Dungeons of Hinterberg, a single-player mix of action-RPG and social sim set in the Austrian Alps, blends hack-and-slash action RPG gameplay with social elements, allowing players to battle monstrous creatures from Alpine myths, explore dungeons, and forge friendships. 

Armed with a sword and a tourist guide, explore the beautiful alpine village of Hinterberg and uncover the magic hidden within its dungeons. Master magic, solve puzzles and slay monsters; all this and more await you in Hinterberg. Prepare to go on a vacation to a modern-day village in the Austrian Alps, but instead of hiking or skiing, you’ll be slaying monsters, hunting for loot and solving puzzles. 25 magical dungeons have recently appeared around Hinterberg, and monster slaying has become a major tourist attraction, drawing adventurers from all over the world to the small village.

In the small Austrian village of Hinterberg, a tourist destination with lush scenery, crisp mountain air, and magical dungeons full of Alpine mythical monsters, adventurers from all over the world come to complete the Dungeon Challenge, find epic loot and hang out at Hinterberg's famous apres-slay bar. Players can explore dungeons, solve puzzles, slay huge bosses - then have a Schnitzel with the locals and other slayers from around the globe. Building deep relationships can unlock special abilities and give players key items, helping them find their way through a daunting dungeon.

"With Hinterberg, our goal is to create a truly special place to explore: From the stylized art to the modern but fantastic alpine setting, Dungeons of Hinterberg takes you on a unique vacation jam-packed with monster-slaying and puzzle solving." said Regina Reisinger, Microbird Co-Founder.

Inspired by the real glaciers in the Alps, Dungeons of Hinterberg’s Glacier overworld offers a unique and playful experience of magical snowboarding, exploration, combat, and discovery, with hidden secrets, adventures, and rewards.

The Glacier overworld is non-linear and requires players to solve puzzles, complete challenges, and revisit the area at different points. Like other overworlds, the gameplay is affected by the social dynamics in Hinterberg, as players build their reputation and connections to access new places and meet new NPCs.

Microbird Games Co-Founder and Art Director Regina Reisinger reveals more more details on the icy overworld, how players can build rep, and monsters… so many monsters.

The overworlds are an integral part of your holiday in Hinterberg: every day of your vacation starts with a hearty breakfast, and then it’s time to decide which of the overworlds you want to visit today. Overworlds are distinct, mid-sized areas around Hinterberg, and are all inspired by real Austrian landscapes and biomes. They all hold ample opportunity and space to explore, fight monsters, discover some secrets, or just sit down in a beautiful spot and meditate for a day.

There are four visually distinct overworlds that all offer their own flavor of magic as well. If you feel like a relaxing hike, why not go to the lush green mountain meadows of Doberkogel? Are you in a more serene mood? Consider visiting Hinterwald, a picturesque forest where you can walk between tall trees and little streamlets, while spotting some deer in the distance. Or if you want to cool down, you could take the cable car up to Kolmstein, a glacier that is covered in snow and ice all year round.

The glacier is an overworld that is very dear to our hearts, and one that was a lot of fun to design.  It is the third overworld that will become available in the game, and it switches up how we handle movement, by providing Luisa and the players with a magic hoverboard skill. We really wanted to capture the amazing feeling that you get in real life when skiing or snowboarding down a wide-open slope full of snow, surrounded by mountains and a view that goes on for miles. We used Unity’s terrain system, mixed with some manually built parts, so we could create exactly the kind of exploration experience that we imagined.

The hoverboard is one of the two magic skills unique to the glacier, and probably the one players will use the most. Zipping along the snowy landscape at a dizzying pace, grinding along magical rails and trying to complete challenging slalom courses are just some of the fun things you can do with this skill. And of course, it comes in handy in combat as well, where you can use it to knock over enemies and draw a flaming barrier behind you. The second skill is a magical light ray that can be used to solve puzzles, hit enemies, or manipulate your environment. Combining both – grinding along a rail while zapping enemies or targets around you – is lots of fun as well.

The glacier overworld is actually one where we took a lot of inspiration from the real world. The Alps are known for their glaciers, where you can experience a wintery landscape all year round: even in summer, you might only be a cable car ride away from a mountaintop covered in ice and snow. This makes a glacier kind of a special and magical place in and of itself. Unfortunately, the changing climate has become a danger for these biomes as well. That’s another reason why it was important to us to try and capture that unique flair and feeling; to share it with players and hopefully make them appreciate this unique biome as much as we do!

The glacier overworld has a very non-linear, playful feeling to it. You can overlook much of the biome from your first vantage point, but reaching and getting access to all these areas, and the dungeon portals hidden there, is not as easy. Players will need to explore, puzzle, complete challenges, and revisit the overworld at different points throughout the game. We are very excited for players to discover all these spots, and are looking forward to seeing how they approach navigating this special overworld – be it on a magical hoverboard or on foot.

Most of the socializing takes place in the village of Hinterberg, your home base that you return to every evening. That does not mean that you won’t need any help from your friends and connections when it comes to navigating the overworlds, though! Some places might only be accessible to you if you have a good enough reputation around Hinterberg, or a powerful friend to give you a leg up. And occasionally you might even meet a friend in the middle of a snowy slope, who might give you some rewards for teaching them a lesson in hoverboarding!

 

Key Features:

• 25 Dungeons, each with either combat, puzzle or boss fight focus
• 20+ enemy types and numerous bosses
• 4 visually distinct world locations with 5-7 dungeons each
• 10+ unique locations to hang out in Hinterberg
• 20+ locals and residents to interact with and forge relationships
• Explore the Alps: Snowboard down a glacier, zipline through the forest, climb a mountain, or have a coffee by the lake... There’s no shortage of places to discover while you’re out looking for your next dungeon.
• Slay in Style: Monsters lurk around every corner in Hinterberg, and your sword and magic skills are essential for keeping them at bay. Harness the wind, conjure a snowboard out of thin air, or freeze your enemies in a jelly block.
• Solve Your Way Out: Braving a dungeon requires more than just cutting-edge sports gear and a good sword arm: Hinterberg’s dungeons are full of puzzles that will surprise and challenge you. Use your head, your magic skills, and every trick in the book to solve them.
• Meet the Locals: Spend your nights forging friendships with the locals and other adventurers. Some of them will help you get stronger or teach you new tricks, others are just here for excitement and selfies… But good relationships don't just make your stay more memorable - they're the key to becoming a better slayer.

Dungeons of Hinterland is coming to the PC and Xbox Series X|S in 2024.