere; engaging story with witty and campy writing.
  • Innovative mechanics like phantoms of previous runs assisting and a rewarding progression system make gameplay enjoyable after initial learning curve.
  • Clunky, sluggish, and occasionally unresponsive combat and controls, especially in early game, causing frustration and difficulty.
  • Technical issues at launch and ongoing performance problems including crashes, input delay, frame drops, and bugs affecting user experience.
  • Limited content and short game length, combined with grindy and repetitive elements, reduce replay value for many players.

  • gameplay

    109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this 2D roguelike action side-scroller features an interesting and unique phantom mechanic that assists with progression but suffers from clunky, floaty controls, awkward combat timing, and occasional input lag. While some players appreciate the growing depth and combination of roguelike elements with a stylized, quirky aesthetic, others find the combat repetitive, unpolished, and frustratingly difficult, especially early on. Overall, the gameplay can be rewarding once mastered and upgraded but remains divisive due to its rough mechanics and pacing.

    • “It turns death into part of the gameplay loop, which fits the theme really well.”
    • “The game also bolsters some novel mechanics like phantoms of your past runs that run around killing enemies alongside you, or the doppelgangers, other versions of you (players) that invade and try to take you out.”
    • “The gameplay is all around a sufficient blast and the combat I believe found a happy marriage between Dead Cells and Bloodborne.”
    • “Basically causing me to lose the chance and getting a run through all story stages without a break achievement, for a 2D Metroidvania style game, it didn't really feel like a Metroidvania, more of a stage speed runner with crappy hit boxes and parrying mechanics.”
    • “Combat feels unnecessarily cheap, like I have to abuse cheese mechanics in order to win, but enemies can also do the exact same thing.”
    • “So yeah, if you really want a wild story and can handle some frustrating gameplay, check right on in.”

  • story

    73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in this 2D roguelike metroidvania blends quirky, chaotic humor with horror and surreal themes, appealing especially to fans of Swery51 and Suda51's signature style. While its narrative, characters, and animated cutscenes are praised for wit, charm, and atmosphere, some find it shallow, underdeveloped, or confusing, with a mix of intriguing elements and occasionally outdated or campy messaging. Overall, the story serves as a strong draw that keeps players engaged despite some gameplay and coherence issues.

    • “Fun game to chill and play on the weekend with witty story writing.”
    • “The story's also really interesting, funny in a way that made me laugh harder than I had in a while.”
    • “The aesthetic of the game's art, dialogue, and cutscenes is impeccable, perfectly framing a wonderfully bizarre horror story that delivers exactly what you'd expect from the legendary Suda51 and Swery.”
    • “Spoiler alert: the story wasn't even worth it.”
    • “I can deal with jank and chunky clunky gameplay in the name of style and story, but this game lacks both—which is shocking given the creative influences.”
    • “With Swery65, you only get to grind your teeth through a bad indie, hoping to get to the next story bit fast.”

  • graphics

    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics receive high praise for their unique, stylish, and charming horror-inspired art style, with standout character designs and inventive animated sequences. However, some users note performance issues, occasional bugs, and occasional difficulty with low-contrast visuals that slightly detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, the distinctive aesthetic strongly appeals to fans of indie horror and roguelite genres.

    • “The aesthetic of the game's art, dialogue, and cutscenes is impeccable, perfectly framing a wonderfully bizarre horror story that delivers exactly what you'd expect from the legendary Suda51 and Swery.”
    • “Insane love on the visual/art style on the characters and style of the bosses in this game, all have their unique backstory based on cult classic horror movie villains; there are lots of easter eggs in this game, in every corner.”
    • “The character designs are fantastic, enough to make you want to meet the next character just to see what kind of wild aesthetic is coming up around the bend.”
    • “There's a lot of graphical elements I don't see the point to that bog the game down a lot and make it feel crummy, which is ultimately super disappointing.”
    • “It's not unplayable, but just expect it to perform significantly worse than you'd guess based on the visuals, especially with any kind of crowd on screen.”
    • “Hard to read low contrast visuals.”

  • optimization

    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from frequent performance issues, including lag spikes, low framerate, and poor optimization, which detract from gameplay fluidity and overall experience. While recent patches have improved stability, many users still find the performance inconsistent and in need of further refinement. Despite these technical flaws, the game's unique writing and engaging combat keep it appealing to its core audience.

    • “The last time I played this game was as a Steam Next Fest demo and it improved a lot in terms of performance and gameplay.”
    • “I feel like you ought to know if you're going to be the type of person to jive with a Swery game or not, some roughness in the gameplay and performance aspect (which have actually been refined with the under new management patch) but truly wonderful and singular writing and presentation.”
    • “I'd really want to revisit it after updates to address early combat fluidity, performance, and bugs... and with a major sale.”
    • “Performance was terrible which isn't unexpected for a Swery game. I was waiting for a patch to smooth things out and didn't hear the news about the GenAI included content until it was too late to refund the game.”
    • “Poor optimization; the mechanics of actually playing the game felt restrictive and punishing, and the amount of playable content was somewhat lackluster for a $30 price tag.”
    • “Performance issues are too plentiful to recommend this game, which would have been contentious in and of itself given the general jank.”

  • humor

    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game’s humor is praised for being quirky, witty, and genuinely funny, often delivering laugh-out-loud moments through its dialogue, characters, and unique situations. Fans appreciate the blend of goofy, chaotic, and sincere comedy that complements the story and horror themes. Overall, the humor is a standout feature, resonating well with those familiar with the creators' style.

