Hey everyone hows it going Happy New Years and welcome to 2026, today I wanna thank Ancient Forge, for sending me a copy of there awesome game Hotel Galactic so let’s dive in and talk about it.
So Hotel Galactic is a hotel builder game with a great story and draws inspiration from Studio Ghibli which is very obvious in both the art style and characters in the game.
So you the player are what’s called a pilgrim a spirit that comes upon the Hotel in ruins and its staff super upset as they failed to make an impact. so there’s a bit of a 4th wall break with the way they interact with you which I think is very cool and actually makes me feel like its more then just a game. The crew basically gives you control of the hotel and grounds and its up to you to give it life again and guess what, life we shall give it.
So in story mode your following everything at a set pace to start out with you slowly start fixing the hotel and bringing it back once the hotel is done you work on the landing pad which is where flying ships will land and let people off so they can stay at your hotel, yes your read that right flying ships you see this is where the galactic part in the name shines as your hotel is on a floating island out in space surrounded by other planets but you learn that when you open the games map and check it out.
So the first person you meet after the hotel opens is the most important character in the game Captain Pouncy Paws after some talking she agrees to help you and she will be the ship that brings people to your hotel.
After the great Captain is the merchant ship Captained by Silver who will make it obvious right from the get go all he wants is money but he does start by helping you out with some great stuff and then gives you a summon icon where you can summon him when you need it but you gotta wait 8 hours for him to show up thankfully time goes by very fast in the game.
Then soon after another captain shows up by the name of mogumo and hes just as important as he brings new workers your way yes you do have to pay to hire them but they each have talents and specialty so knowing what you need is a good way of knowing who to hire.
The game offers a variety of species of personal all of which are adorable in there own way you have the pington race which are a short species that have a trumpet horn for a nose and enjoy music which they will let you know so you can make there stay that more enjoyable, after you have the toravis which remind me of horses with there appearance they to will tell you what they like and there focus is on tranquility and peace also showers they love a good shower then the 3rd race you come across is the derret which are tall ferret looking creatures but since you have 2 of them as workers you see them right from the start.
The story follows Gustav the ghost and former owner of the hotel who lives his days in regrets over how bad he did running the hotel but thanks to some awesome friends and you the player you show him the beauty of the hotel as your transform it and grow it.
This game offers a story mode and sandbox mode and honestly my opinion is do the story mode first you wont regret it one bit, its enjoyable and will make you smile even though ive already come across some people that I despise with a burning passion im sure you will to once you meet them.
For a hotel management game its fun ive lost track of time playing this game and all I wanna do is play more I really would like to see some new species added to the game maybe more story in the form of DLC.
Now the early game is slow and sometimes a bit stressful until your able to hire more workers your stuck with 3 employees which feels like a strain when you start getting busy between crafting the stuff you need making food for guest and just surviving the game feels like you need a lot of workers from the start but soon things get easier and enjoyable.
The game has what you would call a skill tree where you unlock upgrades for new tools and more decorations for your hotel rooms which you will wanna use it helps out.
I think my favorite part is the rating system each guest rates there stay when they check out and it goes against your score so far im holding at a 4.8 score out of 5 but its a lot of work finding the balance to make everyone happy.
If you like cozy management games then this game is for you and if your a fan of studio ghibli then enjoy the game as well the inspiration is enjoyed all in all i definitely recommend this game thank you for stopping by take care and game on