Hotel Barcelona brings cult horror chaos and bloody roguelike action to Xbox

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Hotel Barcelona is what happens when two unique game creators – Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro, known for Deadly Premonition, and Goichi “Suda51” Suda, known for No More Heroes – team up. The result is a difficult, yet captivating, 2.5D action game that blends horror and roguelike elements with fast-paced combat.

Hotel Barcelona blends gameplay elements from different genres with a story that feels like a movie. The game follows Justine, a new U.S. Marshal, who is unexpectedly taken over by the spirit of a dangerous serial killer named Dr. Carnival.

Justine finds herself in the luxurious Hotel Barcelona after an accident, but she quickly discovers she isn’t the only guest. The hotel is full of strange people, some friendly and some not so much. The stories unfolding outside the hotel’s walls will likely seem recognizable to anyone familiar with the horror genre.

Rather than focusing on a single horror movie, we aimed to create something that celebrates the entire genre—from 80s slasher films and 90s cult hits to contemporary horror and everything else, explains Swery in a statement to Xbox Wire. He describes ‘Hotel Barcelona’ as a tribute to horror as a whole.

Justine can’t afford to dwell on her complicated inner conflict. When she ventures out of the hotel to explore the dungeons, Dr. Carnival’s personality takes over, dramatically changing her appearance. She transforms from a composed professional into someone bolder and more flamboyant – her hair turns bright orange, she wears an eye patch, loses her jacket, and her blouse comes undone.

Before each battle, players can choose the weapons Justine will use to fight her way to the boss. There’s a variety of options, including saw blades, axes, and pistols. Each level looks like it’s been taken from a classic horror film, and players move between areas through mysterious doors. Like traditional roguelike games, players are free to explore as much or as little of each level as they want before challenging the final boss.

In this game, blood is your key to becoming more powerful. Justine needs to create a lot of bloodshed – but stay away from water! – to charge a special meter. Once full, this meter unleashes a devastating attack that will wipe out any enemies in your path.

Exploring this world is challenging, no matter how easy you choose to play. You’ll die frequently, and each death carries a penalty. Dangerous enemies constantly try to stop you from reaching the final boss. Defeating them rewards you with unsettling items like ears and bones, which you can use to improve your character. However, if your character dies, you’ll lose those items unless you retrieve them from the remains on a subsequent attempt – a common feature in similar challenging games.

Even though dying has a consequence, it also offers a benefit. When you replay an area, you’ll be assisted by ghostly echoes from previous runs – the Slasher Phantoms of Hotel Barcelona. These phantoms perfectly mimic your past actions, dealing the same damage as before you failed. This can make defeating tough bosses easier, as long as you have enough tickets to keep trying.

Hotel Barcelona is a uniquely creepy horror game that’s best shared with others. It offers two ways to play with friends: team up to survive together, or go head-to-head in intense player-versus-player combat. With seven killers roaming the hotel, it can be a tough game, but having allies makes this chaotic, fast-paced action game much more manageable.

Looking for a retro horror experience with fast-paced action? Hotel Barcelona is now available on Xbox Series X|S and PC through the Xbox app. Plus, it’s part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program, letting you save your progress in the cloud and continue playing on any Xbox console or Windows PC – even on handheld devices!

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2025-10-11 17:40