Hotel Barcelona doesn’t just play like a fever dream—it wants to be one. From the minds of SWERY (Deadly Premonition) and SUDA51 (No More Heroes), this 2.5D roguelike slasher-action game drops players into a surreal Appalachian hotel crawling with serial killers and wrapped in a looping timeline of death and rebirth. It’s a genre mashup that manages to be stylish, chaotic, and completely self-aware in all the right ways.
The hotel is divided into seven zones, each inspired by a different horror subgenre. One level channels summer camp slasher energy, while others riff on alien invasions, restaurant massacres, and even shark horror. The entire design plays like a twisted homage to classic horror films, with each floor embracing its absurd tone. SWERY mentioned the summer camp level as a personal favorite—familiar, iconic, and the perfect stage-setter for what’s to come.
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Players control Justine, a U.S. Marshal sent to the resort to eliminate a string of serial killers. An alter ego, Dr. Carnival, exists inside her, creating a dual-identity protagonist that fits the game’s over-the-top energy. The narrative unfolds through brutal, stylized cutscenes, including boss intro sequences animated by a Japanese artist known for work on Chainsaw Man and Yoasobi music videos. The vibe is part grindhouse, part anime, and all spectacle.
What sets the game apart from other roguelikes at GDC is how it actively rewards failure. Each death creates a “Slasher Phantom,” an AI-controlled version of your previous run that mirrors your movements and fights alongside you. The stronger your past performance, the more effective your phantom. Up to four can be collected, allowing players to build multi-run squads of themselves.
Rather than simply restarting, every run becomes a collaboration with past lives. It’s a twist that makes Hotel Barcelona feel like a one-player co-op, where each failed attempt strengthens your future success. Combined with its slasher themes, the mechanic transforms Justine into a kind of ultimate Final Girl—one who doesn’t just survive but comes back again and again, armed with experience and echoes of herself.
Hotel Barcelona also shakes things up with randomized weather and pathing choices.
Every mission begins at a set time of day, but environmental conditions like rain alter enemy placements and affect combat strategy. Rain, for example, drains your blood gauge, which powers the Carnival Awakening—a temporary state that unlocks devastating attacks. The result is a constantly shifting challenge, even on repeat runs.
Progression centers on collecting grotesque trophies—bones, teeth, ears—that can be traded for weapons and upgrades. Stages are full of branching doors, each offering different risk-reward scenarios. Some routes help preserve your phantom chain, while others maximize health or unlock new buffs. Even player avatars vary slightly from run to run, changing Justine’s size or attributes and adding even more variability to each attempt.
Hotel Barcelona is as much a celebration of horror as it is a reinvention of roguelike expectations. It’s fast, it’s brutal, and it’s always moving. The Phantom system turns death into a mechanism of growth. The level variety taps into every horror lover’s favorite subgenre. Its absurd visual style keeps every moment feeling unhinged in the right way.
“It’s a difficult game,” SWERY said, “but it’s worth it because you gain phantoms and unlock new things every time.” That spirit of persistence—of failure feeding progress—makes this game shine.
From its blood-soaked parodies to its mechanical ambition, Hotel Barcelona delivers on its wild concept. It knows exactly what it is, which makes it work.
Hotel Barcelona’s release date is yet to be announced.
