Dungeons of Hinterberg

Dungeons of Hinterberg is an action role-playing video game developed by Microbird Games and published by Curve Games. Taking place in the fictional town of Hinterberg in the Austrian Alps, the game also features elements commonly found in dungeon crawling games and social simulation games. The game was released for Windows PC and Xbox Series X/S in July 2024.

Gameplay
Dungeons of Hinterberg is an action role-playing video game played from a third-person perspective. In the game, the player character, Luisa, has the ability to use both weapons and magic against her enemies. The player character crawls through dungeons and fights monsters. Every one of the 25 dungeons in the games has unique mechanics. Along with the combat sections, there also social simulation segments too, where Luisa can befriend the villagers of Hinterburg, which can lead to perks that give her advantages in battle.

Plot
The plot revolves around Luisa, a law student who came to the town of Hinterberg in the Austrian alps as a vacation. Hinterberg has attracted tourists and thrillseekers after magical creatures and dungeons appear in the outskirts of the town mysteriously.

Development and release
Dungeons of Hinterberg was developed by Swiss studio Microbird Games and published by Curve Games. Development of the game began in 2020, and it was Microbird's debut title. The social simulation gameplay was inspired by Persona, while the town of Hinterberg itself was inspired by Helstadt.

The game was officially announced in June 2023. A limited playtest went between May 9 to 23, originally meant to last only a week but increased to two thanks to positive reception. The game was released on July 18, 2024, for PC and the Xbox Series X and Series S. It went on Xbox Game Pass on day one of its release.

Reception
Dungeons of Hinterberg has an average score of 82 on Metacritic, giving it "Generally Favorable" reviews.. PC Gamer gave it a score of 84/100, calling it "satisfyingly complex". Eurogamer gave it a score of 4 out of 5 stars. PCGamesN gave it 9/10, praising its plot, graphics, and dungeon design.