Trüberbrook

The science fiction adventure with hand-drawn settings Trüberbrook is free, 100% free to keep — for Windows, Linux and Mac — in a time-limited GOG’s giveaway offer! Go get it! Trüberbrook can normally cost US$29.99!

Trüberbrook is an independent science fiction adventure set in an alternative version of Germany during the height of the Cold War that features hand-drawn scenarios. It was developed by btf and initially released on March 12, 2019.

Published by Headup and available for Windows, Linux, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS and Android, Trüberbrook was generally received average to good by critics. Furthermore, it has thousands of slightly positive reviews on Steam and is rated 3.2/5 on GOG, at least so far.

You can get the game here!

Trailer

About the game

Trüberbrook is a thrilling mystery-sci-fi adventure game with handmade scenery where you’ll enjoy a vacation to a 1960’s parallel universe!

Imagine yourself on a vacation to Europe in the late sixties. Now, picture yourself as a young American scientist; Hans Tannhauser. Yes, that’s your name in this scenario. While you’re at it, think of Trüberbrook, a remote village in rural, mountain-sloped and densely forested cold-war Germany. Because, that’s where you somehow end up after hitting the continent. But who cares, you won the trip in a lottery! Or at least, that’s how it seems.

But, don’t fear, instead of getting some rest, you could find yourself having to save the world…

Gameplay

Trüberbrook is a story-driven adventure game with a strong focus on characters and the narrative, but includes a lot of puzzles that need to be solved to progress the story. The puzzles are designed to integrate into the narrative.

You navigate Tannhauser through the different scenarios from a third person perspective, usually in long distance shots to intensify the impression of peeking into a little diorama. The story unfolds as you interact with your environment, talk to other characters and solve puzzles. These range from inventory-based puzzles to social challenges (such as persuading other characters) up to passing unsettling psycho tests.

For the console versions, there is a very intuitive controller input, allowing you to move the line of sight and walking directions independently. For the PC versions, you can choose between classic point and click mouse controls, and the controller navigation.

Plot synopsis

The year is 1967. The world policy is dominated by the Cold War and Vietnam, Russia and America are racing to the moon. At the same time in Europe, students take to the streets from Paris to Berlin.

On a larger scale, the world is locked in turmoil, but most people are unaware of the events unfolding in an overlooked, sleepy part in the German province. Hans Tannhauser, an American student in his late twenties is caught by surprise: Out of the blue, he wins a trip to a small, German village, Trüberbrook. Truber-what? No idea! It doesn’t help he can’t remember taking part in any lottery in the first place … Happy to put some distance between him and his Ph.D. in quantum physics, he makes his way to Trüberbrook, Germany, bursting with curiosity.

But shortly after his arrival, inexplicable things start to happen: A mysterious stranger breaks into his room at the Guesthouse Waldeslust and steals a paper on physics. But who would do that? And why?

Gradually, he gets to know the various villagers and spa guests, one more peculiar than the other. Only young anthropologist Greta Lemke, who is on a research trip to Trüberbrook, seems normal to him. Before he knows it, Greta becomes Tannhauser’s accomplice on the adventure of a lifetime! It slowly dawns on the aspiring physicist that his presence in Tüberbrook is not accidental – he is here to save the world!

Characters

As the story proceeds, Tannhauser teams up with Greta Lemke, a student of paleoanthropology, and bumps into the enigmatic inventor Lazarus Taft.

Hans Tannhauser is an American physics student in his mid-twenties – and a clever one at that. The adorable little fellow is well-read, always curious and of a deeply friendly nature.

Greta Lemke was always the fiercest kid in the sandbox; cute but merciless if someone dared interrupting her excavations of twig bones and toy artefacts. The somewhat overenthusiastic student of paleoanthropology arrives in Trüberbrook on an adventure to unravel the mysteries surrounding the village.

As much a reclusive inventor as it gets, Lazarus Taft quickly became talk of the town due to his superior card playing. There must be a reason he bought this costly old mansion in Trüberbrook, of all places … What’s up with Lazarus Taft?

Trüberbrook is full of quirky villagers, tourists and strangers – like the gruffy but warm-hearted innkeeper Trude or her daughter Leni, “the weird kid” from Trüberbrook Elementary. And there’s the old baron, a veteran of two world wars, or Lessing, the prototype of modern day conspiracionists. And of course Trübi, the legendary lake monster. To name a few.

Features

• Suspense! Mystery! Thrills! After all, it’s a single player sci-fi mystery adventure game to keep you entertained!
• Join American student Tannhauser, stranger in a strange land.
• Set in cold-war rural Germany in the late 1960s.
• Inspired by Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Stranger Things & Star Trek.
• Indulge in universal themes such as love, friendship, loyalty, self-discovery and dinosaurs.
• Handmade miniature scenery!
• Full voice acting in both English and German!
• Atmospheric, moody soundtrack.
• Up to 10 hours of super exciting gameplay!

Trivia

• Trüberbrook was developed over Unity Engine.
• The game was successfully funded on Kickstarter in December 2017 within only 30 hours.
• The initial release was for PC (Windows, Linux and Mac), on March 12, 2019. It was later released for Xbox One, Switch and PS4 (April 17, 2019). For iOS and Android, Trüberbrook was made available on September 3, 2020.
• The soundtrack of Trüberbrook is an original composition to fit the mood of the game – sort of a tranquil doom jazz. Inspirations come from the works of Tom Waits, Angelo Badalamenti, Mark Lanegan, Timber Timbre or Bohren & der Club of Gore. The soundtrack is directed by Sebastian Nagel & Albrecht Schrader.
• The developers claim they spent a lot of time working on a voice acting concept that joins in with the genetic code of the game. Since the protagonist is an American in the midst of a bunch of Germans, they wanted to reflect this in our choice of actors: In the international English audio, the main character Tannhauser speaks native American English, while all of the townspeople of Trüberbrook sport genuine German accents!
• One of the most distinctive features of the game is the unique visual style. The scenarios are purely handmade. The developers say it’s bot the most efficient way of doing things, but certainly the most inefficient one. However, they also say they liked the experience, even doing it piece by piece, with every little detail being custom-made.
• The team stated that every scene got an individual treatment and is staged with actual physical lighting. This allowed them to simulate different hours of the day or weather conditions. Even a change of seasons is possible just by redecorating the set with real tiny little snowflakes.
• The models are digitized using a technique called photogrammetry and later retopologized. This was made in this way in order to get highly detailed polygon models that blend perfectly with the digital characters.

More info and adventure

• Official site – With more info, media, link to other platforms and more.
• Trüberbrook @ Steam – Store’s listing.
• Trüberbrook @ Gaming Room – With more info and media. In Portuguese.
• Grelox
• The Crazies
• Hello Neighbor [Alpha Version]
• Demon’s Souls Demake
• Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters
• Doki Doki Literature Club!
• Die Young: Prologue