Whether the action-RPG Dungeons of Hinterberg can be considered a cozy game depends on the definition. A traditional cozy game would be centered around quaint, repetitive gameplay with relaxing pastel tones that reassure and calm the player. Stardew Valley” for farming, ‘A Short Hike’ for walking, and ‘Dorfromantik’ for tile laying.

Hinterberg's dungeon exploration and monster slaying are a bit unconventional, but both are done while surrounded by a gentle, cartoonish art style. And since a significant portion of the game is devoted to solving puzzles in picturesque environments, comparisons inevitably emerge.

There is no gore in Hinterberg's dungeons, and the violence is stylized and played out against a gooey, inhuman crowd that looks more like creatures from Jeff Smith's Bourne than wild animals. The protagonist Luisa spends her nights making friends, shopping, and wandering around the village. It's a vacation sim where Luisa can relax and get away from the stresses of everyday life in the city. So: open and shut and cozy, right?

But the aspirations of development studio Microbird are not so simple. [Microbird co-founder Philippe Seifried says, “When you run into people you don't like, the label of cozy game may not apply to us. I feel like most cozy games kind of spoil you in this way.” Everyone is nice to you, or even unfriendly, [...]. They are so over-the-top in their grumpiness that you just laugh at them.

In the dungeons of the Hinterberg, the characters do not fit into such simple categories. They include Gertrude, an elderly widow and rich woman who despises the changes the Hinterberg has undergone since she began vacationing there as a young woman, and Thea, a local teen whose attitude is almost rude until she gets to know Louisa.”

Hinterberg's dungeon also broadens the classification of cozy games with its approach to complex topics like tourism, professionalism, and burnout. There is almost a meta-game element: Luisa escapes to the Hinterberg to challenge herself in the dungeon, relax, de-stress, and reassess herself, but life keeps getting in the way. [Says Regina Reisinger, co-founder of Microbird, Inc. Some people make huge profits [from tourism], but if you're a schoolteacher, just because hundreds of tourists pass by every day doesn't mean your life will improve.” [15] [16] This is a surprisingly apt metaphor for cozy gaming as a genre, which has been criticized for romanticizing things like farming, food service, and gig work. The argument is that for a game to be cozy, it must present an idealized version of labor and work that is unilaterally enjoyable, removing the context of the real world and not allowing inconvenience to interfere with the experience. Dungeons of Hinterberg ties these inconveniences into the story of Louisa's vacation and embraces them.

By interrupting the comfortable routine that might define a cozy game, it gives texture and definition to the Hinterberg and still allows Luisa to take a break in the woods when she needs it. And, as my review notes, the film balances these themes with a deft hand.