Dungeons of Hinterberg review: a breezy action RPG that’s as pretty as a postcard

Often when a sport makes me need to cease enjoying and go exterior it’s a foul signal, however with Dungeons of Hinterberg it’s completely different. It’s an motion RPG that made me pine for the outside and need to be whisked away from all my duties and simply exist for a bit. Every time I might end enjoying I’d be enthusiastic about my subsequent getaway, and though dungeon delving wouldn’t be on my vacation itinerary Dungeons of Hinterberg is making me assume twice.

Protagonist Luisa is caught in a spot we’ve all visited earlier than: Burnout Metropolis. She’s a busy lawyer who yearns for some downtime so has determined to flee to the picturesque Hinterberg, a whimsical alpine Austrian village. Hinterberg is actually a leisure vacation vacation spot the place you possibly can hike by way of the wilderness, knock again a couple of beers with the locals, and slay some monsters when the sensation strikes you.

Outdoors of the sport’s residence hub of Hinterberg are 4 areas with their very own handful of dungeons. You resolve which area you’d like to go to within the morning, hack and slash your approach by way of a dungeon throughout the day, hang around with the locals throughout the night, then end the day by returning to your lodge room. It’s a routine you compromise into shortly thanks to every space’s distinct appeal. From the snowy peaks of Kolmstein with its white wonderland of majestic mountains and ice caves, to the plush meadows of Doberkogel full with cows, cable automobiles, and flowers – I used to be endlessly taking screenshots, slowly compiling a bumper e book of vacation snaps.

Every of those areas will grant you two particular magical talents that may solely be utilized in that space and its dungeons. For instance, in Doberkogel you possibly can summon a large, spherical bomb that blasts by way of blockades and a ball and chain which you’ll fireplace at gadgets and pull them in the direction of you. Dungeons will take a look at these talents by way of a mixture of fight encounters and puzzle-solving, all introduced in wildly alternative ways. You may must navigate an underwater fortress, snowboard throughout a winter impediment course, or survive a rickety minecart trip by way of a monster-invested cavern. Whenever you attain the top of a dungeon you’ll get a satisfying journey stamp in your pocket book.

Puzzles hit that candy spot of being minimal effort the place nothing goes to majorly stump you, however their breeziness and intuitiveness nonetheless makes them satisfying to resolve. All of the environmental puzzle-platforming regulars are right here – switching buttons, pulling levers, transferring platforms and the like – however due to every space’s regional magic, the puzzle design is consistently switched up. They push you to make use of your powers in fascinating methods, and dungeons really feel like they’ve been designed with the puzzles firstly, with the extent being constructed across the core concept.

Magic is not just for puzzling but additionally part of your combating arsenal, alongside loads of different talents. Luisa doesn’t carry spherical an enormous sword for the drip both, as you’ll be hacking and slashing your approach by way of hordes of monsters too. The best way she strikes feels extremely fluid, and along with some equippable talents, fights are sometimes a frenzy of exercise and motion. I would leap in with 1, 2, 3 fast sword swipes, dodge away, hit ‘em with an ice beam (due to the magical energy in Kolmstein), after which activate my Blade Twister, a devastating spinning capacity that’s as lethal because it sounds.

Enemies are a rabble of ghouls and monsters however with an alpine folklore twist, which incorporates varied pointy-hatted gnomes, cackling witches, gnarly goats, and creepy wicker males. You’ll occur upon them in teams, typically plonked (typically awkwardly) in numerous components of a dungeon. You’ll battle the identical sorts of enemies over and over, which is just a little tiresome, however a pleasant regular stream of recent gear and talents retains fight fascinating. There’s additionally a handful of boss fights, that are a spotlight of the sport. In a single I needed to battle a rabid basilisk with a large beak and too many eyes as I grinded on a rail on my snowboard. Fisticuffs with Krampus can be a factor, so stay up for that.

Whenever you’ve dusted off a dungeon and all of its puzzles and monsters, it’s again to Hinterberg’s central city for some R&R. You possibly can pop into the pharmacy to prime up your potions, go to the nook store for brand spanking new gear, and get chatting with the locals. You get to decide on what individual you wanna hang around with every day and while you attain a sure friendship degree with them you get new gadgets and talents Persona-style. Earlier than you set within the time with of us, you will get a heads up on what rewards they’re going to grant you, not prefer it issues while you actually click on with a personality. I’d willingly hang around with Hannah the lovable blacksmith even when all I bought was a fist stuffed with mud.

Every character has a mini-story that connects to the sport’s wider story. The looks of dungeons in Hinterberg has attracted many guests, that means that tourism is booming. With cash flowing into the city, there’s a battle between how the inflow of holiday makers is affecting the locals and it is bought paperwork’s sticky fingers throughout it. Like my woman Hannah, her store is at risk of closing down due to strain from company competitors so I’m now reserving it round city attempting to get of us to signal a petition to maintain it open. Chatting with the locals and serving to them with their issues offers color to the city and it is characters as an alternative of seeing them as item-spouting merchandising machines.

You could have a definite routine, however I like how completely different the times are. Luisa needs to finish all 25 dungeons which suggests you’ll be bouncing backwards and forwards between all 4 areas, and hanging out with completely different locals every day brings new story beats and mini-quests. The perfect factor is that you just don’t even must do a dungeon when you don’t really feel prefer it. As an alternative, you possibly can sit down at completely different scenic spots and calm down for the day, which additionally nets you everlasting stat boosts. I used to be dashing towards a lake with a dungeon portal at its heart once I got here throughout a beautiful picket pier overlooking the water. I sat down on the sting of the pier and gazed throughout the lake. The wind rustled gently by way of the bushes and Luisa mused about what her colleagues could be doing again in her busy workplace. It seemed too cosy and laid-back, I badly needed to leap by way of my display screen, sit with Luisa, and cut up a schnitzel along with her.

That’s what I like probably the most about Dungeons of Hinterberg. You don’t at all times must be productive, and that’s okay. After I bought just a little uninterested in dungeon delving I simply relaxed throughout the day at completely different scenic spots and labored on hanging out with the locals within the night. I did this for a whole in-game week till I felt like bashing some monsters once more.

There’s a climactic rush on the finish of the sport’s 20-hour runtime, however for almost all, Dungeons of Hinterberg is splendidly laid-back. There are such a lot of video games that romanticize leaving your busy life and escaping to the wilderness, however right here the subject is explored in an genuine and real approach. There’s a lesson right here about how relaxation is key to well being and happiness, however I additionally love how the sport communicates that. It’s a delicate, reflective fantasy journey that’ll have you ever reaching in your mountain climbing boots.

This evaluate is predicated on a evaluate construct of the sport supplied by the developer.