Each time a present as large as this 12 months’s Xbox Video games Showcase occurs, I’m at all times left wanting extra particulars on a few of its most left-field standouts. This 12 months, it was slightly indie known as Dungeons of Hinterberg. The colourful sport made a memorable first impression due to its vibrant artwork fashion and Austrian Alps setting. I used to be dying to know extra, and by chance I’d get an opportunity to dive deeper throughout a press session after the stream.
Developed by Microbird Video games, Dungeons of Hinterberg is a singular style hybrid that pulls from Alpine mythology. It’s an motion RPG the place a protagonist makes use of magic to combat by means of vibrant dungeons, but additionally a social simulator the place gamers spend time wandering round a quaint village nestled within the mountains. After a 30-minute session, I’ve a really agency grasp of how these two disparate halves neatly match collectively.
What we realized about Dungeons of Hinterberg
The overall premise is that gamers have to search out and full totally different dungeons hidden all through varied Alpine biomes. Every takes about half-hour to finish and options distinctive handcrafted challenges. Exploration appears slightly paying homage to the methods shrines work within the previous two The Legend of Zelda video games. Gamers can freely discover the world to search out and full them in any order. Some are hiding in plain sight, whereas others are hidden behind a puzzle. One I noticed, for example, required gamers to spin a windmill to open a locked gate.
Every dungeon is completely distinct, that includes fight encounters with Alpine creatures (together with Krampus) and puzzle-solving. The battle system appears easy sufficient, with some fundamental slashing assaults and dodging. On prime of that, although, there’s a layer of magic, as gamers get spells that they will combine and match. Every biome permits totally different area-specific magic too. In a single zone, the character beneficial properties Earth magic that lets them shoot a rocky projectile or summon a twister that may carry them over thorns.
In a single dungeon, I noticed the sport’s hero crusing round an open-ended space on a magic skateboard, grinding up rails to search out enemy areas. One other was far more puzzle-focused, tasking them with utilizing their Earth magic to toss bomb crops and trip their twister over obstacles. It’s one other space the place these Zelda shrines come to thoughts, as dungeons check totally different abilities and powers simply as Tears of the Kingdom’s shrines discover new methods for Hyperlink to make use of his instruments.
Time spent exterior of dungeons is far totally different, although. In between battles and puzzles, gamers are free to wander round an idyllic overworld, spend time at cafes, and chat with the inhabitants. Taking some cues from Persona’s social hyperlinks, gamers can kind bonds with totally different characters by spending time with them. When these bonds stage up, gamers will unlock new powers. One level-up I noticed granted the demo participant a robust meteor bathe assault that may very well be slotted into their fight loadout. It’s an enthralling little system that lets gamers sit back and luxuriate in small-town life within the Alps for a bit.
Whereas I used to be already bought on the sport’s colourful artwork fashion, I’m far more intrigued realizing how its genre-hybrid gameplay works. I can see shades of different video games in its design, however Dungeons of Hinterberg looks as if the type of completely creative venture I’m at all times desirous to check out. Even with its action-RPG element, it’s wanting like a calming Alpine trip in online game kind.
Dungeons of Hinterberg is scheduled to launch in 2024 for Xbox Sequence X/S and PC.
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