Barcelona Bliss: Experience the Upgraded Excellence Under New Management

A significant update has been released for the highly anticipated collaboration between Swery and Suda51, Hotel Barcelona. This update aims to address all feedback, whether positive or negative, and implement extensive improvements to the game.

The update trailer blurb acknowledges the range of feedback received, from rants to death threats. However, the developers listened and responded with the Under New Management Update, which enhances the core experience of the game. The update includes five free crossover skins for all players, along with gameplay improvements such as faster movement, shorter combat recovery, enhanced parries, and improved dodges.

Hotel Barcelona Under New Management Update Patch Notes

Combat, Flow, and Player Control

• Players can now recover faster from attacks with expanded cancel timing options for jump, dodge, guard, and follow-up attacks.
• Stamina friction has been reduced, and attack animations are now shorter to create a more aggressive combat rhythm.
• The base dodge distance has been increased, and dodge skills have been rebalanced for better gameplay.
• The parry system has been completely reworked, with precise guard timing triggering parries and rewarding HP Recovery Orbs.
• Guarding now consumes stamina, adding strategic depth to defensive decisions.
• New parry skills have been added to the skill tree, with adjustments to skill layout and progression.
• A new skill called “Enhancement Luck+” has been introduced.
• Weapon balance adjustments, including Flamethrower AP tuning, have been made.

Enemy and Stage Rebalancing

• Enemy HP, attack ranges, and reaction timing have been adjusted across various enemy types.
• Phantom Lost has been removed from Normal difficulty and below.
• Boss durability and behavior have been adjusted for Jacob, Nigel, and Eve.
• Terrain, camera distance, and door placement improvements have been implemented in key stages.

Invasion Multiplayer Improvements

• Imbalance caused by player progression differences has been reduced in multiplayer.
• Parry reactions between players have been improved.
• Doppelgängers can no longer invade during boss fights.
• Doppelgängers no longer interfere with enemies or environmental systems.
• Matchmaking and multiplayer UI have been enhanced.

Quality of Life and Performance

• Performance optimization has been carried out throughout the game.
• DUALSHOCK controller support has been added.
• Prologue tutorial, layout, and UI have been improved.
• Dialogue autoplay feature has been introduced.
• Extensive fixes have been made to UI, localization, boss fights, journal, animations, and achievements.

In a previous review, Steve noted the game’s style and potential but critiqued the clunky controls and progression system. The update addresses these concerns, aiming to enhance the overall player experience. The developers have listened to feedback and made significant improvements to Hotel Barcelona, making it a more enjoyable and engaging game.

Source: press release