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Dungeons of Hinterberg is the first game in a while that I've added to my Steam favorites list.
First of all, there is a dog in the game. You eventually get to name the dog, from a list of a dozen or two choices. One of the choices was "Barclay." My first thought when I saw that was to think of Reginald Barclay from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, but then I was like... nah, they probably meant it more in a pun-like way. You know, "Barklay," or something. In any case, that was the name I picked for the dog. Then, when I finished the game and the credits played, one of the credits was for "Lieutenant Barclay - Studio Dog." So... I was right all along.
Now, for all the much less important stuff.
Okay, so, the game itself is sort of a mix between a (3D) Legend of Zelda-style dungeon crawling game, but also with some relationship things sort of like the "Social Links" in the later Persona games. That's the overall feel of the game.
For the Zelda-like side of the game, there are (an advertised) 25 dungeons to complete. The first few "level 1" dungeons are fairly short and simple, but they get progressively longer and more complex as you go through the later ones. Besides the main town (the titular Hinterberg) and its Beginner Dungeon, there are four main overworld areas/biomes that are unlocked as the game progresses, each with five to seven dungeons per area. In each overworld, you gain access to two magic spells. These spells are only usable in the area you get them, and they are used both for combat and for puzzle solving. (You have a magic/mana meter, but it only depletes during combat.) There's a fair amount of both of those, as each dungeon is about half-and-half for fighting monsters and solving increasingly complex puzzles. If you've played any of the 3D Legend of Zelda games from Ocarina of Time and onward, then you know sort of what you're getting into with this game. That said, some of the later dungeons can be pretty out there, as far as level design goes (think Super Mario Galaxy or maybe even M. C. Escher).
For the Persona-like side of the game, there are a bunch of characters that you can meet and talk to over the course of the game. Befriending these characters gets you perks like items or abilities, but it's cool to talk to everyone simply because they have their own stories that unfold over several encounters with them.
(EDIT) Forgot to mention, one minor gripe I had with the game is that it forces you to go to one of the four dungeon-overworld areas every day. I wish that there had been a "just stay in town today" option, especially later on, when I was focusing on the relationship stuff. Sure, you can just go to one of the scenic spots or even just turn right around and get back on the bus/tram/whatever as soon as you arrive, but it's still a bit bothersome. That said, some of the relationship things actually require you to go to one of the four areas to do, though usually the character will walk up to you in the morning and tell you where they'll be (and you don't necessarily have to go to that area on that same day). (/EDIT)
There's also a fairly decent overall story, too. You play as Louisa Dorfer, a lawyer who's sick of the rat race and has come to Hinterberg for a vacation to recharge. As early as the Beginner Dungeon, strange things start to occur in Hinterberg, and it only gets more involved from there. That's about all I'll say about the main story.
The overall setting is modern day. For instance, there are people complaining about having no Internet access due to magic screwing it up, some of the "slayers" debating whether it's ethical to look up dungeon spoilers on the Internet (and then print them out and bring them with them when they come to Hinterberg, because there's no Internet there), and some of the slayers being literal streamers/"influencers" making videos (and they have to leave town far enough to get Internet signal in order to upload them), etc. Hinterberg itself seems to be a mostly older town, both in look and sensibilities. Some of the locals really don't appreciate all the tourism that magic and the dungeons have brought to their town, while others love it (and exploit the hell out of it).
Pay no attention to the day counter. At first, I thought it was actually going to be like the Persona games (from P3 onward) where there was only a limited number of days in which to do everything and that you could miss a bunch of stuff, which would have sucked, but there isn't. There's no time limit at all, which is nice. You can complete pretty much everything in a single playthrough. I did. I had finished all but the final dungeon by day 35 (because I repeated a few dungeons and did a few non-dungeon days of just sitting around at one of the "Scenic Spots" on the overworld areas), but it wasn't until day 70 or so that I actually went to that final dungeon and finished the game, after doing the rest.
