Xbox achievements “should never be grindy” says Dungeons of Hinterberg dev

You can start adventuring through the Dungeons of Hinterberg achievements today, as, after spending some time on our list of upcoming Game Pass games, the dungeon-filled, monster-slaying action-RPG launches into the service as a day-one addition. We had the chance to chat with the team at Microbird Games, who were kind enough to answer all our questions about the game’s achievements, their design process, and their thoughts on what makes for an ideal achievement list — check it all out below, in our interview about Dungeons of Hinterberg’s Xbox achievements!

Microbird Games says “It’s much better to ask the player to do something interesting once, than to have them do something mundane many times.”

“We believe that achievements shouldn’t rely on the player having to replay the game over and over — even if it’s very hard, the player should at least in theory be able to unlock every achievement in a single playthrough,” Microbird Games says. We recently spoke to developer Skaule, who shared similar sentiments about how Magical Delicacy offers Xbox achievements you can earn in one playthrough.

“So achievements can’t be mutually exclusive — for example, there shouldn’t be an achievement for completing Dungeons of Hinterberg in 25 days if there are other achievements that will require the player to stay for longer than that,” Microbird Games continues. The info shared about Dungeons of Hinterberg before launch did mention a “25 dungeons in 25 days” challenge, so it’s good to see that there won’t be an achievement tied to that which locks you out of doing other things, and having the freedom to spend some days just relaxing or exploring.

“There’s a very minor change in the ending that’s tied to how much time the player takes in the game… But ultimately we really want players to decide for themselves how they want to approach their stay in Hinterberg. It’s absolutely valid to stay for as long as you enjoy it and finish every storyline with every character if that’s what you like,” Microbird Games says.

“We believe achievements are a great opportunity to entice players to explore the game and its systems and engage with parts of it that they might otherwise not touch but might end up having fun with,” Microbird Games continues. “A hardcore player who is visiting Hinterberg for the dungeons or the monster slaying might not try buying gifts for the NPCs in the village. But with an achievement tied to that, they might find out that the characters they hang out with give something useful back, if they receive a great gift. We also think achievements should never be grindy — maybe unless they’re about something that the player is doing anyway. It’s much better to ask the player to do something interesting once, than to have them do something mundane many times.”

Dungeons of Hinterberg is out today with Xbox Game Pass. We had the chance to get started early with a code from the publisher, and had a blast — check out what we thought in our Dungeons of Hinterberg first impressions! Thanks again to the development team, and if you’re looking for more info on the game, be sure to keep an eye out for our upcoming interview too.