Another week, I played another game that I did not play in 2024, but I am now playing in 2025. I had a simple choice for this week as I was told to play this game a few times and ignored all those people. I went on my merry way and played the games I wanted and did not play the ones I did not want to play.

Now, I have to shamefully rectify that and play the game. This week is Dungeons of Hinterberg.

Dungeons of Hinterberg is an action-adventure RPG from Microbird Games and published by Curve Games. The game was released in July of 2024 for the xbox and PC. The game retails for $30.

You play as Luisa, a young lawyer in training who has decided to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and take a vacation in the Alps. The thing is, Hinterberg is the hottest tourist attraction because it offers an attraction that no other vacation spot has, MAGIC. Magical doors have opened up all across the Alps that lead tourists on whimsical adventures that rewards them with gear, money, renown and most importantly a memorable vacation.

As Luisa begins her “slaycation” she is immediately embroiled in a narrative about the politics, the complex dangers of tourism, and right and wrong. This small village has dedicated everything to this magical venture, and what does that mean when investors roll in and knock natives out? What does it mean for the environment when the magic runs awry, and it is damaging the image of the destination? What does one do when they have the information to do something about it and the community suffers the consequences of that information?

Dungeons of Hinterberg’s narrative is complex and explores topics I’ve rarely seen in video games. Developer Microbird Games does a great job weaving in a complex, relatable narrative.

While I played through Dungeons of Hinterberg, I was intrigued by the adult issues surrounding the relationship mechanic. These issues are surprisingly adult in theme and focus on relatable issues. The small businesses are being singled out by the competing big businesses, summer retail workers, and “professional” slayers coping with burnout in their respective fields are only a small taste of the issues that relationships bring up when playing the game, and honestly, it is quite refreshing.

For the gameplay, Dungeons of Hinterberg breaks down its days into three sperate categories: Morning, for planning where to go, noon, dedicated for going through dungeons and night for social activities. For 25 days, you will abide by the above system, which breaks the gameplay and narrative quite well.

The combat is as simple as it gets. Luisa has a light and heavy attack, and two unique spells and skills are given to her upon entering the area (for puzzling). The breath of fresh air for the combat comes with mixing the unique spells. As you continue to play, you will find a combination of unique spells to dispatch enemies and a knack for solving the puzzles. I personally like the length of each of the dungeons as they maintained around the 25-30 minute mark, which kept it from getting mundane.

Each region is so distinct from the last, both in looks and puzzles, that it gives Dungeons of Hinterberg loads of variety to keep it feeling fresh.

As you enter a region, Luisa is given two skills that aid her in solving puzzles in that specific region. usually, one is a traversal spell, and the other is a sort of ranged spell for hitting switches. These spells manifest in various objects, whether a bomb that explodes, a spiked ball-and-chain, an ice beam to hit targets, or a jelly cube that weighs down switches and/or allows you to get to previously unreachable locations. Having region-specific abilities allows for a nice focus on the puzzling aspect of the game.

After exploring a dungeon for the day, it is time to peruse the village of Hinterberg and wind down with the RPG elements. Every night, Luisa can shop and get to know the people who vacation and live in Hinterberg. There are many people to interact with and friendships to flesh out that reward the player with helpful boosts to combat, discounts at stores, and even space for charms.

These small interactions with the locals helped me feel more invested in the overarching story. Hannah has a problem with her shop that only came to fruition when the town had a competing store set up shop and how the trails are getting neglected. Klaus has been attempting to pass legislation to prioritize Hinterberg’s beauty rather than focusing solely on tourism.

These RPG elements extend to Luisa as charms, sword/armor slots, and “attack modules.” If you want to be a glass cannon, have high defense, or just be a strict magic user, there are charms and slots for you. There are quite a number of attack modules to choose, from ranged to close quarters spells, the player has a lot of choices when it comes to builds.

Cel-shading as a is always such a nice look, and Dungeons of Hinterberg is a looker. The game is colorful, and each area and dungeon is unique. The mountain is white and snowy, and the dungeon takes from that, and huge snowflakes inhabit the space. The forest has run-down castles, and the dungeons take the castles and incorporate the overgrown castles into the dungeons. It is all very refreshing to see that much dedication to crafting areas to explore.

Dungeons of Hinterberg is a game that I was hesitant about playing, but after I played it a few times, I was hooked. The story had me trying to piece it together before the climax, the puzzles had me thinking, never to the point of frustration, the combat is a fun and it is vibrant and colorful. I did everything I wanted to do in the 25 days I vacationed in Hinterberg. I played around with the various builds until the final landing on a mid-range fighter.

I enjoyed every aspect of Dungeons of Hinterberg. The combat, with the addition of the magical abilities, is fun, the puzzles were unique. They were just right in difficulty and did not leave me frustrated, the narrative is imaginative, and the conversations that you have with people are real and deep, and the game looks great. Dungeons of Hinterberg is an enjoyable experience and is a game that would have 10% made my top 10 of 2024.

9/10