Dungeons of Hinterberg review

Our VerdictDungeons of Hinterberg is a beautiful puzzler—and a satisfying riff on the Austrian tourist economy.

Our Verdict

Dungeons of Hinterberg is a beautiful puzzler—and a satisfying riff on the Austrian tourist economy.

PC Gamer’s got your backOur experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you.Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

Need to KnowWhat is it?A holiday in someone else’s fantasy.Release dateJuly 18, 2024DeveloperMicrobird GamesPublisherCurve GamesReviewed onWindows 11, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS, 16GB RAMLinkOfficial site

Need to Know

What is it?A holiday in someone else’s fantasy.Release dateJuly 18, 2024DeveloperMicrobird GamesPublisherCurve GamesReviewed onWindows 11, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS, 16GB RAMLinkOfficial site

Of course, once Luisa arrives in Hinterberg, it becomes clear that things won’t be that simple. Shortly after she arrives Hinterberg suffers a major earthquake, and rumors begin to circulate that it’s the volatile—and heavily exploited—magic that’s endangering the village. Louisa’s in town for a vacation, but as she meets the locals, socializes with other tourists, and does her own investigating, she begins to agree that there’s more to the glamorous local economy than meets the eye. She’ll still explore the dungeons, of course, but between excursions it’s the reality of the village and its magical industry that becomes paramount, and Dungeons of Hinterberg does an excellent job of striking a balance between Luisa’s search for meaning and the larger story of the town.

My time as Luisa was split into strict time blocks. Morning she eats breakfast, afternoon she completes a dungeon or relaxes at a scenic spot, evening she explores the town and socializes, and at night she can read, watch TV, or head straight to bed. How she chooses to spend her time influences four stats—familiarity, renown, relaxation, and amusement—which become a bit of a balancing act but never prove too challenging to keep in check. I tended to be overfamiliar but unamused, which meant I had to spend a few evenings binging reality TV in order to gain access to certain NPCs.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a puzzler—my tolerance for frustration is about the same as that of an eight-year-old, and too many moving parts makes brain feel bad—but I found myself not just solving the puzzles but enjoying them. The difficulty curve is very approachable, and the limited magic skills mean that it’s not a question of what to do but how to do it. I was rarely too challenged, but when I did find myself genuinely confused as to what to do next it just made the eventual stroke of inspiration more rewarding.

(Image credit: Curve Games)

An autumnal forest.

(Image credit: Curve Games)

Giant spiders attack.

The second half of every day is reserved for social activities. Though this Persona-like setup is deceptively simple—choose a character to spend your evening with and receive stat buffs/new abilities/extra scenes—it feels remarkably close to the actual social experience of being a tourist in a fairly small town meeting the people around you. There are locals and tourists, influencers and slayers, eager dungeoneers and cynical teenagers. Everyone has their own relationship with Hinterberg and their own reasons for being there, which makes for a richer setting than if every NPC was focused only on their relationship with Luisa. Like her, they’re just passing through, looking for whatever it is they came to Hinterberg to find. The cast of characters doesn’t just serve as a mechanic, but integrates Luisa beautifully into the town itself.

(Image credit: Curve Games)

The Tourist Information office is closed.

The result of this is a game that’s satisfyingly complex despite its outward simplicity. The strict time division of the days allows for a comfortable balance between social elements and exploration, and combat’s occasional monotony is easy to ignore with so many fun puzzles and beautiful environments. The choice to set it in Austria, in a fantastical version of our real world, means that when the story approaches more serious topics like commercialization or burnout there’s no whiplash.

Even when Luisa is hoverboarding her way down a mountainside or riding a whirlwind across the river it feels rooted in an experience we’ve all had—she’s out there because she felt lost and needed to find herself. Like all good art, it comes from a place that’s real—and tosses a bit of magic in.

The Verdict84Read our review policyDungeons of HinterbergDungeons of Hinterberg is a beautiful puzzler—and a satisfying riff on the Austrian tourist economy.

The Verdict

84Read our review policyDungeons of HinterbergDungeons of Hinterberg is a beautiful puzzler—and a satisfying riff on the Austrian tourist economy.

84Read our review policy

Dungeons of HinterbergDungeons of Hinterberg is a beautiful puzzler—and a satisfying riff on the Austrian tourist economy.

Dungeons of Hinterberg

Dungeons of Hinterberg is a beautiful puzzler—and a satisfying riff on the Austrian tourist economy.

More about dungeons of hinterbergDespite its magic and monsters, Dungeons of Hinterberg’s developers ‘wanted to show a real place’ that could explore ‘all the layers’ of overtourismDespite its relaxing pastels and quaint mountain village, Dungeons of Hinterberg is pushing against the confines of cozy gamesLatestMSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to affordSee more latest►

More about dungeons of hinterberg

Despite its magic and monsters, Dungeons of Hinterberg’s developers ‘wanted to show a real place’ that could explore ‘all the layers’ of overtourismDespite its relaxing pastels and quaint mountain village, Dungeons of Hinterberg is pushing against the confines of cozy games

Dungeons of Hinterberg

Despite its magic and monsters, Dungeons of Hinterberg’s developers ‘wanted to show a real place’ that could explore ‘all the layers’ of overtourism

Is Dungeons of Hinterberg a cozy game?

Despite its relaxing pastels and quaint mountain village, Dungeons of Hinterberg is pushing against the confines of cozy games

LatestMSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to affordSee more latest►

Latest

MSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk WIFI PZ

MSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

See more latest►

Most PopularTurtle Beach Stealth Pivot reviewIkea Matchspel gaming chair reviewASRock DeskMini X600 reviewZotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C reviewMinisforum AtomMan G7 Ti reviewSamsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra reviewNoctua NH-D15 G2 reviewGulikit KK3 Max reviewBallionaire reviewMarvel Rivals reviewBe Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review

Most Popular

Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot review

Ikea Matchspel gaming chair review

ASRock DeskMini X600 review

Zotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C review

Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti review

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra review

Noctua NH-D15 G2 review

Gulikit KK3 Max review

Ballionaire review

Marvel Rivals review

Be Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Our Verdict#

Our Verdict