Golden Krone Hotel isn't a game we've written about here before, a shame really as it's quite a nice roguelike. It arrived with Linux support back in September of 2017 and the developer sent over a key at some point to our Steam Curator.
This month it had a rather big update which added in cloud saves, gamepad support, a bunch of new areas were also added, new monsters along with plenty of balancing updates and bug fixes. A good excuse to actually take a look at the game, so it doesn't sit forever in our list. To be clear, this is not an Early Access game, it actually left EA last year.
You play as Sorina Arobase, a human general made famous for hunting vampires. You're on a mission of revenge to kill Fane, the exiled vampire prince. Armed with your sword, revolver, and spell book, you must battle hordes of blood sucking foes. But first you'll be picking one of 12 disguises that will help you on your journey.
When testing it, the Steam Controller would only work as a proper gamepad if used with the SC Controller driver/UI. Much like with Dead Cells, while it's a minor nuisance SC Controller does give you a bit more freedom to use your Steam Controller basically anywhere. If you don't use that, you will see keyboard prompts.
What makes Golden Krone Hotel quite amusing is the potion system, you're never really sure what you're going to get from one. It might teleport you, turn you into a vampire, turn you back into a human or it might just be something tasty to heal you up. The way the potions constantly make the gameplay a fun risk makes it quite interesting.
I will be honest, the potion that turned me into a giant gave me quite the unexpected chuckle that burst from inside me, especially as I was running low on health:
The lighting system also keeps you constantly on your toes, especially if you're a vampire. Vampires can hide where it's dark, but they're also hurt by sunlight. You can turn torches on and off, break glass where sunlight is coming in and so on. It's quite unlike other roguelikes thanks to the lighting system and potions. It also affects the enemies as well of course, so if you're in a tricky spot luring some into the sunlight can be extremely useful.
Don't like the graphical tiles? They have you covered too:
Overall, for the time that I've played I've had a really fantastic experience. The Linux version works really well and it's a great game. If you're a roguelike fan, this is a must-try.
Features:
- It's a roguelike, really! Turn-based combat, permadeath, and tough as nails gameplay
- Fully dynamic lighting. Use sunlight as a weapon or snuff out torches to conceal yourself
- A groundbreaking potion identification system that encourages risk taking
- Each run requires you to play as both human and vampire, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Humans are frail spellcasters. Vampires are brawlers with super human speed and strength.
- Leaderboards and shareable morgue files
- Original soundtrack by Christopher Loza
You can grab it from: Humble Store and Steam.
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