    • “The story's also really interesting, funny in a way that made me laugh harder than I had in a while.”
    • “The writing is a very solid outing for Swery, with humor, wit, and sincerity built into the characters and plot.”
    • “Story is neat, characters are neat, dialog is goofy on-the-nose humor that you expect from a Swery x Suda51 game.”

  • music

    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music is generally praised for its atmospheric and mood-setting qualities, effectively complementing the game's horror and metal themes. However, some find it repetitive or lacking in variety during gameplay, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong and fitting element of the game.

    • “The music and OST were really on point; the horror/metal elements truly put you in the moment and perfectly match the game's overall vibe.”
    • “The music is atmospheric and sets the right mood for every level.”
    • “I rarely get games on release day anymore, but with this one, I'm happy I jumped in; and with the deal for the soundtrack, I had to grab that too!”
    • “A lot of it is hard high-tempo rock designed to sound like 'that song you know' but just tuned up enough to be different, like the end credits sound almost 1:1 to 'We're Not Gonna Take It,' just with the lyrics filed off.”
    • “Music/sound: mediocre.”
    • “There isn't much music for the stages, which makes the experience all the more dull.”

  • character development

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its unique and striking character designs that enhance the fun and darkly artistic atmosphere, appealing especially to fans of Swery and Suda 51. While the character development shows creativity and strong visual appeal, some criticism arises from inconsistent quality due to the inclusion of AI-generated assets, leading to a mixed but generally positive impression overall.

    • “The character designs are fantastic, enough to make you want to meet the next character just to see what kind of wild aesthetic is coming up around the bend.”
    • “Fun experience, this game is popping with awesome character designs.”
    • “A bit janky and unpolished, but more than makes up for it with an intriguing premise and good character designs.”
    • “It's hard to understand how a game with such strong art direction and character design would undercut itself with random AI-generated assets.”
    • “If it were just all the boss intros back to back, maybe sprinkled in with some character designs splashed in, I could maybe recommend Hotel Barcelona as a kind of wacky, out-there arthouse film.”
    • “You start weak but you grow strong; however, the game feels dead on arrival regarding online co-op, making character development and multiplayer progression limited and frustrating.”

  • grinding

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is a prominent and often frustrating aspect, with players facing repetitive, slow progression and RNG-heavy weapon customization that can hinder enjoyment. While resource farming becomes efficient later on, the grind required for upgrades and progression, especially in multiplayer, can feel tedious and detract from the overall experience.

    • “It feels like there's meant to be a bigger game here, especially with how grindy and RNG the weapon customization becomes down the line.”
    • “The story is somewhat interesting but it isn't enough to keep me grinding through slow and repetitive gameplay.”
    • “Everything about the game is grindy and slow to make the combat more tolerable.”

  • atmosphere

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its stellar 2D art, memorable music, and strong horror film homage, creating a compelling and immersive experience. Charismatic characters and distinctive writing further enhance the retro horror vibe, making the atmosphere a standout feature despite some gameplay reservations.

    • “While the 3D models are passable, the 2D art by Hiroaki Hashimoto is absolutely stellar and adds tremendously to the atmosphere of the game.”
    • “The music, story, and atmosphere are great.”
    • “It has wonderfully strange and interesting characters, a great retro horror atmosphere, fun gameplay, and a motivating progression system.”

  • stability

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game’s stability is generally mixed, with some users experiencing few to no bugs or glitches, while others report technical issues and bugs affecting gameplay. Overall, it is not game-breaking, but occasional glitches and control problems detract from the experience.

    • “And as usual you will die because of controls and glitches.”
    • “There may be technical glitches, but it's the visual design that needs more than bug fixes, and one specific element more than anything.”
    • “It's buggy.”

  • replayability

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers a creative and stylish experience with high replay value, especially for fans of challenging 2D beat 'em ups. However, its relatively short length, occasional performance issues, and bugs may impact long-term engagement for some players.

    • “Updated: this game is definitely short, but has a high replay value.”
    • “Super comfy 2D plane beat 'em up with a lot of difficulty and replayability. It's plagued with some performance issues and bugs, and it is expensive, but a very good game altogether.”
    • “The game has style and creativity, but not enough depth or replay value to fully carry the experience.”

  • emotional

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users feel the emotional impact is diminished due to a lack of clear disclosure, which lessens the intended heartbreak and emotional engagement.

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65%Critics’ scoreBased on 15 critic reviews
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5h Median play time
5h Average play time
5-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip Game News

SWERY & SUDA51's 'Hotel Barcelona' Is Coming To Switch 1 & 2 "Soon"

May 19 on nintendolife.com

HOTEL BARCELONA: Late Check-Out Released

April 24 on bluesnews.com

Suda and Swery’s Hotel Barcelona has received a free ‘major overhaul’ with Under New Management update

March 5 on videogameschronicle.com
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Frequently Asked Questions

HOTEL BARCELONA is a hack and slash game with horror and comedy themes.

HOTEL BARCELONA is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 5 hours playing HOTEL BARCELONA.

HOTEL BARCELONA was released on September 26, 2025.

HOTEL BARCELONA was developed by White Owls Inc..

HOTEL BARCELONA has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked HOTEL BARCELONA for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

HOTEL BARCELONA is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Hyper Light Breaker, Bleak Faith: Forsaken, Trinity Fusion, Hellpoint, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and others.