My first thought when starting Dungeons of Hinterberg, which was developed by Microbird Games, was how much the intro reminded me of Persona. This was in a good way of course. Your character arrives in a small town and spends blocks of their days meeting the locals, who slowly and methodically explain to the player the world and how to interact with it. It’s one of the many ways Dungeons of Hinterberg wears its inspirations directly on its sleeves.
As somebody who has friends who constantly complain about slow opening like that, I could see how that could be a turn-off. However, those who stick with the game through this point, arguably pretty short, are treated to something incredible in the process. Hinterberg is a beautifully crafted world with a lore far deeper than I was expecting from the offset. As a game, the aforementioned Dungeons of Hinterberg off some of the best puzzles I have had the pleasure to play since I got lost in The Witness. There is something weird going on in Hinterberg, but also something special.
Fresh off The Bus
The player assumes the role of Luisa who has just arrived in Hinterberg, a small town nestled in the Austrian Alps. Interesting fun fact there, a town named Hinterberg in Austria does actually exist and does have some similar vistas, though I’m not sure if that’s where the similarities end. In the game, this city is right on a lake, with the Alps looking on in the distance, calling for you to explore.
In the narrative, we find that everything is based on the real world except that magic exists and portals have opened that lead to these puzzle-solving dungeons that might also have demons you need to fight. Of course, in the first real-world twist on the fantasy elements present, these dungeons have been turned into a tourist trap for that sweet sweet revenue stream, with each dungeon given a ski slope-type rating system from 1 to 9.
Lusia is a relatable stand-in for most players who have a good-paying ‘safe’ job and have now arrived because she needed a change. Soon though, she gets drawn into the politics of the region, with citizens tired of living in fear of monsters but afraid of losing the jobs created by this industry, and a mayor whose entire political platform is the tourist revenue. It was shocking how quickly the story seemed to grip me and never let go.
This being said some aspects of the story don’t click as much. Early on in the game you tend to start each day talking to the same people, with neither of you really saying much value by the player still needing to wade that dialog. There were so many ways I could respond to how I liked my job and why I left before I felt it was becoming redundant. These little moments can often stumble, but the core story is always around the corner, never knowing what drama a new day will bring.
Only So Many Hours In The Day
Dungeons of Hinterberg uses a gameplay loop that offers players three blocks a day to do things. The first block requires you to choose a destination from a few surrounding the area. These include one near the base of the Alps, high up but with greenery all over. Another forest stuck in mid-autumn with leaves scattering the ground. There is also one near the summit that is traversed mostly with a magical snowboard, as well as another in a bog traversed with a canoe.
Each of these areas and the town proper, are subject to some of the most beautiful art I have seen in a game. While the focus is not on a massive amount of detail, as noticeable in the character’s faces, the world pops with vibrant colors both in the foreground and the background. Exploring the world and its dungeons becomes a far more enjoyable experience than it already is, just looking around at the world.
During this first block of time, you can choose to tackle the dungeons, which is the whole reason you came here of course, but its not the only thing you can do as scenic spots let you relax and pass the time as well. All actions have some form of benefit on your stats, such as relaxing giving you a good increase in health. Dungeons give you minor health increases, but plenty of parts and money to farm inside, as well as progress the story.
After this, you get an evening block you can use to explore the town. This is the only period you have access to the town proper so getting gear at the stores or upgrading armor is something you should handle here. This time period can be ended in multiple ways but honestly, the most common way to end it is by hanging with people around town in a social link-like event. The final block at night allows you to either get a good night’s sleep or stay up late to improve one of your social states in exchange for losing 25% of your health the next day.
Shockingly, some of the best aspects of being a slayer (as they call people like you) are locked behind friend states. This includes weapon enhancing, armor, upgrading, lockpicking, and even combos. It is a great twist on the formula but can act as a double-edged sword. For instance, I didn’t even get my combos, which feels like such a base element of the experience, till halfway into the game when I randomly talked to a character and decided to hang with them. There is a menu guide where you can track them, but even then there are a lot of useful upgrades locked this way it can be hard to keep track of, causing you to miss elements till much much after the point you wished you had them.
This is offset by the fact that all the characters are great! You want to get to know them and spend time with them. Each one of their narratives as to what brought them to Hinterberg, or how it has changed gives you a much deeper understanding of the deeply crafted world you get to explore.
