For modern developers, many established ingredients can be added to create a new, if familiar, RPG recipe. But you can only have so much before the proverbial dish is spoiled. Microbird Games has chucked in a heavy pinch of Persona and Zelda to flavor Dungeons of Hinterberg. However, its Alpine Fresh scent is what pulls it all together.
Dungeons of Hinterberg is a dungeon crawler with social interactions between the looting. The social side isn’t the only Persona inspiration on show, as Dungeons of Hinterberg embraces a mixture of modern-day reality and the magical. In this case, an Austrian skiing town (the titular Hinterberg) has suddenly found itself as a different kind of tourist hotspot as creatures and dungeons have sprung up on its outskirts. Now, self-professed ‘’Slayers’’ show up to try and best the dungeons and its folklore-inspired inhabitants.
The game puts us in the shoes of a wannabe Slayer named Luisa, who has ditched her life as a law student to try something a little different. We join her as she arrives in Hinterberg and gets settled into her hotel before moving on to her initial dungeon training. This early showing of the two sides of Hinterberg is an excellent hook for what the game offers. There’s a distinct difference between the social and dungeon sides. Yet, Microbird manages to pull them together, largely thanks to the game’s cel-shaded Moebius visuals that reminded me more of Wind Waker than a lot of other games that have used it in recent memory. Perhaps the context is key in that.
Dungeons of Hinterberg – Alpining and Dining
Outside the dungeons, Luisa will shop for gear and items, chat with locals and tourists, and sample various local treats. The first part of every day sees Luisa sitting outside the local cafe, where she must decide which dungeon area to venture into on that day. Once that portion of the day is done, Luisa will head back into town, where there’s a bit of time to purchase goodies with her dungeoneering spoils before she decides who to hang out with for the evening. After that, it’s bed (unless you fancy making her stay up a bit later to watch TV or read), and then the cycle begins anew.
Each decision made on any given day will help Luisa level up her unique stats and even gain special items. There’s also the reward of learning more about Hinterberg through its environments, tourists, and townsfolk. There’s an understandably unsubtle (and personal) jab at the effect tourism has on resort towns. The glittery aura of cash from outsiders erodes the authentic culture over time. Like a cosy depiction of the boiling frog conceit.
It’s the framework for a deeper conspiracy at the heart of Hinterberg—one with a more modern, relatable flavor. Luisa and I got to know the town more intimately as our stay grew longer, and that made it so much easier to understand its true face. Hinterberg never loses its natural beauty as a resort town, but the surface-level perception becomes uglier as more is unearthed about how it is run.
But the meat of it is the dungeons, right? And Microbird’s approach to dungeon crawling is so, so pleasing. There are several different areas to explore, each its own hub for a selection of portals that lead to the otherworldly dungeons. The first area is a verdant hiking path in the mountains, which acts as an introductory location for newbie Slayers. Later, Luisa will head to the ski slopes, brambly forests, and bubbling marshlands to access all 25 dungeons offered to visitors.
Magic in the Air
Each area has its own magical powers that only work in that location. These are then used to solve the puzzles found in that area’s dungeons. The powers generally offer up two abilities to go with any regular combat ones Luisa picks up. There’s an elemental flavor to these powers, so in one area, for instance, Luisa can summon wind projectiles that act as bullets against enemies but can also push particular objects to get further through a dungeon. The other power of that set conjures up a mini twister that scoops up objects Luisa can’t carry herself, allowing her to overcome certain otherwise unpassable obstacles.
The dungeons are rigidly designed by closing off other powers instead of collecting them all, but I found that quite refreshingly straightforward. It didn’t stifle the level design, and Microbird gets quite creative with its limited rule sets to ensure there’s no fatigue in tackling dungeons.
Combat was about the only real letdown. It works just fine; it’s just rarely exciting, and was far less enthralling than the puzzling. I eventually found myself quietly dreading the ritualistic mundanity of slaying goblins and the like. The hack n’ slash swordplay in closed-off arenas always does a competent job; it just feels like having to go to work in the middle of your holiday.
That’s probably the only notable rainy day in Dungeons of Hinterberg’s sunny alpine getaway. Thematically, Dungeons of Hinterberg takes on the vacation style for an RPG. If your epic open-world RPG is a gap year abroad, then this is a short trip to get away from it all. A 25-hour experience that packs plenty of beauty, challenge, and intrigue into its relatively brief playtime.
Score: 8/10
Developer: Microbird Games
Publisher: Curve Games
Reviewed on: PS5
Dungeons of Hinterberg is out now on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
