Whereas a lot of the gaming world is firmly centered on Baldur’s Gate 3 or Starfield proper now, the indie action-adventure RPG recreation Dungeons of Hinterberg is the one that actually grabbed my consideration at Gamescom 2023. Set in a vibrant alpine village that blends parts of the Austrian Alps, all the things about my time with the sport is nothing wanting promising.
Discovered inside Xbox’s enterprise sector of the biggest video games occasion on the earth, Dungeons of Hinterberg is all about slaying monsters, scavenging for loot, fixing puzzles, and creating friendships with the locals. Its charming design and funky cel-shaded artwork fashion ooze appeal from each pixel, which is much more spectacular contemplating the small studio behind it. I instantly wished to discover each nook, converse to each NPC, and absorb each vista.
No time for that, although. My 30-minute hands-on demo was break up into three sectors: a mountain go biome, a dungeon, and the principle city of Hinterbeg itself. Sprinting up the hills as protagonist Luisa, a regulation trainee now taking a much-needed break from the company world, I used to be rapidly surrounded by a bunch of tiny monsters who sport witches’ hats able to tear me limb from limb. Fight is a mixture of hack-and-slash sword assaults, particular skills, and magic, with dodging taking part in a key half. Rolling from left to proper whereas whittling down the little goons’ well being meters, I turned accustomed to the management scheme inside minutes, earlier than confidently charging into battle.
Magic was my major technique, conjuring up both a large boulder that may explode when prompted or throwing a grapple-like weapon to knock again enemies. As soon as depleted, I turned to particular strikes – one in all which had Luisa leap into the air and strike all opponents with a crushing blow. Very satisfying. As I regularly encountered stronger foes, it turned clear how mastery of those strikes is essential to success, but the strategies used to dispatch these enemies are left utterly as much as me.
As soon as defeated, I made my means additional up the mountain, talking with locals and collaborating in small puzzles that required both the usage of the bomb and/or the grapple capacity. These are comparatively easy, corresponding to inserting a bomb on a scale earlier than elevating it up with the grapple. Transferring ahead to the primary of the sport’s 25 dungeons, one other puzzle has three-floor switches that require stress to open the 2 gates in entrance, with seemingly just one minecart within the neighborhood to push into place. A few minutes go and the belief hits: the second is caught in some icky sludge within the ceiling. Once more, easy however efficient. A whole lot of video games immediately overcomplicate puzzles for the sake of it, so this back-to-basics method is rather more than efficient in my books.
What I like is how the artwork fashion pops round each nook. Take the dungeon for example, which in idea is a darkish, dingy atmosphere. Right here, it’s a mixture of daring blues and perky purples that stored my eyes locked with minerals jutting out of the odd crevice. Getting misplaced down here’s a deal with, not a process.
An exciting minecart journey by one of many caverns results in Hinterberg. Break up into a number of parts, the loading is seamless as I enterprise from bustling streets to town heart. I’m informed by Microbird founder and design director Philip Seifried that the city itself is extra instantly influenced by the small city of Hallstatt, identified for its pastel-colored homes and winding cobblestone streets. Attractive. One particular contact I discover is how among the many quite a few NPCs wandering about, those within the far distance flip to a faint gray scale, not 1,000,000 miles away from a-ha’s music video for Tackle Me. An ingenious concept that provides to the artwork fashion.
On the coronary heart of it, Dungeons of Hinterberg is a soothing expertise, a descriptor I by no means thought I’d use for an motion recreation. There’s additionally a progress-based day system, which both ends when a significant process is accomplished or while you choose to take a break. The vibe of this roughly 20-hour journey is one in all calmness alongside themes of discovering your self, and I can’t wait to dive in.
Dungeons of Hinterberg is at present scheduled to launch on Steam and Xbox Sequence X/S – together with PC Recreation Cross – in spring 2024. Seifried stays coy about sharing a agency date, naturally eager to ensure the sport releases in its very best state. Regardless if it slips till later within the yr, it definitely appears definitely worth the wait.
Within the meantime, try one of the best indie video games on PC in 2023, from a horror fishing recreation to a Zelda-meets-Darkish Souls action-adventure and all the things in between. We’ve additionally received lists of the upcoming PC video games and one of the best new PC video games if you happen to’re searching for one thing recent to play.