Enter The Dungeon
The puzzle-solving has a Zelda-esque quality to it that you can’t quite shake, but why would you? Each region gives you two spells that will be combined to create the tools you need to solve problems in the dungeons in that region. This can be as simple as a ball and chain that you can use to pull things, to a snowboard you can ride down the slopes of the alps. They range dramatically but the design always lets them shine through.
The game takes on a traditional platforming approach as well in many areas and one of the things I was upset about was the lack of a dedicated jump button, especially when some buttons seemed to not do anything. Since many of the Dungeons of Hinterberg have Uncharted and Tomb Raider traversal points, as well as wall climbing, traversal can feel a little clunky. Walking too close to an edge can simply trigger the automated jump which results in a lot of deaths and during one combat moment, a lot of annoying retries.
These dungeons alternate between two major elements, the first is puzzles that can range from a small room to a big area you explore. There are a lot of puzzles in the game with each dungeon offering a different theme to what you are going to have to do. These puzzles are engaging and best of all, so conditioning that you begin to pick up the subtle clues to solving them before you even realize it.
The magic spells also come into play in a big way to progress. In the first area, you get a large ball you can drop and detonate as a bomb. This becomes an early tool for getting through walls but soon becomes a tool for weighted switches so you can traverse through closed gates. Another is a tornado that you can use to move stuff you can’t reach but can be also used to lift you up over thorny paths. Everything has multiple uses.
These dungeons can be long but thankfully they have to save points within them so you don’t just lose all your progress. That being said, at some points, I felt like they were unnecessarily long. Some dungeons, not all, it seemed had areas where you had to complete the same kind of puzzle multiple times before you could traverse to the next area where you had to do the same in a new puzzle. Some spells, like the tornado, also felt like they broke the flow of the dungeon and at some points you needed to traverse through multiple parts, back and forth, using the tornado which felt more tedious than engaging.
Hit Them Where It Hurts
The second aspect is combat which suffers from some of the same issues as traversal. The game uses the standard light and heavy attacks that feel like the flow weird if you aren’t locked on, often throwing yourself right past an enemy. Even while locked on this problem occurred a few times as well. You get and can unlock special attacks as well that have bizarre spacing. In a lock your abilities perfectly target an enemy, but several abilities when not locked on inherently try to target away from you, with others like her spinning slash sending her out of control.
At its core, combat isn’t bad per se, as the loop is pretty engaging and tends to be pretty balanced. Enemies can hurt you if they hit you, but the game plays more by giving you the tools and understanding to dodge them. The bigger, more powerful enemies didn’t really have moves that weren’t projected and could be destroyed fairly easily with abilities so combat becomes more of a balance of tools rather than a struggle of skill.
The game does have boss fights in there but they are few and far between. The first one is a nod to the folklore of a certain anti-Santa Christmas figure which helps also to establish the region as a character. These bosses though are easy and feel like bosses you find in Mario. That is to say, that beating them is itself a puzzle you solve, figuring out just how you can damage them. There are no issues with any of the boss fights featured in the game, save for the fact I wish there were more.
Verdict
Dungeons of Hinterberg is the vacation I never knew I wanted and I’m sure you will feel the same. Learning the characters, exploring the city, and solving a puzzle or two are just the icing on this outstanding cake. There is also a beautifully crafted world to get lost in and abilities galore to unlock as the gameplay shifts around which area you choose to explore that day. Once you start discovering the Lore, you will never want to leave.
Sure, the game has some stumbles along the way with the combat never really reaching the height for me as many of the other aspects featured in the game. Some abilities that feel kinda important early on can also easily be missed if you’re not paying attention. There are also a few puzzles that are less fun than others and more tedious. Here though, we have a perfect example of being more than the sum of your parts as anything I didn’t enjoy became enjoyable when in the context of everything I did. Welcome to Hinterberg, Enjoy your slay.
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Review For Xbox Series X, also Available on Xbox Series S and Windows PC
Developer: Microbird Games
Publisher: Curve Games
Release Date: July 18th, 2024
Take the role of Luisa as she arrives in Hinterberg for a monster hunting vacation, only to be drawn into local political strife.
PROS:
+Narrative and lore
+Diverse and engaging puzzles
+Social sim aspects and Characters
+Art Design
+Use of interesting folk lore
+Bosses
CONS:
-Some traversal elements and lack of a jump
-some elements locked behind side events
-Lackluster combat
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Dungeons of Hinterberg
