Death Game Hotel Review: Fascinating but not inspiring

Death Game Hotel is a fascinating VR horror title that excels in multiplayer but sometimes falls short. Read on for our full review.

White Owls Inc. has always made interesting games. So far we’ve had The MISSING, which is great, The Good Life, which is fun but rather mediocre, and Deadly Premonition 2, a cult hit with niche appeal. That brings us to Death Game Hotel, a new VR visual novel puzzle game that will be ideal for some people, but probably won’t be right for many.

She and 15 other people have been kidnapped and taken to Death Game 2000, which offers the opportunity to make a lot of money and also grant a wish… apparently. This is necessary because the rich have not only gotten richer, but have also unlocked the power of immortality, allowing them to hoard wealth even more efficiently and ruthlessly. This is obviously bad, and the rest of the world has suffered because of it.

Participants sign up to the Death Game using a hashtag on social media, and then 16 people are seemingly randomly selected to participate and win. The game’s name is apt, though, because as you play through the single-player mode, you’ll regularly encounter the Reaper, who appears in each match to demand body parts from the losers.

There’s a fun anime-inspired story full of recognizable character cliches and cute conversations. I’d love to see more options for your responses, but the single-player mode feels more like a means to learn Goblet of the Reaper mode before jumping into multiplayer. Oh, and there’s also a deeply creepy baby that seems to control everything, so that’s fun.

Death Game Hotel also includes a fun “Death Poker” mode, which is basically poker with an extra suit of cards. You can also use body parts to use cheats. The cheats are based on what body parts you have left, and this applies to both modes, which is a very cool idea. Because how can you do a sleight of hand trick without hands?

In Goblet of the Reaper, you must try to get rid of your tokens by placing them in goblets. Some tokens have special effects, such as forcing players to draw more tokens or discard their current hand and draw new ones. Regardless, the goal is to place your tokens in the goblets without letting them overflow. When they overflow, one of the three candles in the middle of the table goes out. Once all three are out, the Reaper appears.

The next overflow is a loss, and the Reaper will claim all the body parts the losing player has staked. This means they are more likely to lose overall because they only have a limited number of body parts to offer, and losing them means they cannot use some of the cheats. You must stake one body part at start-up, and another when the Reaper descends. Theoretically, you can win without the Reaper appearing, but you will see him more often than not.

It’s a lot of fun to calculate the total for each cup and then strategize how to get rid of your hand first. This is especially true in multiplayer when you’re playing against a bunch of people, because it usually ends in pure chaos as you yell at each other. However, it was difficult to make an online game work without involving certain people.

Death Game Hotel Review – Final Verdict

Death Game Hotel is an absolute blast in multiplayer, and White Owls Inc. delivers on its promise. However, if you don’t like the Uno-style gambling minigame that takes center stage, you won’t have much fun with the rest of it. It’s a niche concept that won’t appeal to everyone, but if you’re in the mood for some anime-inspired gambling, Death Game Hotel is it.

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