Trüberbrook is billed as a indie, sci-fi mystery adventure game which began on Kickstarter.  It is developed by BTF  — a former collective of art students from Cologne and Berlin, Germany.  The game was crowdfunded and reached its goal on Kickstarter within only 30 hours, amassing over $200,000 in total.  Read more about it in this Trüberbrook Review.

Developer: BTF
Publisher: Headup
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Released (PC, Mac, Linux): March 12th, 2019 / (PS4, Xbox One, Switch) – April 17th, 2019
Copy provided by publisher

Germany – 1967.  American scientist Hans Tannhauser wins a lottery to vacation in the remote village of Trüberbrook.  Expecting some rest and relaxation, he gets more than he bargains for.



First impressions of the game is marveling at the hand-crafted scenery which creates a unique aesthetic and style.  The sets are finely detailed and combined together, it successfully gives character to Trüberbrook village.  Which is important because the desolate town doesn’t introduce many characters at first.  Hans Tannhauser – the main character – decides to sleep the night and an event happens which kicks things off.

Tannhauser will soon follow a trail that takes him to different areas of Trüberbrook (set pieces), which spans five chapters.  Without spoiling anything, the story doesn’t pick up the pace until the latter half of the game.  Chapter 2 could be omitted completely, for instance.  In the meanwhile, there is not much opportunity for the player to learn about or relate to our main character.  Tannhauser speaks aloud about the surrounding environment, and also into his recorder to a person named Beverly.



Later on when the town is filled with more people, Tannhauser can have more direct interactions with these eccentric characters.  Unfortunately, with the exception of one or two — the majority of the townsfolk are absent of any personality.  They resemble more like amusement park automatons.  I would have liked to seen them at least walking around the town, to give it the illusion of bustle and energy.

The gameplay is your typical point-and-click adventure.  It reminds me of King’s Quest (2015), but less whimsical.  You collect items along the way to complete puzzles and progress through roadblocks.  The puzzles in this game rely less on logic, and more on player exploration.  In many cases, you’ll find an item and have no idea what it’s used for.

Once you assume you are onto something, it will turn out that you need a combination of the proper items.  And you have no clue about where to find it.  Maybe there’s a random character that you’ll need to find in a previously visited area that shows up unexpectedly.  Exploring each of the set pieces is key to solving the puzzles.

The voicework for the most part is serviceable.  It’s good when Tannhauser speaks into his voice recorder.  But it sounds off and unnatural when characters make comments about the surrounding environmental objects.  Trüberbrook seems to have it’s own weird kind of humor that was a bit lost on me.  It’s as if the game needed a laugh track.  An example would be certain lines of joke dialogue you could choose from.  Hans would be able to answer a question with various dialogue options, and some of them would be attempts at being comical.

However, the NPC characters don’t react in any way to the answers, and continue with their scripted lines.  This made it feel that the question itself was disposable and inconsequential — there’s no point in choosing any particular answer when the response is completely ignored.  There is also some scenes I felt that were inside jokes or references to something — perhaps to the kickstarter backers or those who have been following this game more closely.  One scene breaks the 4th wall, and I felt nothing about it but lost.

I completed the initial playthrough in just under 6 hours.  This is with me examining every interactive prompt, and listened to all dialogue options.  It may take you more time depending on your pace to solve the puzzles.  You can also spend a bit more time unlocking the achievements.  A bit of warning — the game doesn’t seem to have a chapter selection option, so you must replay the entire game from the start.



I played through the game on PC with an Xbox controller, which currently has an issue (v 1.07).  While interacting with a puzzle, I have not been able to select specific items.  You need to use the mouse for this.

PC Game Saves are located here for backup:
C:\Users\YOUR_USER\AppData\LocalLow\BTF\Truberbrook

Trüberbrook’s standout feature is obviously in it’s digitized miniature models which creates a unique looking game.  The story and characters themselves never really captivated.  I wish I could say Hans Tannhauser had the charm to make me wish for his return, but I’d be lying.  I’d like to see what BTF can do with a deeper script and more memorable personalities.  They nailed the setting, they just need a stronger cast.

There is a lot to critique in this game, and I am often reminding myself that this is an indie game which was funded on Kickstarter.  The expected standards of what is acceptable is up to the individual.  A more discerning gamer may find this title lacking, but it could be a decent option for a child (there is a all-age friendly ‘kids mode’).  As it is, Trüberbrook is fills the bill as a nice chill-out game.

Review Score: 6.5 / 10

This Trüberbrook Review was written after having played through the game twice.