Death Game Hotel is an interesting VR horror title that excels in multiplayer but falls short at times. Read our full review.
White Owls Inc. has always produced interesting games, having previously released the excellent The MISSING, the fun but so-so The Good Life, and the niche cult hit Deadly Premonition 2. Now they have a new VR visual novel puzzle game coming out called Death Game Hotel that will be perfect for some, but likely miss the mark for many.
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Overview: An anime-style gambling puzzle horror game with a solo campaign and online multiplayer.
Platform: Quest (reviewed on a Quest 3)
Release date: Now on sale
Developer: White Owls Inc
Price: $20
You and 15 others have been kidnapped and taken to Death Game 2000, which appears to offer the means to make a lot of money and make wishes come true… This is necessary, because not only will the rich get richer, but they will also unlock the power of immortality, allowing them to amass wealth even more efficiently and ruthlessly. This is obviously a bad thing, and the rest of the world is suffering.
Death Game Hotel screenshot taken in Quest 3
Participants enter the Death Game using a hashtag on social media, after which 16 people are selected, seemingly at random, for a chance to win. However, the game lives up to its name of “Reaper,” and while playing in single-player mode, players frequently encounter the Grim Reaper, who descends on each match to take the loser’s body parts.
It has a fun, anime-inspired storyline, full of familiar character tropes and fun dialogue. I wish I could give you more options for your answers, but the single-player mode feels more like a way to learn how to play the Reaper’s Goblet mode before moving on to multiplayer. Oh, and there’s also a very creepy baby who seems to be in control of everything, so that’s fun.
Death Game Hotel also includes a fun “Death Poker” mode, which is basically poker with extra card suits, and where you can bet body parts and use cheats, which are determined by how many body parts you have left. This is true in both modes, which is a very cool idea – after all, how can you perform magic tricks without using your hands?
Death Game Hotel screenshot taken in Quest 3
Death’s Goblet is a game where you fill a goblet with tiles to remove them. Some tiles have special effects, such as forcing you to draw more tiles or discard your current hand to draw a new one. Either way, your objective is to fill the goblet with tiles without overflowing. If it does, one of the three candles in the center of the table will go out. If all three are gone, Death will appear.
Death Game Hotel doesn’t let you walk around outside of the multiplayer lobby, and movement is limited to teleportation, with no options to make movement more comfortable, but you can turn off the gory scenes.
The next overflow is a loss, and the Reaper will claim all the body parts that the losing player bet on. This means that you are closer to losing overall, as there are only a limited number of body parts to offer, and losing them means you won’t be able to use some cheats. You must bet one body part at the start, and another when the Reaper descends. In theory, you can win without the Reaper appearing, but it’s not uncommon to see one.
Death Game Hotel screenshot taken in Quest 3
Calculating the totals for each goblet and strategizing how to throw out your hand first is a lot of fun. This is especially true in multiplayer against multiple people, because it often turns into pandemonium while everyone’s yelling at each other. However, it was hard to start an online game without drawing certain people.
Death Game Hotel Review – Final Verdict
Death Game Hotel is a multiplayer, highly entertaining game, and White Owls Inc. has done a great job of executing its premise. However, if you don’t like the Uno-style gambling mini-game at its heart, you probably won’t enjoy the rest of it very much. It’s a niche concept and won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but if you’re into anime-style gambling, Death Game Hotel handles it well.
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