There's a new game-plus option to play through it again, after the first playthrough, but I haven't messed with that at all, so I don't know what all you get to keep from the previous time through.
Oh, and in addition to the main game, there is also a separate DLC prequel episode (that came free with my version of the game) which has one of the other characters you meet in the main game as the player character. It's much shorter than the main game, but still pretty cool. Basically, there's no social component at all (which makes sense given which character it is), and there are only sevendungeonsrifts to complete, which are basically the same as the dungeons from the main game, except way shorter, but also way more complex (and more annoying, I found, since that character is far more limited in the stuff he can equip). That's what I had just completed prior to starting on this post. (Steam says 46.4 hours overall.)
And here, of course, is the obligatory soundtrack link that I usually include in posts like this.
Some mild spoilerish hints below.
There is a special coin in a chest somewhere in every dungeon, usually fairly well hidden, which you'll probably want to try to get. This includes the non-repeatable Beginner Dungeon (though if you miss it, that one [and only that one] will be available for purchase at one of the town stores). All the other dungeons are repeatable, though, so if you miss their coins (or any other loot), you can go back on a later day to get it. One specific hint, one of the dungeons hides the coin pretty much right near the very start of the dungeon, before an almost immediate point of no return in that dungeon, so if you miss it, as I did, you'll have to redo that dungeon again from the very start to get the coin, which is kind of annoying. Which dungeon is it, you ask? I'm not going to say. ¬_¬ Anyway, the coins are mostly useless, except that you need them to buy some of the more expensive outfits... which are themselves useless, except for cosmetic purposes. I kept Louisa in the default outfit for the entire game. (There is an achievement for buying all the outfits, if you care about that sort of thing. And, of course, there's an achievement for getting all the coins, too.)
(Speaking of achievement stuff, I did get all of them, but the only one that I almost missed was the one for completing a dungeon while tired. You become "tired" if you watch TV or read a book in the bedroom, rather than going straight to bed, and that will lower the HP you have during the next day. However, the achievement only unlocks if you do this for a dungeon you haven't yet actually completed the first time. It doesn't work for repeats. Which, for me, meant that I did the final dungeon without full HP. Not that that mattered at all, given how almost overpowered I was by the end of the game.)
For the relationship stuff, you can do those in whatever order you want, depending on who's available on any given day, but just from a gameplay perspective, there are a couple I would suggest doing sooner rather than later. First, I would suggest Thea (and David) for the ability to open locked chests. Second, I would suggest Hannah, for all the weapon and armor smith stuff that becomes available from her as you progress through her storyline (and Hannah's storyline will also require you to reach at least first level with three of the five "pro slayers" that you can also befriend). And maybe Klaus, for the ability to de-slime the slimed weapons you occasionally find and to sell to him the literal trash you will find scattered around. And perhaps Marina for the breakfast options. And you have to get at least first level friendship with the dog in order to even get to one of the dungeons at all. In any case, there's a log that shows who gives what, as you go through their storylines.
You need "Hinterbucks" to buy stuff, but... don't worry too much about it. This is one of those games where it might seem like money will be tight at first, but by the end of the game, I had well over a couple million HB. At some point, you'll be able to buy a Charm that increases the amount of drops you get from killing monsters (which are sold to either the Monster Club guys you meet in each of the overworld areas or to the artist guy you meet in town). If you buy some of those and equip them (I had, like, five or six of them equipped at once at one point), you'll get ridiculous amounts of monster parts to sell. (Enough so that the on-screen pop-ups for picking up items can get so far behind that they continue popping up well into the town section of the game after the dungeon of the day or even into the next day, since it only displays three at a time, for a second or two per three.) Even without those things, you'll still find enough money just from the shinies you see on the ground to be able to buy the earlier stuff from the weapons/armor shop (which unlocks progressively more expensive stuff as the game progresses, though depending on who you talk to, there will come a point when even that won't matter much).
