Hotel Barcelona welcomes another entry from Lollipop Chainsaw and No More Heroes creator, Goichi Suda (Suda51). With White Owls Inc. and CULT Games, Suda invites players to a hotel catering to evil serial killers. Join rookie marshal Justine as she battles to defeat them all, including her past selves.
Hotel Barcelona’s Development
Like previous Suda51 titles, he’s heavily inspired by American media including comedy and horror. He entrusted the project to Japanese writer and indie game designer, Hidetaka Swery Suehiro (Swery65). They first presented Hotel Barcelona at the 2023 Tokyo Game Show. The trailer presented gameplay, bosses inspired by slasher films, and a death loop system.
The game was originally supposed to be released in 2024. However, Swery65 held back the development to finish his new murder VR game, Death Game Hotel. He later announced a booth demo of Hotel Barcelona on Sept. 26, 2024, on his Instagram. This promotion was part of celebrating Indie Dev Day.
A Cursed Hotel with Serial Killers
In the 2023 Tokyo Game Show trailer, viewers see the protagonist, Justine interacting with her cursed spirit Dr. Carnival. In this 2.5D slasher parody, she faces monsters that haunt the hotel. For every death, Justine can see her multiple past selves. Dr. Carnival explains to the marshal that Hotel Barcelona’s barrier warps you to the start and creates copies of yourself to learn from their mistakes.
The gameplay promises close combat slashing, wall-jumping, and destructive violence. In the 2025 update show on IGN FanFest for Xbox, the game has added color and animated cutscenes. Viewers could see a man driving late at night and accidentally run over people walking on the road at night. It’s unsure if it’s Dr. Carnival, but the only clue given is the glasses on the new cover art. Justine will be fighting on various hotel floors while surviving US serial killers. Hotel Barcelona is located on the borders of West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Pennsylvania, according to the official Steam Page.
Another Wild Adventure
Suda51 putting his hopes into Swery65 did not disappoint in Hotel Barcelona’s vision. These two game developers shared their love for the extreme American slasher films into a sidescroller. The art style looks great and feels like you are playing in an interactive comic book. The psychedelic color palette and fast-paced action give that Suda51 charm that appears in most of his projects. Especially the poster introductions to the serial killers that remind us about Lollipop Chainsaw. Hotel Barcelona will be released later this year for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Steam.
