Hotel Barcelona Review – A Sanctuary of Surrealism or a Nightmare of Missed Opportunities?

Welcome to our in-depth analysis of Hotel Barcelona, a title that promises a unique blend of supernatural intrigue, fast-paced roguelike action, and the signature eccentricities of its renowned developers, White Owls and the minds behind CULT Games. As Gaming News, we’ve delved deep into the corridors of this enigmatic establishment, critically examining every aspect from its core gameplay mechanics to its sprawling narrative. For players seeking an experience that pushes boundaries, Hotel Barcelona presents a fascinating, albeit often perplexing, proposition. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview, guiding you through the highs and lows of this ambitious project, ensuring you know precisely what awaits you within its cursed confines. Our investigation, conducted thoroughly on PC and with an eye towards its multi-platform release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, seeks to offer unparalleled insight.

The Premise: A Descent into the Ethereal and the Deadly

At its heart, Hotel Barcelona introduces us to Justine, a US Marshal whose life takes an extraordinary turn when she becomes the unwilling vessel for Dr. Carnival, the demonic spirit of a serial killer. This unconventional partnership is forged in the crucible of vengeance, as Justine seeks to avenge her father’s murder. The antagonist is a powerful witch, whose machinations have plunged the titular Hotel Barcelona into a state of supernatural chaos. The dynamic established between the meek Justine and the ruthless Dr. Carnival forms the narrative backbone, offering moments of mildly amusing dialogue and character interplay. This juxtaposition of personalities is one of the game’s most intriguing concepts, hinting at a rich tapestry of internal conflict and external threat.

The game’s premise is a deliberate departure from the mundane, leaning heavily into the surreal humor and stylish presentation that have become hallmarks of the creative talents involved. However, as we explore further, the question of whether this stylistic flair translates into polished substance becomes paramount. The world of Hotel Barcelona is one where the veil between reality and the supernatural is thin, and players are tasked with navigating this precarious balance. The narrative setup, while certainly attention grabbing, poses the initial question: can the gameplay live up to the promise of its peculiar origins?

Gameplay Mechanics: Navigating the Roguelike Labyrinth

Hotel Barcelona positions itself as a 2D action roguelike, a genre known for its challenging, replayable nature. Players embark on runs through the cursed hotel’s grounds, facing procedurally generated environments and a host of supernatural adversaries. Each run is meticulously timed, a crucial element that dictates the pace and intensity of the experience. You have a finite amount of time, typically two to three minutes, to explore each stage before being compelled to move to the next area. This urgency is further emphasized by the presence of multiple doors, each potentially leading to further challenges or offering valuable bonuses, such as enhanced attack speed or vital health regeneration.

The mercifully short runs are a deliberate design choice, acknowledging the potential for repetition in the roguelike genre. However, the core of the gameplay, the combat, is where Hotel Barcelona faces its most significant scrutiny. While the act of slicing foes apart with a diverse arsenal of weaponry – including knives, axes, and buzzsaws – or engaging them at range with various firearms like pistols and shotguns, is present, it often feels… just south of satisfactory. Even after investing in upgrades and unlocking combos from the intricate skill tree, the combat lacks a certain visceral punch or refined finesse that would make Justine’s quest for revenge truly compelling.

The Influence of Dynamic Environments

A particularly novel and well-implemented idea within Hotel Barcelona is the integration of weather effects. These environmental conditions directly influence gameplay, most notably impacting the crucial mechanic of building up Dr. Carnival’s special attack. This meter is filled by coating Justine in the blood of her foes, a gruesome yet thematic progression. When rainy weather descends, it effectively rinses the blood off her body, making the process of charging this screen-filling attack considerably more challenging. This introduces a layer of strategic consideration, forcing players to adapt their approach based on the prevailing atmospheric conditions. It’s in these moments of dynamic environmental interaction that Hotel Barcelona truly shines, offering a glimpse of the strategic depth that could have permeated the entire experience.

The Ethereal Allies and Unwelcome Intruders

Further layering the gameplay are the “ghosts” of your previous runs. These spectral echoes of past attempts can materialize within a stage, attacking any enemies unfortunate enough to be caught in their predetermined path. While these ghost allies can offer a helpful hand, their unreliability often makes them more of a curiosity than a consistent tactical advantage.

The game also incorporates a Dark Souls-style invasion mechanic, allowing players to be invaded by and to invade other players. This feature, however, appears to be hampered by what could be a low player count, rendering it a virtually non-factor for the vast majority of players. When an invasion does occur and results in a player’s demise, the overwhelming sentiment is one of frustration, not at the invading player, but at the extension of time spent within the often unrewarding world of Hotel Barcelona.

