Dungeons of Hinterberg’s announcement at Summer season Sport Fest 2023 did not garner a ton of fanfare within the midst of huge video games like Starfield, Fable, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, and Forza Motorsport, however it stands proud as one of many extra promising indies highlighted throughout the Xbox Video games Showcase. That very same week, I witnessed a behind-closed-doors demo, which confirmed off the gameplay loop and a few extra of the gorgeous visuals, so after I had the prospect to play this distinctive hybrid motion/RPG this week, I jumped on the likelihood.
Dungeons of Hinterberg places you within the sneakers of Luisa, who has traveled to the brand new vacationer hotspot within the Austrian Alps. Individuals from everywhere in the world are enamored with Hinterberg’s many magical dungeons filled with mystical and harmful creatures. Luisa’s aim is to discover all 25 dungeons throughout the area’s 4 biomes, however alongside the way in which, she’ll develop relationships with the denizens of the mountain city.
My hands-on time begins within the mountain biome’s overworld. Throughout this introductory phase, I get a really feel for the exploration and fight. Fights play out in acquainted method, with Luisa possessing a light-weight and heavy assault, in addition to the flexibility to dodge. Nevertheless, spells add further layers of depth to fight. On prime of biome-specific spells you should utilize to unravel puzzles (on this occasion, a ball and chain that may seize and pull issues and an enormous exploding wrecking ball that may put weight on switches), Luisa additionally has entry to combat-specific spells mapped to the face buttons. Within the construct I’ve in my demo, my spells embody one which rains meteors down on enemies, a slam area-of-effect assault, and an assault the place Luisa spins like a prime along with her swords drawn to create a blade twister of types.
After dispatching a number of teams of enemies, I discover the doorway to one of many eponymous dungeons. I benefit from the fight, which is current all through the dungeon, however my favourite a part of my time with Dungeons of Hinterberg is the puzzles. On this case, the first puzzles are themed round minecarts. In some cases, they’re so simple as rearranging the tracks to verify I’m going in the correct course, whereas others contain intricate monitor adjustments that have to be carried out in sequential order to be able to attain the specified vacation spot. Not solely that, however among the cart rides necessitate you lean in particular instructions to keep away from obstacles and progress.
The dungeon I performed is a powerful mixture of motion and puzzle-solving, with the ultimate process coming within the type of a warlock that may summon projectile assaults and some minions. Not one of the battles have been significantly tough, however this appeared like an early dungeon, and it is solely seemingly the builders tuned down the issue to account for having a brand new participant bounce a while into the sport.
My demo concludes within the city of Hinterberg. Every night after you wrap up your dungeon exploration for the day, you may wander round city and meet the assorted inhabitants. In borrowing among the social simulation mechanics from the Persona sequence, you may select to spend time with one of many individuals on the town. Doing so will improve your relationship with them, however will even grant further stats like Amusement, Rest, Renown, and Familiarity. Some quests require you to be at a sure stage for a few of these stats, so staying well-rounded could be in your greatest curiosity.
Whereas I might hang around on the bar with reporter Travis, I made a decision to hunt out Albert, who research mythology. He makes a superb level that all the creatures within the dungeons seem like sporting masks of creatures in native mythology, hinting at some better connection to the area past merely the dungeons’ geographic location.
There’s nonetheless a lot to discover in Dungeons of Hinterberg, however this small style of gameplay whetted my urge for food. If the fight can proceed to evolve in significant methods and the puzzle-solving all through the journey is as intelligent because the minecart-based dungeon I performed, we might be in for an actual deal with. Dungeons of Hinterberg arrives on Xbox Collection X/S and PC in 2024.
