Hotel Barcelona
Description
Hotel Barcelona is a 2.5D side-scrolling action game that game blends roguelike structure with Metroidvania progression, framed by grindhouse cinema aesthetics and horror motifs.
The story follows Justine Bernstein, a young U.S. Marshal who shares her body with Dr. Carnival, the spirit of a deceased serial killer. After her mission goes awry in the Appalachian wilderness, she finds herself trapped inside the mysterious Hotel Barcelona, a sprawling complex that lures and contains supernatural killers. To escape, Justine and Carnival must eliminate these empowered murderers while pursuing the truth behind a powerful witch who manipulates events within the hotel.
Gameplay is presented as a Roguevania. Each stage features a static layout of enemies, traps, and doors leading to different upgrade opportunities. Players move through these areas defeating enemies and bosses while collecting resources for permanent upgrades. Clearing a stage grants the option to advance to others, and playing sequentially provides bonuses such as starting with a higher Splatter multiplier. Combat revolves around melee and ranged weapons enhanced by the Splatter Meter, which fills as enemies are defeated. Maintaining momentum strengthens attacks and eventually enables Carnival Awakening, a powerful special move.
The progression loop combines stage runs with hotel-based management. Between attempts, players return to Justine's room to invest resources into a skill tree, unlock weapons, or acquire items. Death spawns Slasher Phantoms, which mirror previous runs and can assist in later attempts, creating a cumulative advantage with each failure. In addition to single-player progression, the game supports online features: players can summon allies in co-op, appear as Phantoms in others’ runs, or invade sessions as hostile Doppelgängers.
The game spans seven zones, each inspired by a distinct horror subgenre, and each culminating in a unique boss encounter. Difficulty options range from easy to Slasher mode, while optional modifiers under Bondage Mode introduce self-imposed handicaps. Together, these systems establish a loop of repeated runs, gradual character growth, and increasingly challenging encounters as players work toward clearing the hotel in its entirety.
