Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC
Burnout is a familiar problem in the modern world, and one that's struck down trainee lawyer Luisa. Aiming to rejuvenate, she takes off for a few weeks in the charming Austrian town of Hinterberg, nestled in the Alps and blessed with breathtaking views in every direction. And, while Hinterberg's amenities include all the spas, scenic spots, and shopping you'd expect of a tourism hotspot, what's really drawn Luisa is the opportunity to beat the hell out of hordes of monsters, thanks to the newfound magical portals that have appeared in the town in recent years – talk about an adventure holiday!
On the surface, Dungeons of Hinterberg is a simple dungeon crawler, albeit one presented with a stunning visual approach that combines the heavily inked style of western comics, the toning and texture of manga, and the cel shading of animation to create a truly distinctive aesthetic. Each in-game day, Luisa can visit one of the dungeons that have been mysteriously cropping up, fighting back creatures based on Alpine mythology, and mastering strange spells to conquer their depths.
It's what happens outside of the dungeons, how Luisa fills her days when not adventuring, that really makes Hinterberg stand out, though. Between excursions, she'll explore the town itself, meeting and befriending the locals and other visitors. Taking a note from Persona's playbook, fostering these social relationships loops back into gameplay – make nice with the right resident and you may get a permanent boost to stamina, health boosts, or even unlock extra features, such as a photo mode if you help out a reporter reluctantly covering the portal phenomenon. There's even a whole dungeon that can only be found if you charm a particular dog (and yes, you can pet the dog).
That interpersonal side is key to more than just stat boosts and power creep though. It allows space to build on that central theme of burnout, of feeling alienated and exhausted by your own life, of being directionless because the promises of the real world just aren't panning out. Dungeons of Hinterberg is at its absolute best when it's using its fantastic edge to explore how her dreary normal existence is letting Luisa – and, likely, many of its players – down. But just when you think the game might be about to descend into pretentious Very Special Episode™ territory, it pulls back and redeems itself with another tantalising plot thread about the deeper mysteries of the town, of how and why the portals and dungeons have appeared, why so many of them look like mismatched slices of the real world, and who is benefitting from their presence. It's a marvellous narrative balance.
For a dungeon crawler, Dungeons of Hinterberg is so much more than just, well, crawling through dungeons.
Dungeons of Hinterberg also impresses with how fresh it keeps things throughout the game. There are more than two dozen dungeons to discover and battle through, and while they're helpfully ranked in difficulty, success isn't solely down to making stat numbers go up. Portals to dungeons are scattered about the various regions surrounding Hinterberg itself, each area strangely defined by magic skills that will only work in that specific place. That allows for frequently shifting powersets, with Luisa gaining a pair of spells unique to each region. These gifts are usable in battle, of course, but more interestingly applied out of it, Luisa using her powers to solve environmental puzzles or reach new areas.
Somewhat paradoxically, there are some really clever physics-based uses of magic too, such as the first spell summoning an explosive wrecking ball that can also be used as a weight to trigger switch panels. Puzzle solving is a highlight throughout, with many of the dungeons hinging on applying skills in ever-more creative ways to outsmart increasingly fiendish maps.
Combat itself is perhaps the chink in Dungeons of Hinterberg's armour – a too-familiar mix of light and heavy melee strikes and stamina-draining dodges that, at its most basic, can feel a shade too hack-and-slash. Magic livens encounters up, albeit with a miserly pool of magic energy to spend in battle, while some of the abilities unlocked through social bonds refine or improve Luisa's physical assaults. Even then, combat rarely feels thrilling, something reflected in boss fights that too often amount to simply pummelling them into submission while evading smaller minions.
Yet for a dungeon crawler, Dungeons of Hinterberg is so much more than just, well, crawling through dungeons. Its adventuring and puzzle-solving aspects are a wrapper, a metaphor, gaudy packaging for a game that's really about deeper and more personal themes, and by the time Luisa's vacation is over, Hinterberg and its charms will have proved thoroughly refreshing.