A review code was provided, and many thanks to Keymailer.
Hotel Galactic is a cozy management game, developed and released in Early Access by Ancient Forge in 2025. In the game, we build and decorate our dream tourist getaway while helping the people around us come to terms with their pasts and move forward.
The Gameplay of Hotel Galactic
Hotel Galactic, in its current Early Access build, features the first act of three planned acts of the main story. Aside from the Story mode, we also have Sandbox mode, where we can play and explore the world without the need to complete quests.
As the title suggests, in Hotel Galactic, we are managing a hotel, we start with a rundown intergalactic hotel on a floating island, and we need to transform it into a thriving tourist destination. We have employees and Grandpa Gustav as а guide.
We begin by renovating the hotel, focusing on the essential areas – the reception area, kitchen, and the construction of a dining room and bedrooms for our guests. This way, we also learn how to build, construct, and craft rooms, furniture, and even recipes. We can assign roles and tasks to each of our employees and also prioritize different tasks. The hotel also has a harbor, where guests arrive, as well as the occasional merchant ship. We can purchase crafting materials from them that we can’t produce ourselves.
The rooms are like modules, which allow us to create sprawling, unconventional structures. It heavily reminded me of Spiritfarer and its building mode. In Building mode, selecting a room provides us with its requirements. In Story mode, the rooms are unlocked as the story goes. Some of the basic rooms in a hotel are already built at the beginning of the game, such as the kitchen and the reception area. All they need is a good cleaning and some repair.
One thing to note is that the game relies on you being a micromanager. You can’t expect your workers to do jobs automatically. Another thing to note is that while Hotel Galactic is, without a doubt, a cozy game, it is also slow. I’ll admit to picking up and dropping workers on tasks instead of patiently waiting for them to get there on their own.
As the game progresses, we unlock new tools, equipment, and technologies that enable us to cater to different alien races. We explore the secrets of our little floating island and its inhabitants.
The World of Hotel Galactic
I don’t usually gravitate towards resource and time management simulation games. What attracted me to Hotel Galactic was its in-game world and atmosphere. The game is heavily inspired by Studio Ghibli’s works, especially Howl’s Moving Castle, but it also reminded me of a lesser-known Disney movie – Treasure Planet.
The world of Hotel Galactic is vibrant, fantasy-inspired, and full of the best parts of humanity. The writing is excellent and full of emotion. It is easy to get attached to the characters and feel empathy for them.
The mood of the game is slow like a summer evening, dreamy, especially when we have celestial whales passing above our island. The soundtrack is also great and very on point with the rest of the game.
It is evident that Hotel Galactic is a labor of love – the attention to detail is excellent. Unfortunately, the game’s release was less than smooth, but it seems the developers are very committed to fixing the game.
The State of Early Access
The developers have stated that Hotel Galactic will be in Early Access for about 1-2 years. The game will comprise three acts of the main story, over six VIP visits, and 12 alien species. There will be a mining system, farm animals, expeditions, and more rooms, items, and interactions. The developer also states that the price of the game is likely to increase after Hotel Galactic leaves Early Access.
That being said, many players reported bugs when the game launched. So many that the developers admitted that the Early Access build didn’t meet expectations, and the game should have stayed in production for a couple more months. They’ve released a couple of fixes and are committed to releasing more until the game reaches the best possible state.
During my playthrough, I experienced several issues, including lagging, workers getting stuck in the walls, not following commands, and a complete freeze that required me to exit the game. Since then, the developers have released two fixes, with more promised on the way. While playing the game the last few days, I haven’t had any problems.
Some Other Things
Hotel Galactic has basic audio and video settings. It has Steam achievements, but no Trading cards yet.
Final Thoughts
Hotel Galactic has the potential to be a great cozy summer-y game. It does have some kinks, but hopefully the early access stage will allow developers to iron them out. That being said, while not for everybody, I liked my time at the Hotel Galactic, and I think I will keep returning to my little hotel colony in the months to come.
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