Dungeons of Hinterberg, A Social-Sim/Adventure That Feels Like a Vacation 

The gamescom was a perfect place for Microbirds to unveil their new adventure Dungeons of Hinterberg. After playing the demo, I found myself dreaming of cruising up the Rhine and heading to cooler climates to go monster hunting or enjoy some chill Alpine vibes. 

It is set and centered around Hinterburg. Hinterburg is a little town in the Austrian Alps where one day, magic caves full of monsters popped up, launching the town in to the adventure tourism world. Thrill-seekers, including the game’s heroine, drift in from all over the globe to prove their mettle in battle- something otherwise frowned upon in polite society. 

As Dungeons of Hinterberg’s first hands-on showing to the world, we were given a feel for the loop that defines the game: explore and adventure – above and below ground – by day, socialize in the evening, developing skills and acquiring items to support the next time you delve the deep underground. 

The demo showed two important skills, each mapped to a shoulder button: a tap of LB summons the Wrecking Ball, a massive bomb that, when detonated, clears piles of rubble blocking your path. Demonstrating two skills, which are mapped each to a specific shoulder button, while exploring the game, I found it very useful. By pressing LB, you can summon the Wrecking Bomb, a huge bomb that, once detonated will clear piles and piles blocking your path.  RB fires a ranged Ball and Chain, which can attach to blobby masses in the overworld and can manipulate certain environmental objects – e.g. Pulling down a tree to cross a gap. The logs were often used, sometimes in conjunction with other puzzles. 

My first enemy was a creepy mask monster that, according to developers, is based on real Alpine Mythology. Think Krampus. As you use light or heavy melee, it charges up magical attacks that are more damaging, like a devastating leap, with AOE, and a hailing of meteors, which quickly drains enemies’ health. 

Louisa was soon in a dungeon that is famous for Hinterberg, where she found a more challenging level of puzzle solving, and the battle intensified. After exploring, pillaging chests, solving a number of puzzles, dispatching more armadillos and a larger boss, it was time to return to Hinterberg to, y’know, chill for a bit.  

Hanging out with NPCs isn’t just a break in the action, it’s crucial to your success – your character will learn new, useful skills by upleveling their social links. Marina was a cheerful employee working at a local ice cream shop. After talking to dozens of locals I decided to make time for her. This action increased Louisa’s dodge stamina, so that she can dodge more often – something you will definitely want to do. And that’s only at the first of three stars earned with Marina, so I found myself curious what further interactions will lead to. 

After that, Louisa went to sleep, resting up for the next day’s adventures. 

Dungeons Of Hinterberg is a game that allows players to take a full day off from adventuring if they want to spend more time with friends. After all, Louisa’s on vacation! Indeed, your players can take a full-day break from adventuring if they choose to spend more time with friends;  Louisa’s on vacation after all! I can see this tactic coming in handy if your character is having trouble progressing through a dungeon – meet a few more people, level up a few more skills, then try again. 

Developer Microbirds shared that there will be approximately 25 dungeons to test in game, and, as beautifully bucolic as the Doberkogel mountains area we explored at gamescom is, I’m excited to see the other three biomes. The developers mentioned icy glaciers as well as wetter regions.  

With sunny vibes and the flexibility to battle or just hang out in town to make friends, Dungeons of Hinterberg is shaping up to be a vacation for players, though don’t be surprised if you find yourself pricing out airfare to Austria when you’re done. Dungeons of Hinterberg, for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Cloud, and will be available day one for Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass members.