Love Hotel
Platform: Mac, Windows, Linux
Love is in the air, everywhere I look around... There it is, in the tropical suite. There's some more in the hot tub. It's even in the broom cupboard! When you're the owner of the self-proclaimed Love Hotel, a free indie game by 3 Silly Hats, there's nothing but amorous couples as far as the eye can see. As usual in a management simulation, you start off with limited resources and have to work your way up. Your goal is to get all six stars (because five stars are for losers) by offering increasingly extravagant services to your discerning guests. At the beginning, your hotel only has one star (oh, the shame); as you improve it, you'll reach new stars and unlock new content.
Every room and service brings money and contributes to getting the next star, each in a different proportion, and different types of guests prefer certain rooms. If your clients are content, they'll walk around with a happy thought bubble above their heads; if not, they'll grumble and you'll lose money. The choice of services is limited at first, but the guests will still prefer your lowly vending machines to starvation. As the hotel improves, upgrades will become available, so you'll be able to add luxurious, bizarrely themed love nests, hire more staff and build new floors.
If there's something negative to be said about management simulations, it's that they can get a bit grindy, as repetitive actions are essential to the gameplay. However, Love Hotel keeps them at a minimum: yes, you'll have to frequently restock condom dispensers, but you'll also keep an eye on the number of cleaners, make sure your bellhops aren't leaving the reception desk unattended and provide your passion-filled clients with the best possible service, even if it means tearing down some rooms to replace them. There are enough different things to do at any given time that none of them feels like a chore, and anyway, you'll probably reach the end long before the game becomes monotonous. Love Hotel is rather short, but it has a few tricks up its sleeve to keep you playing after reaching all six stars, like achievements, which are fun to pursue, as well as some surprises if you keep building new floors.
As 3 Silly Hats' first release, Love Hotel is a great success. It took a raunchy theme and flirted with it in the best pixelated fashion, without the need to be explicit or sleazy. If anything, you're almost inclined to cheer the lovebirds on when you see all the cute little hearts coming from behind their locked doors. That is, until they emerge from your sinfully expensive Heaven suite and you see the unholy mess they've left. Oh, well, send your best cleaner in and remember Meatloaf's wise words: I would do anything for love.
Windows:
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Mac OS X:
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Linux:
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Walkthrough Guide
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Love Hotel Strategy Guide
In-game menu
Rooms
When you select a room in this menu, you can see how much money/star score it brings, as well as what type of guest prefers it (look at the little icons next to the room's name). Take note of what clientele you're hosting, and make sure you have the rooms they want, otherwise they'll leave in a huff.
Structure
You can build floors up or down, and both will bring some perks. At the start, it's best not to go crazy with floor-building if you can't supply them with adequate service.
Services
Utility cupboards are used by the cleaner and often run out of supplies. Condom dispensers last longer.
Food
The vending machines, though they look cheap, will keep your guests satisfied, as long as you keep them well stocked. The kitchen will add prestige, of course, but keep in mind that it takes up a lot of space, so be prepared to dedicate a whole floor to it.
Staff
A few cleaners and maintenance workers will do the trick. Bellhops are important and one should always be available at the reception desk or your guests will become impatient and leave. You don't need cooks until you unlock the kitchen, and the restockers only restock condom dispensers, so they aren't necessary.
Restock
Keep this menu item open whenever you don't have anything else to do. Restocking the vending machines and the utility cupboards is very important.
Inspect
You can spy on your couples and see their stats, which can help to understand their needs and provide appropriate service.
Strategy Tips
At the start, you don't have much choice but to spam the first two available rooms (add more spooning rooms for a bigger money boost, you'll need it).
Add at least two floors. It's best to build into the ground because eventually
you'll find a treasure chest with $20000 in it.
Make sure you have enough utility cupboards to cover all the floors. One per every two or three floors should do it. Dirty rooms will lose you money! Condom dispensers are also desirable, but wait until you can afford to buy and restock them frequently.
Guests will be unhappy if you keep them hungry, so a vending machine (until you can afford better food) on every couple of floors is a must.
Hire a maintenance worker. You'll already have a cleaner and a bellhop, so that should be enough for a while. However, as you get more guests, you'll need more bellhops or your guests will become unhappy and leave.
Make sure your vending machines and utility cupboards are always full. It will be a money drain at the beginning, but you don't want your guests to starve or your rooms to be unusable.
Steadily increase the number of floors, rooms and workers. Overdoing one aspect will lead to imbalance and you'll start losing money. The hotel can look a bit crowded, especially when you have to scroll to see all of it, but your main concerns are 1) customers and their level of satisfaction and 2) keeping everything well stocked.
Posted by: starchild
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August 8, 2013 3:08 PM