So, yes, I would definitely recommend Dungeons of Hinterberg.
The story claims that there is magic and other dungeons elsewhere in the game's world, too, so... maybe there'll be a sequel someday. Fingers crossed.
First of all, there is a dog in the game. You eventually get to name the dog, from a list of a dozen or two choices. One of the choices was "Barclay." My first thought when I saw that was to think of Reginald Barclay from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, but then I was like... nah, they probably meant it more in a pun-like way. You know, "Barklay," or something. In any case, that was the name I picked for the dog. Then, when I finished the game and the credits played, one of the credits was for "Lieutenant Barclay - Studio Dog." So... I was right all along.
Now, for all the much less important stuff.
Okay, so, the game itself is sort of a mix between a (3D) Legend of Zelda-style dungeon crawling game, but also with some relationship things sort of like the "Social Links" in the later Persona games. That's the overall feel of the game.
For the Zelda-like side of the game, there are (an advertised) 25 dungeons to complete. The first few "level 1" dungeons are fairly short and simple, but they get progressively longer and more complex as you go through the later ones. Besides the main town (the titular Hinterberg) and its Beginner Dungeon, there are four main overworld areas/biomes that are unlocked as the game progresses, each with five to seven dungeons per area. In each overworld, you gain access to two magic spells. These spells are only usable in the area you get them, and they are used both for combat and for puzzle solving. (You have a magic/mana meter, but it only depletes during combat.) There's a fair amount of both of those, as each dungeon is about half-and-half for fighting monsters and solving increasingly complex puzzles. If you've played any of the 3D Legend of Zelda games from Ocarina of Time and onward, then you know sort of what you're getting into with this game. That said, some of the later dungeons can be pretty out there, as far as level design goes (think Super Mario Galaxy or maybe even M. C. Escher).
For the Persona-like side of the game, there are a bunch of characters that you can meet and talk to over the course of the game. Befriending these characters gets you perks like items or abilities, but it's cool to talk to everyone simply because they have their own stories that unfold over several encounters with them.
(EDIT) Forgot to mention, one minor gripe I had with the game is that it forces you to go to one of the four dungeon-overworld areas every day. I wish that there had been a "just stay in town today" option, especially later on, when I was focusing on the relationship stuff. Sure, you can just go to one of the scenic spots or even just turn right around and get back on the bus/tram/whatever as soon as you arrive, but it's still a bit bothersome. That said, some of the relationship things actually require you to go to one of the four areas to do, though usually the character will walk up to you in the morning and tell you where they'll be (and you don't necessarily have to go to that area on that same day). (/EDIT)
There's also a fairly decent overall story, too. You play as Louisa Dorfer, a lawyer who's sick of the rat race and has come to Hinterberg for a vacation to recharge. As early as the Beginner Dungeon, strange things start to occur in Hinterberg, and it only gets more involved from there. That's about all I'll say about the main story.
The overall setting is modern day. For instance, there are people complaining about having no Internet access due to magic screwing it up, some of the "slayers" debating whether it's ethical to look up dungeon spoilers on the Internet (and then print them out and bring them with them when they come to Hinterberg, because there's no Internet there), and some of the slayers being literal streamers/"influencers" making videos (and they have to leave town far enough to get Internet signal in order to upload them), etc. Hinterberg itself seems to be a mostly older town, both in look and sensibilities. Some of the locals really don't appreciate all the tourism that magic and the dungeons have brought to their town, while others love it (and exploit the hell out of it).
Pay no attention to the day counter. At first, I thought it was actually going to be like the Persona games (from P3 onward) where there was only a limited number of days in which to do everything and that you could miss a bunch of stuff, which would have sucked, but there isn't. There's no time limit at all, which is nice. You can complete pretty much everything in a single playthrough. I did. I had finished all but the final dungeon by day 35 (because I repeated a few dungeons and did a few non-dungeon days of just sitting around at one of the "Scenic Spots" on the overworld areas), but it wasn't until day 70 or so that I actually went to that final dungeon and finished the game, after doing the rest.
