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0 Step into the chaotic life of being a hotel owner in Hotel Architect! Developed by Pathos Interactive and published by Wired Production, this hotel construction and tycoon management game allows you to build your hotel from the ground up and to tackle the challenging demands of your guests. Get ready to check in for Early Access today on Steam!
Is Breakfast Included?
I’ve got high hopes for this one! The game is still “under construction” but already feels very nice and smooth to play. It’s got quite a bit of content already, too! I’m excited to jump into the game, especially since my knowledge of hotels in general is very limited. All I really know is the fact that even looking at the mini-bar will most likely bankrupt you immediately.
Do you have any fun hotel stories to tell? What is the most absurdly expensive thing you have ever seen in a mini-bar? Or do you prefer camping? Let me know! For now, let’s get into the game.
Gameplay
Hotel Architect lets you do exactly what it says on the box — and more! Build, furnish and decorate your hotel, manage your staff and take care of your guest’s demands. Trust me, they can be quite picky!
The game starts you off with, in my opinion, a very nicely implemented tutorial, teaching you the basics and everything you need to know. From building new rooms, furnishing and decorating them, to placing zones and making sure that they have all the stuff they need within them. Zones basically tell the game what each area is going to be. For example, “this specific room is a bedroom” or “that corner over there is the restaurant”. Furthermore, the tutorial teaches players how to get your staff sorted, what roles need to be filled and what they do to keep your hotel running smoothly. If there are any things that may need further explanation down the line, the game is sure to teach you.
Guest Types
Now that you have got the hang of the basics, it’s time to get into the meat of this whole hotel-running business thing. If you select a room, you can see its ratings for size, items and value, as well as what kind of guest would enjoy staying in it. Guests who are willing to pay more want more fancy stuff than your average backpacker, so it is up to you to provide for them! Their demands can be as simple as wanting a room with a window, nicer furniture, or wanting special things to do in the hotel. A gym, a bar, or even a spa might satisfy that last desire. Talk about fancy, huh? For some of these guests, you will also need a higher hotel rating, which can seem a bit tricky to get at first, but worry not! Hotel Architect has got you covered.
Ratings
Every couple of in-game days, a critic will arrive at your hotel to evaluate its star level. After their stay, you will get a detailed report on what they liked and what could use some extra work. They may like your bar, but think that the bartender is an absolute jerk, or maybe they will love their bedroom but get absolutely bored with the entertainment options that the hotel has. The better they liked your hotel, the more upgrade points you’ll get. You can use these points to buy upgrades for your hotel, like better furniture, faster appliances or more staff!
Regular guests will also give you some reviews, though they are much less detailed and don’t give you those sweet, sweet upgrade points. What they will do, though, is give you knowledge about what the average Joe thinks of your hotel and its facilities. Most of the time they just complain about the lack of snacks, though, which is kind of relatable.
Objectives
In Hotel Architect, you move on to the next hotel by finishing the main objectives that the current level provides. These vary from location to location. They can be as simple as earning a certain amount of money. Conversely, they may be very specific, such as as having one special guest type use a certain item a set number of times. I found this part of the gameplay to be rather fast-paced, as it is relatively easy to tick these objectives off. However, the fun doesn’t end there! The game also offers a whole lot of bonus objectives to clear in every level that will unlock new decorations, fun furniture, stylish wallpaper and flooring, and much more!
After you finish the main story in a hotel you also unlock its location in sandbox mode. There you can build your dream hotel from the ground up and still work on your bonus objectives! Furthermore, the mode offers you a bit more freedom by having a cheat option that you can mess with, such as basically unlimited cash, instant building of blueprints, fiddling with the star ratings and much more. Do keep in mind though that if you choose to enable cheats, it will lock you out of the bonus objectives.
Graphics & Audio
Hotel Architect features a simple, cartoony visual style that is very cute and colourful. The furniture and decorations are pretty charming, though there could be a bit more variety in my opinion. Good thing the game is only in Early Access! All characters are very simple and round, almost like they are made from Play-Doh. Personally, I think they are very cute and fit the style of the game and the environment quite well. The menus are nice and clean, so they are very easy to understand and traverse. That’s always a big plus for me. Some objects still have some slight graphical glitches, but nothing too major that would take away from your experience. Those can easily be forgiven as the game is still in development.
The background music is nice and upbeat, though I do hope that they will add more tracks ASAP. The one that is playing at the moment can get a bit stale after a couple of hours.
Longevity
Overall, the longevity of Hotel Architect will mainly depend on how many levels will be added down the line. The game is fun but, as I said, rather fast-paced if you only want to complete the main objectives. Though, if you are more of a completionist, then I’m sure you will spend quite a few hours on this game. The sandbox mode is a nice addition as well, as it gives you the space to be a bit more creative and play more freely without having to worry about fulfilling your story objectives.
Final Thoughts
Even in its early stages, Hotel Architect has already built a strong foundation. It offers a good amount of content, a fun gameplay loop and some seriously charming aesthetics. If the game continues down the path it is currently on, it will no doubt be an absolute hit. If you are into tycoon or management games, this one is absolutely worth keeping an eye on. I personally had a lot of fun and will definitely return to playing the game in the future to check out the updates and new locations that are yet to come!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this preview.
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