When game development legends Suda51 and Swery65 team up for something, you know it’s gonna be wacky. And likely exceptionally violent. Sadly, we won’t see the fruits of the collaboration until next year. Their game, Hotel Barcelona, has been quietly delayed until “early 2025.”
Swery revealed the news in an interview with Gamereactor. Hotel Barcelona was originally planned to launch in 2021 but got pushed to late 2024. Delays in game development aren’t uncommon (we’ve seen a fair number over the years), so hearing that it’s getting held back just a bit longer shouldn’t be shocking. According to Swery, the move was made to give the game a bit more touching up.
“Right now, we’re bug checking the game and we want to keep polishing it and making it better,” Swery tells Gamereactor. “But ideally, we want to release the game in early 2025.”
Hotel Barcelona remains closed for remodeling
White Owls released a gameplay trailer for the game in 2023 to mixed results. We said it looked “pretty rough,” and viewer comments on YouTube seemed to agree. The gameplay seemed fine for a 2D hack-and-slash game, but visually there was plenty of room for improvement.
The following year, the studio dropped a new trailer and gameplay preview out of nowhere during the Indie Live Expo 2024. Hotel Barcelona had been baking for about a year at that point, but I can’t say for sure if it was looking any better. The footage bitrate isn’t quite up to par with an official trailer, so the blurriness may not be the game’s fault. Either way, it looks cool and, yes, incredibly violent.
Regardless, I’m still looking forward to seeing how the game fares. As a former frequent enjoyer of Swery65 and Suda51 games, I’m hoping their super-powered fusion doesn’t disappoint. It’s up in the air, though. Deadly Premonition, D4, and Lollipop Chainsaw are famous for being very rough, yet all boast an unmistakable charm that attracts a niche fanbase. I mean…
Hotel Barcelona is a hack-and-slash Metroidvania that stars a federal marshal, possessed by the ghost of a serial killer named Dr. Carnival, who must kill other serial killers and escape the eponymous hotel. So, yeah. That’s a weird enough elevator pitch to arrest my attention. Hopefully, the goofy premise isn’t wasted when the game launches next year for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
