Oh man, where do I start? HOTEL BARCELONA, right? It’s like, if SWERY and SUDA51 threw everything horror-esque they had into a game blender, you’d get this crazy trip. Apparently, this thing’s dropping on the PlayStation 5 in September courtesy of CULT Games and White Owls. Honestly, my excitement’s like a kid on Halloween night. Can’t sit still.
So there’s this spooky hotel — you know, one of those places where you’re like, why would anyone ever build this here? Smack dab between Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Like, prime real estate for serial killers, obviously. They hid it all behind some fancy facade — but nope, pretty much a horror trap.
You get to be Justine, this rookie federal marshal with a twist. Get this, her noggin’s hijacked by Dr. Carnival, a total madman with a past bloodier than a butcher shop. You’re basically in there taking out these terrifying murderers and trying not to join the ghost roster yourself.
Okay, now, let’s talk about gameplay. It’s not your grandma’s side-scroller. Nah, it’s this intense 2.5D thing that makes you sweat bullets. Timing is like, super crucial, and you kinda dance around danger like it’s the ’80s all over again. Anyone got a pair of leg warmers? No seriously, why do I suddenly wanna dance to bad synth-pop?
Oh, and dying — because you’ll do that a lot — spawns these “Slasher Phantoms” or ghost versions of you. They do what you did before dying, so you can use them to wreak havoc on your spooky adversaries.
Blood’s like this weird currency here; you can practically swim in it by the end. Filling up this Skull Gauge lets you pull off a Carnival Awakening. Which sounds epic but also terrifying. Like releasing a wild demon in a china shop, so to speak.
Seven zones are thrown in, each crammed with horror tributes and zombie vibes. Haunted mansions? Check. Creepy labs? Yep. Those boss battles? They’ll beat you up till you learn a thing or two. Or ten.
Oh, and the brain parents of this wild ride? SUDA51, the mind behind No More Heroes, and SWERY, who gave us Deadly Premonition. Together, they stir up this mad concoction filled with blood and guts. The creative chaos feels, how should I put this? Like waking up in a Tim Burton fever dream? No idea who thought that matchup was sane, but here we are.
There you go. This unhinged, digital escapade is headed to PS5 soon. And if all that blood and mayhem isn’t your thing, well, why are we even talking?
