Slasher Action Game “Hotel Barcelona” Gets Collector’s Edition Pre-Orders

Fans of the slasher action video game Hotel Barcelona can go ahead and pre-order the Collector’s Edition right now. The upcoming physical release comes with a bunch of goodies.

The Hotel Barcelona Collector’s Edition pre-order is available for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X via major retailers, including Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. The Collector’s Edition is priced at $59.99, with the Standard Edition (currently available) being $29.99. As of writing this post, the release date for the Collector’s Edition appears to be April 2026.

The Collector’s Edition will get you a cool-as-heck custom Hotel Barcelona display box. It also includes a 24×36 vintage-style poster inspired by the VHS-era horror classics, an exclusive art book, and a bloody ear souvenir.

I haven’t gotten to playing Hotel Barcelona yet, but yeah, I do like the display box, which is meant to resemble the blood-soaked hotel from the game.

As for the game itself, the story is about rookie U.S. Marshal Justine, who finds herself in Hotel Barcelona, an establishment housing the worst serial killers as guests. To survive, Justine has to work with an entity in her mind, the dangerous Dr. Carnival, and slash through a bunch of monsters and bosses who are out to get her. Being a rogue-lite, the gameplay is supposed to present a new experience to players every time they dare return to Justine/Dr. Carnival’s adventure.

An interesting gameplay mechanic involves using the memory of your past self. Called Slasher Phantoms, the “echoes” of your previous versions will repeat your exact movements from the previous runs to attack enemies. Upon your latest run, you can use the “echoes” as shields, allies, and distractions. Basically, the more you die, the more support from your “echoes” you will receive.

Justine can use a variety of weapons to hack and slash through foes. Take note that blood will fuel your power. Filling up the Skull Gauge will unleash the Carnival Awakening, which serves as an immensely effective special attack against monsters.

Along with all of that, Hotel Barcelona does allow online multiplayer. Up to three players can join your crusade through the co-op mode. There’s also a PvP mode that introduces a fourth player, changing the game into a cat-and-mouse experience.

Published by CULT Games and developed by White Owls Inc., Hotel Barcelona has been met with Mixed Reviews over on Steam. Players have praised the art direction. However, the gameplay needs more polish.

Another criticism is about AI-generated content. According to the dev team, the VHS tapes that can be found in the late stages feature AI voiceover from a text-to-speech service. Not only that, but the logo displayed on the VHS tapes also uses generative fill AI to complete said image.

Of course, I’m not a fan of AI-generated content in video games, no matter the extent it is being used for. The good news is that the dev team has announced removing the AI content in an upcoming patch in favor of non-AI-generated content. I mean, why even do it in the first place? Sigh!

As for White Owls Inc., it’s led by director Hidetaka “SWERY” Suehiro. It’s an Osaka-based studio known for cult classics like Deadly Premonition and The Good Life.

Have you played Hotel Barcelona yet? Are you excited about the Collector’s Edition?

Let us know.

And you can read more of our video game coverage here.

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(via Press Release)

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Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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