Curve Games
Last summertime ’s Xbox Games Showcase was fill up withso many eye - catching titlesthat I would n’t charge you for forgetting half of them . One title that ’s stayed with me since then , though , isDungeons of Hinterberg . The singular action RPG bear out thanks to its manipulation of the Alps as a background and its bold style that made it attend like a visual novel come to life . It looked like the kind of game I ’d love , but I ’d need to get hand - on to see if it sense the part , too .
Any skepticism I had there was washed aside as soon as I play a slice of it at this twelvemonth ’s Game Developers Conference . The meaty demonstration would show off its silklike tranquil motion , fluid armed combat system of rules , and nonrational puzzle that did n’t do in a moment of my time . With some come to visuals and a shockingly long consort fourth dimension to support those strengths , Dungeons of Hinterbergcould end up being one of this year ’s indie standouts .
Curve Games
While a previous snippet I saw last June showed me a green biome fill up with mossy cave , my hands - on demonstration would drop me onto a snowy mountaintop . I can see why developer Microbird Games would select that biome for this preview , too ; it ’s one that really present off just how cheering every aspect of the adventure is .
First , I ’d get the bent of the basics when I bumped into some folklore - inspired foe . Melee slash and a magical ranged shot would be well-heeled enough to grasp , while an arsenal of extra attainment would make for various option to battle . One particular power would allow me to tunnel under enemies for a short meter , cause terms from below , while another would freeze them in place for a moment . While it ’s stock action RPG combat , every tool mesh together smoothly . It feel like I could chain together all my blast with simpleness , almost dancing my direction through enemies .
That fluidness is present in just about every view of the escapade , and that was specially the case for traversal . In the mountain biome ( one of four in the game ) , pressing the Xbox controller ’s leave bumper calls up a hoverboard . I could glide down snow-white slopes on that , occasionally latching onto a runway and grinding across a scenic backdrop . It feels fantastic , letting me freely wander around the spate and soak in its vivacious empurpled crags .
After a bit of explore ( and trouncing enemies ) , I ’d pop into one of the secret plan ’s titular dungeons . Here , I ’d have to habituate my sorcerous ray electron beam – a power on the right bumper exclusive to that arena – in a number of creative style . I ’d apply it to cut down gargantuan stalactites , creating monumental platforms I could skip across , and later hit three floating eyes to form a bridge . The most cunning role of it come in a mystifier elbow room where I ’d need to pass through a laser grid by shoot far - off button that raised and lowered sure persona of the trading floor . I ’d make it through the snarl with some cagy spatial reasoning , aright put myself while the story was frown so I could pop up to the correct spot .
All of that is easy to convey . What ’s hard to get across is just how instinctive it all felt . There was never a point during my demo where I scratched my head , unsure what to do next . When I saw those stalactite , I course deduced that I could cut them down without a second mentation . Another puzzle would have me move a rotate laser to rear and lower a ascendible wall . The root to that puzzle came to me like it was second nature . Whether in traversal , scrap , or exploration , every moment I spent inDungeons of Hinterbergmelded together naturally .
There ’s still so much to see in the final expiration . I ’d only get a lowly taste of its societal simulation system , heading out to a taproom with an flaky townie who endeavor to learn me how to smile . The world seems like it ’s brimming with upright - natured creative spirit , which it ’ll need , view that Microbird Games anticipates that this will take player 25 to 30 hours to beat . That ’s a long time for an indie of this graduated table , but I do n’t think that ’ll be much of a job . I feel like I could have slid around those raft for hours – and I ’m certain I will whenDungeons of Hinterberglaunches on microcomputer and Xbox this summer .
