Hotel Sowls

Studio Sott has managed to create a short game filled with wonderful characters and atmosphere. This brilliantly realised story reminds me of The Shining but filled with Mr Men. While Hotel Sowls doesn’t innovate the basic point and click formula, it fills it with quality content and a surrealist vibe that really elevates itself. It’s just a bit short.

Hotel Sowls is undeniably charming. The cast is easily lovable and the world as quirky as one could hope. Still, it’s also undeniably simple. I would suggest Hotel Sowls as a sleepy afternoon game to relax with if you are at all drawn to its art and atmosphere, but I would keep in mind the limitations of a two person team making their first game. If you aren’t bothered by a small soundtrack, occasional bugs, and a hotel with many rooms where there isn’t any room for questions, then you may just spend more than one span of five days in Hotel Sowls.

Beneath the veneer, there isn’t much that makes Hotel Sowls shine. The plot, the characters, and the gameplay are all wax-paper thin. The game ticks away mechanically under its inspired art style. I’m actually taken aback by how soulless Hotel Sowls really turned out to be. I guess it just goes to show that you can’t judge a hotel by its chandelier.

Building an evident framework for a "good ending" without detailing a clear path to find the requirements, Hotel Sowls struggles between being a true mystery, and holding the player's hand with clues. Replayability, rather than a compelling journey, seems to be the main through line for this title. That being said, the impossibly cute art direction and interesting visual language will keep audiences charmed and engrossed, even if they are not usually fans of the mystery and thriller genre.

Hotel Sowls is a really interesting game if you see it as the side project of two college students that it really is, but as a full indie game, there are many flaws to allow it to become something more than just an enjoyable but mediocre game.