Enemy Design and Boss Encounters: A Monotonous Menagerie

The variety of enemies populating the Hotel Barcelona is, unfortunately, as bland as the combat itself. They often lack the visual distinctiveness or behavioral threat that would make them memorable. Worse still, some unleash infuriatingly cheap attacks that can quickly lead to Justine being stun-locked, spelling an early demise. This lack of engaging enemy design extends to the game’s boss battles. Encounters against figures like a deranged butcher or an alien social media influencer fall victim to the same pitfalls. The bosses, rather than being climactic challenges that players look forward to conquering, become tedious obstacles that must be faced repeatedly in order to farm upgrade resources. This repetitive grind, coupled with uninspired boss mechanics, diminishes the sense of accomplishment and progression.

Beyond Combat: Diversions That Fall Flat

While the core combat in Hotel Barcelona is at best unremarkable, other gameplay diversions venture into territory that is frankly outright terrible. Sequences involving platforming across a crumbling arena or engaging in QTE-driven surfing segments are plagued by poor controls and a dated presentation. These moments feel less like integrated challenges and more like unwelcome interruptions, disrupting the flow of the game and highlighting its technical and design deficiencies.

Narrative Progression and Character Development: Unfulfilled Promises

In line with the contemporary roguelike trend, Hotel Barcelona attempts to advance its story and unlock new character conversations between runs. The intention is to weave a compelling narrative that unfolds gradually, rewarding players for their persistence. However, this ambition is largely unmet. Non-critical threads often go nowhere, leaving promising avenues of storytelling unexplored.

The game introduces a cast of potentially interesting characters, including an ear-obsessed bartender, a friendly monster living in Justine’s closet, and an unsettlingly chipper receptionist. The hope is to learn more about these strange patrons and their connection to the cursed hotel. Sadly, their character development is cut off at the knees as the game hurtles towards its climax, leaving players with a sense of unfulfilled potential.

Justine’s primary quest – to collect the hearts of three bosses to confront the witch – is surprisingly short. This brevity is further undermined by an unnecessary and tedious story mission that requires players to recollect these hearts by replaying the same stages, albeit in a shorter configuration. This padding feels like a transparent attempt to artificially extend the game’s playtime rather than to enrich the experience.

An Abrupt and Unsatisfying Conclusion

The culmination of Hotel Barcelona is an insultingly abrupt ending that offers practically no light on the witch’s motivations, the deeper backstories of the hotel’s denizens, or the true nature of Dr. Carnival, whose origins are only briefly alluded to. This lack of resolution is deeply disappointing, especially given the intriguing setup.

There’s a suggestion that further narrative depth might be unlocked by reaching the two seemingly optional worlds, accessible through a secret method that appears annoyingly vague. Despite diligent effort and even replaying the final section to make a different choice at the game’s “one big decision,” the outcome remains the same. The game forces players into making the same decision no matter what, a glaring example of how Hotel Barcelona repeatedly sabotages its own promising narrative ideas. Any remaining secrets lurking within its digital walls hold little appeal after such a frustrating journey.

The Bizarre as a Crutch: When Style Overwhelms Substance

The inherent charm of games developed by studios like White Owls, and to a lesser extent, titles associated with Suda51, often lies in their utterly bizarre and unique qualities. Hotel Barcelona certainly embraces this ethos, bombarding players with quirky humor and surreal moments. However, in this instance, the bizarre serves as a crutch, a distraction from the underlying weaknesses.

Any chuckles that the game’s quirky sense of humor might elicit are quickly drowned out by a “sea of head-scratching and outright bad design and storytelling decisions.” No matter how many secrets Hotel Barcelona may contain, or how many surreal moments it throws at you, they all coalesce around a dull, limited, and fundamentally flawed core gameplay experience.

Final Verdict: An Unwelcome Stay

In conclusion, while Hotel Barcelona presents an intriguing concept and a visually distinct aesthetic, its execution falls significantly short of expectations. The mediocre combat, uninspired enemy design, terrible diversionary gameplay, and underdeveloped narrative create an experience that is ultimately disappointing. The game’s reliance on its developers’ signature brand of surrealism cannot compensate for the lack of engaging gameplay and coherent storytelling.

For those seeking a truly satisfying roguelike experience, or a narrative that leaves a lasting impression, Hotel Barcelona is a destination best avoided. The hotel may offer a place to rest, but it’s hardly a sanctuary of enjoyment. As the old adage goes, “You don’t have to go home, but you shouldn’t stay here.”

Score: 5/10

This review was conducted on PC, with consideration for its availability on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game was developed by White Owls and published by CULT Games, with a release date of September 26, 2025. The rating for Hotel Barcelona is Mature.

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