Dungeons of Hinterberg is a multi-genre title that might take you by surprise. It’s part adventure game, part sword-swinging battler, part puzzle-solver and part casual relationship builder, all packed tidily together in a nicely balanced, well, vacation.
Things get going as protagonist Luisa heads into the scenic Austrian village of Hinterberg. She’s been grinding along back in the big city as a law student and wants to unwind by relaxing in picturesque pubs and quaint shops. Oh, and she wants to kill a whole bunch of monsters.
Hinterberg, you see, is a dungeon-crawling resort town.
When goblins and huge spiders start spilling out of magically appearing doors at various parts of the world, many people panic. But Hinterberg decides to make the most of the blossoming magical mayhem by handing swords to its visitors and turning monster-bashing into a tourist industry. The resulting economic rush has been a boon for everyone.
However, as Luisa tries her hand at besting the region’s dungeons by day and making new friends by night, she begins to realize that it’s not all fun and gooey tentacles. There’s something else going on here. And it may be up to Luisa to save the day. In fact, being a lawyer might not be her calling after all—dungeon master has a nice ring to it.
Gameplay wise, players guide Luisa through both sides of her vacation.
There are four mountainous regions (and one secret spot revealed later) just outside Hinterberg that contain a total of 25 dungeons with various levels of difficulty.
The dungeons are not only populated by swarming monsters but also locked tight by intricately designed environmental puzzles. Each area grants players two special magical abilities that can only be used in that area. Those abilities are crucial in both the sword-swinging battles and the puzzle-solving efforts.
On the other side of the coin, Luisa’s in-town activities are far more casual in their focus. She meets up with new friends and begins piecing together secrets in town as well as aiding locals with their problems (i.e., helping circulate a petition to keep a friend’s shop open, aiding a reporter with his story on dungeons, etc). Luisa’s efforts earn perks that help her in battle.
Dungeons of Hinterberg offers single-player-only play. And it does not require an online connection.
Frankly, the adventuring and casual sides of Dungeons of Hinterberg are very nicely balanced. Neither side feels like it outstays its welcome. And ultimately, this title’s central character must step up to defend and heroically give aid to all the residents of Hinterberg.
Gameplay-wise, Dungeons of Hinterberg features appealing, watercolor-like graphics that help to minimize potential scariness associated with the game’s various monsters. In fact, gamers are offered moments to step away from battles and dungeon-diving to simply enjoy the beauty of the surrounding mountain vistas that the game makers have crafted.
While the many dungeon puzzles challenge gamers to think through the logic of Tomb Raider-like switches, pressure plates and physical challenges, they’re never too difficult for younger players. And the changing magical abilities add new twists and turns to any similar puzzles.
Frenetic battles with swarms of goblins, large beasts, ghosty creatures, gnarly goats and witch-like monsters are a regular occurrence in Dungeons of Hinterberg. Gamers use various swords and special magic abilities (materializing explosive balls, blocks of immobilizing jelly, zapping blasts and the like) in the battles. Some monsters also wield large blades, clubs, lightning zaps and fire.
When a battle begins, players get locked into a small area until the fight is resolved. All of the above said, the dodging and slashing battles are never overly difficult, and the bested monsters simply disappear in a splash of ectoplasm-like goop.
Luisa can meet with friends in a pub. We see glasses of beer and wine on the table tops and bars. And characters reference alcohol and hangovers in their printed-out interactions. But we never see a character drink an alcoholic beverage. There is lying, deception and governmental authority manipulation in the story mix.
The words “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ssed” are occasionally used in the dialogue.
The colorful Dungeons of Hinterberg does a great job of balancing light RPG battles, dungeon puzzles and casual gaming chats. Even the worst of the worst is kept on the relatively innocuous side.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
Our weekly newsletter will keep you in the loop on the biggest things happening in entertainment and technology. Sign up today, and we’ll send you a chapter from the new Plugged In book, Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family, that focuses on how to implement a “screentime reset” in your family!
