Oh boy, since it's about to end I should write this review I've been putting off.
First time I played Blackheart Hotel I hated it, as in got a little ways in, quit, deleted and forgot about it. Nothing new, done that plenty of times.
Then I played The Guardian (loved it) and someone wrote that to understand it, you really had to play the devs other game. As an aside, I really hate when that crap is pulled. Put the lore of the game,
in the game. Anyway I downloaded BHH got a little ways in and realized "Oh it's
that game! Well shit. Onward I guess.". Got to Paige (BHH's saving grace) and she's the only reason I came back instead of playing once and never again.
This is Seath's least liked of his two games, something (I believe) he attributes to how dark it is. And it
is too dark for some. But that is not the main reason many dislike or outright hate BHH imo.
He decided on a shared universe (bloody extended universes
).
After that is where things start going awry imo. Firstly the mafia backstory/plot is mediocre at best, awful at worst made even worse by something I'll get to in a bit. And he tied both games to that rickety support, though he is moving away from it (or more accurately allowing it to be largely ignored) in TG.
Secondly he managed to create an entirely unsympathetic and unlikeable MC. Seriously it's like a whiny, emo, bitchmade, Luke Skywalker wanted to be all ebil like his hero Darth Vader and he overcompensates to the point of absurdity. Wait a minute... that's why I hate Jacky! He's bloody Kylo Ren, except smaller!
"Oh but our MC (henceforth known as Little Kylo) had this or that tragic thing happen in his past! That is why he is that way!"
Well except no, not really because dun dun dun!!!! Plot twist! It was all in his head (or drugs, whatever)!
And that is the third thing. The constant plot twists. Every time it looks like you have the overbearing mafia plot/backstory, the assorted cast, and Little Kylo's place in it figured out... boom! Plot twist! This isn't a penny dreadful 2.0 where you are paid by the plot twist. Stop it. Get some help.
So this is the fourth thing. The overbearing mafia stuff and the constant plot twists leaves so little time for the other characters to develop. There isn't much character growth or even information on the characters other than Little Kylo (and a tiny bit for Paige). This makes everyone so shallow it isn't even funny. You literally forget people exist that you killed because they had the ingame presence of a ghost.
Fifth would be when you switch. As much as I hate Little Kylo, I care even less about the hitman. That crap is so jarring in every game that pulls it. No one ever managed to make it work at all well. I wish devs would quit trying.
That leaves the ebil and good boi "paths". Both are implemented poorly to the point there should really have only been one because they simply get in the way of each other. Not killing someone has little to no meaning. Being an evil SOB does nothing much either. NPC's routinely forget what happens, what decisions were made, who lived, ect.
I hope this hasn't come off as hate or anything. Seath is a great guy and this was his first game (I think?), so I'm not ragging him out of meanness. I genuinely enjoy The Guardian (his other game). I also am not the arse kissing type. This review is my view of why this game is not as popular.
TG is very well liked, but imo it's not just the cuties. It's that it has the least amount of the mafia stuff. Every time it comes up in TG, the story drags and suffers for it.
BHH is dark, but f95 has plenty of dark themed games. The things I pointed out (and doubtless others) are at least in my opinion why BHH isn't more well received, not the "darkness" of it's content.
Anyway here's hoping that the continuation/sequel (without Little Kylo) will fare as well if not better than TG.