Austrian indie studio Microbird has only been around since 2020, but has already released its first game with Dungeons of Hinterberg.

Just like movies and music, video games can give us a glimpse into different cultures. In the case of Dungeons, it is clearly a game influenced by Austrian culture.

You play as Luisa, a twenty-something who is tired of the daily grind in Vienna and wants to reconnect with nature.

She fondly remembers the trips she took to the countryside with her parents as a child and the sense of freedom they gave her.

Hoping to rediscover her sense of adventure, she travels to the picturesque Alpine village of Hinterberg.

Instead of walking and sightseeing, she’s there to raid dungeons and slay demons. That’s because Hinterberg is a special place where magic and monsters collide.

In typical European style, it has become not so much a closed place, but a tourist attraction where people come to kill demons and find themselves.

In typical European style, it has become not so much a closed place as a tourist attraction where people come to kill demons and ‘find themselves’.

The first thing that stands out about the game is the stunning cel-shaded art style, which gives the beautiful landscapes a bright look.

In between dungeon crawling, you can chat with the locals, go to the movies, or visit the local bar. This is part of the game’s social links system, similar to the Persona series.

The more time you spend with people, the more your qualities of Fame, Entertainment, Familiarity and Relaxation will increase, allowing you to undertake more activities.

While it makes sense to have something to work towards, you often can’t do side quests if one of the attributes isn’t at a certain level, making it unnecessarily restrictive.

The first area of ​​the Dungeons of Hinterberg.

Since the game has a day and night cycle, you can explore the 25 dungeons in four areas during the day, while at night you can let loose and socialize.

Fortunately, you are not obligated to anything. If you just want to relax and spend the afternoon enjoying the view, you can.

magical powers

When it comes to killing demons, your arsenal is somewhat limited. You start out with a basic sword, but you can purchase better weapons and armor at your local sporting goods store.

You have a basic light attack (X button) and a heavy attack (Y button), but what really makes it special are the conduit attacks. These are performed by pressing the R2 button and one of the face buttons.

They can be fun to use, such as by crashing them down and creating a shockwave that knocks enemies over, or by using a tornado ability that has Luisa spin around and slash her sword into her enemies.

The other wild card is the magical powers. These are different for each of the four areas you visit.

One of the powers lets you summon a bomb, while another area lets you turn your sword into a snowboard, which lets you ride on rails around the mountain.

One of the powers lets you summon a bomb, while another area lets you turn your sword into a snowboard, which lets you ride on rails around the mountain.

Every time you enter a new area, you have to visit the Skill Shrine to collect the powers of that area. It prevents the game from becoming boring, because you never know what you are going to get.

The ingenious thing about these powers is that they fit wonderfully into the dungeon crawling itself, each of them revolving around puzzles that use the powers.

Battle in the dungeons of Hinterberg.

In one of the dungeons you use your magic ball and chain to throw and hold jelly lumps, when you pull them they act as switches that you have to use in the right order to go to the next area.

Another one is covered with tracks used for a minecart, you can drive over it to find the right route to complete the dungeon.

Tourist trap

The puzzles can be confusing at first, but if you play around with your skills, you will eventually find the right solution. If you are the type of person who gets frustrated by puzzles, this game is definitely not for you.

It makes sense that the game would focus more on the puzzles, since the combat isn’t deep or satisfying enough to carry the game.

Fortunately, the story picks up a lot of slack and touches on many current themes. Luisa is a very relatable character, as you can understand how she has become disillusioned by the isolation of modern life.

When you talk to locals, you hear that they are concerned about the fact that tourists are taken into account more than the locals themselves.

There are also many false promises from investors about regenerating areas that never materialised. Two teenagers you can talk to hang out outside a proposed five-star hotel that never quite materialised.

Dunegons of Hinterburg is an overall fun experience with a lot to tell, but it’s one that relies too much on powers and skills rather than a truly rewarding combat system.

Our score: 7/10

Platformer for Dungeons of Hinterberg.