I don’t like dungeon crawlers. I don’t like environmental puzzles. I don’t like hearing people trying to convince me these games are good. I get that they’re good for other people; they’re just not usually good for me. And YET, years ago, fellow writer-editors David Silbert and Sam Martinelli told me many times that Dungeons of Hinterberg, developed by Microbird Games and released in 2024, was excellent and that I should give it a try. Luckily, it wasn’t on any platforms I had at the time, so I had an easy out.
Still, their positive praise of the game stuck with me. So, when I saw Dungeons of Hinterberg was 70% off during Steam’s Summer Sale (on sale through Thursday, July 9, and a steal at $6.89), I snagged it for my Steam Deck. Over the past few weeks of playing, I’ve finally gained an appreciation for what other players have been talking about with games like the Legend of Zelda series and Persona 5.
Enjoy Your Slay
In Dungeons of Hinterberg, players take on the role of Luisa, a burnt-out lawyer from Vienna who is on vacation in a small alpine town that has had magical caves spring up in the surrounding mountains. “Slaying” magical demons has become a massive tourism industry, and Luisa is one of many wielding a sword on her vacation. Each dungeon has a mix of combat and environmental puzzles that require using magical powers to navigate them successfully.
In a clever twist, each of the four main areas comes with different magical powers that are active only in that area. The player has two magical skills per region: One usually involves movement of some kind, while the other involves activating something (e.g., an explosive). These skills are different, but not impossibly so in that they’re too difficult to manage.
The choice of variable magical skills forces both the game designer and player to try new things. Just as I was getting used to a tornado power in one land, I was forced to learn a giant gelatinous cube power in another. At first, I felt fussy, annoyed that I was being taken out of my comfort zone. But as I kept diving back into the carefully articulated levels, I came to appreciate the sense of play that comes with changing things up.
Luisa levels up as a slayer over the course of the game, and so I frequently had to go back and forth between the four different areas. More difficult levels often opened up with an easy task to remind me of how to best use the magical powers for that region, which I regularly forgot as the game went on. I loved this thoughtful touch, and I could see the care that the developers put in throughout.
See the Caves!
In Dungeons of Hinterberg, I really admired the little touches a level designer had clearly thought to do, like hiding resources in this particular frozen nook, should I go traipsing around looking for something. In another level, right at the beginning, I’d see a treasure chest through a wall of stalagmites with no way to get to it, which only increased my desire to discover the optional paths to find it. In another level still, there might be a snowman with a top hat smiling at me right as I get to the end.
Part of the reason I don’t like dungeon-crawling games normally is that I get claustrophobic and bored. I get frustrated with backtracking in metroidvanias, feeling like I’m always stuck or getting lost.1 But in Dungeons of Hinterberg, I could really admire the forward-moving momentum of each dungeon. I almost felt like I could point to which levels were designed by the same developer because there were so different and unique in style.
For example, a set of dungeons were particularly interested in perspective. In one level, the entire gameplay was played from a fixed isometric perspective as compared to the usual third-person over-the-shoulder. In another, M.C. Escher-like walls could be changed and rearranged.
Each dungeon asked me to figure things out with its given logic. I loved that the environments were different enough visually (a woodsy forest versus a snowboarding space island) to keep my focus. The variance of the player’s skill set was exciting, forcing me to keep trying different things. The game made me feel like I was smart by figuring things out.
There was only one dungeon I had to look up a guide for, and it was the fourth dungeon I did. It annoyed me so much that I almost gave up on the game. However, I was determined (in no small part because Sam and David liked it so much… and because I’m playing it as part of our summer backlog challenge) to finish it, and I’m glad I did.
Dungeons of Hinterberg, in addition to having fun dungeons to solve, also features a strong central story, a well-written protagonist, and a fun cast of characters to befriend. Because the story was strong, I do wish there were more environmental storytelling hidden within Hinterberg’s dungeons. The game feels pretty cleanly bifurcated into fighting/puzzling your way through regions/dungeons and socializing in town. Still, I decided to embrace this as a feature (rather than a shortcoming) and simply focused on whatever activity best fit my mood for the moment — not too dissimilar to Luisa’s approach for vacation!
Keep on Crawling
Dungeons of Hinterberg feels just right in terms of indie scale. It is a hefty game but it is not overwhelming, and it perfectly fit in with my “Big Game, Little Game, Repeat” methodology. (Next up: 007 First Light!)
It’s clear that Microbird knew what they set out to do with the dungeons, and I was impressed at how much I liked the experience. I don’t think I’ll be in the mood to do another dungeon-crawling game any time soon, but I “get it” now.
I, like Luisa, became more confident as the game went on and more invested in completing all 25 dungeons. Instead of it being a chore to do a dungeon, I found it an exciting mystery: What will be on the other side of the next glowing door?
Dungeons of Hinterberg, developed by Microbird Games and published by Curve Games, was released in 2024 and is available on PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox Series X/S. MSRP: $22.99.
- Interestingly, developers Regina Reisinger and Philipp Seifried created their studio, Microbird Games, during the COVID-19 lockdown… I can really see that desire to break free and get out and explore in this game! ↩︎
Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, solve mysteries, punch bad guys, play as a cool lady, and/or have a good cry. She started writing with The Punished Backlog in 2020 and became an Editor in 2022. Amanda also does a lot of the site's graphic designs and podcast editing. Amanda's work has been published in Mothership, Unwinnable Monthly, Poets.org, Salt Hill Journal, and more. She holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of Pittsburgh. Learn more about her writing, visual art, graphic design, and marketing work at www.amandatien.com.