There's a new game-plus option to play through it again, after the first playthrough, but I haven't messed with that at all, so I don't know what all you get to keep from the previous time through.
Oh, and in addition to the main game, there is also a separate DLC prequel episode (that came free with my version of the game) which has one of the other characters you meet in the main game as the player character. It's much shorter than the main game, but still pretty cool. Basically, there's no social component at all (which makes sense given which character it is), and there are only seven
And here, of course, is the obligatory soundtrack link that I usually include in posts like this.
Some mild spoilerish hints below.
There is a special coin in a chest somewhere in every dungeon, usually fairly well hidden, which you'll probably want to try to get. This includes the non-repeatable Beginner Dungeon (though if you miss it, that one [and only that one] will be available for purchase at one of the town stores). All the other dungeons are repeatable, though, so if you miss their coins (or any other loot), you can go back on a later day to get it. One specific hint, one of the dungeons hides the coin pretty much right near the very start of the dungeon, before an almost immediate point of no return in that dungeon, so if you miss it, as I did, you'll have to redo that dungeon again from the very start to get the coin, which is kind of annoying. Which dungeon is it, you ask? I'm not going to say. ¬_¬ Anyway, the coins are mostly useless, except that you need them to buy some of the more expensive outfits... which are themselves useless, except for cosmetic purposes. I kept Louisa in the default outfit for the entire game. (There is an achievement for buying all the outfits, if you care about that sort of thing. And, of course, there's an achievement for getting all the coins, too.)
(Speaking of achievement stuff, I did get all of them, but the only one that I almost missed was the one for completing a dungeon while tired. You become "tired" if you watch TV or read a book in the bedroom, rather than going straight to bed, and that will lower the HP you have during the next day. However, the achievement only unlocks if you do this for a dungeon you haven't yet actually completed the first time. It doesn't work for repeats. Which, for me, meant that I did the final dungeon without full HP. Not that that mattered at all, given how almost overpowered I was by the end of the game.)
For the relationship stuff, you can do those in whatever order you want, depending on who's available on any given day, but just from a gameplay perspective, there are a couple I would suggest doing sooner rather than later. First, I would suggest Thea (and David) for the ability to open locked chests. Second, I would suggest Hannah, for all the weapon and armor smith stuff that becomes available from her as you progress through her storyline (and Hannah's storyline will also require you to reach at least first level with three of the five "pro slayers" that you can also befriend). And maybe Klaus, for the ability to de-slime the slimed weapons you occasionally find and to sell to him the literal trash you will find scattered around. And perhaps Marina for the breakfast options. And you have to get at least first level friendship with the dog in order to even get to one of the dungeons at all. In any case, there's a log that shows who gives what, as you go through their storylines.
You need "Hinterbucks" to buy stuff, but... don't worry too much about it. This is one of those games where it might seem like money will be tight at first, but by the end of the game, I had well over a couple million HB. At some point, you'll be able to buy a Charm that increases the amount of drops you get from killing monsters (which are sold to either the Monster Club guys you meet in each of the overworld areas or to the artist guy you meet in town). If you buy some of those and equip them (I had, like, five or six of them equipped at once at one point), you'll get ridiculous amounts of monster parts to sell. (Enough so that the on-screen pop-ups for picking up items can get so far behind that they continue popping up well into the town section of the game after the dungeon of the day or even into the next day, since it only displays three at a time, for a second or two per three.) Even without those things, you'll still find enough money just from the shinies you see on the ground to be able to buy the earlier stuff from the weapons/armor shop (which unlocks progressively more expensive stuff as the game progresses, though depending on who you talk to, there will come a point when even that won't matter much).
So, yes, I would definitely recommend Dungeons of Hinterberg.
The story claims that there is magic and other dungeons elsewhere in the game's world, too, so... maybe there'll be a sequel someday. Fingers crossed.
