Today, I’m excited to talk about Dungeons of Hinterberg, a unique game that combines action RPG elements by day and a social sim by night. A huge thanks to Curve Games for giving us an early access key, allowing us to have this review ready for release.
Dungeons of Hinterberg offers a fresh twist on dungeon crawling with 25 unique dungeons to conquer. These dungeons vary in focus—some are centered around combat and boss fights, while others emphasize puzzles. It’s not all about fighting; you’ll find a balanced mix that keeps the gameplay interesting.
In the evenings and mornings, you have the freedom to choose your activities. You can explore the world, engage in social interactions, or take on more dungeon challenges. This dual gameplay mechanic adds a rich layer of depth to the experience.
Now, let’s talk about performance. I was a bit surprised that Dungeons of Hinterberg received a verified status for the Steam Deck because the performance can be quite inconsistent and jerky. Although it works right out of the box, the frame rate and frame times are all over the place, particularly during combat scenarios and world exploration. The game defaults to the highest quality settings, which look fantastic, but the frame rate often drops from 60 FPS to the 30s, making for a jerky experience. There’s no chance of hitting 90 FPS on the OLED screen, even with adjustments.
Combat in the game is engaging, with plenty of skills and special abilities to mix and match. However, the frame rate issues persist, especially in more intense battles. To improve stability, I recommend tweaking a few settings: lower the outline quality and skinning quality to low while keeping everything else at high. Turning off V Sync helps too. Locking the frame rate isn’t ideal because it only offers 30 or 60 FPS options, neither of which suit this game well.
By making these adjustments, the game becomes more stable, though it still dips into the 40s during heavy load sections. A major tip for saving battery life and improving stability is to cap the frame rate at 45 FPS. While there's a bug with external screens not reflecting this cap, it does help reduce power consumption significantly on the Steam Deck itself, bringing the wattage down to around 15 watts, which saves about 5 to 6 watts. For the best experience, set it to 45 FPS on the OLED or 40 FPS on the LCD screen. This setup makes the game much smoother and more enjoyable.
I also tested the game on Xbox Game Pass, but unfortunately, there’s no cross-save functionality between Game Pass and Steam. If you plan to play the game across both platforms, you’ll have to stick with one to keep your progress.
Dungeons of Hinterberg is a rich and immersive game with many aspects to explore. You can level up your abilities, choose to relax at a spa, or rest at spots if you don’t want to tackle a dungeon during the day. The game’s blend of action and social simulation offers a lot to sink your teeth into.
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