Developer: Yacht Club Games
Publisher: Yacht Club Games
Platform: Switch (2), PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Tested on: PC
Mina the Hollower – Review
With Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games brought us one of the best platformers of the previous decade, so to say that the expectations for its successor were high would be an understatement. Twelve years after Shovel Knight, that successor is finally here. If the former is Yacht Club Games’ Mario, then Mina the Hollower is the developer’s Zelda, in more ways than just that comparison, we might add. While you could go on and read our review of this little gem (and we would appreciate that), we’ll just go ahead and simply tell you to go download Mina the Hollower on your platform of choice. That way you can start playing by the time you’re done reading.
Story
We didn’t expect Mina the Hollower’s story to be as substantial as it turned out to be, and so we were pleasantly surprised by it. Rest assured that we won’t be going into too much detail so as not to spoil any of the game’s twists and turns. Central to the story is Mina herself, of course, a mouse inventor and member of the titular order of the Hollowers, who possess the ability to burrow underground. Previously, Mina designed and built massive machines called Spark Generators, funded by Baron Lionel, which brought power and prosperity to Tenebrous Isle. When our story starts, Mina returns to the island after she learns that the generators have been destroyed, monsters are overrunning the land, and a former ally named Thorne has rebelled against Lionel. Mina’s apparent mission is straightforward enough: travel across Tenebrous Isle, restore its six Spark Generators, confront Thorne and restore order. However, the story becomes more complex than that initial premise suggests. Events are gradually recontextualised, and questions are raised about the island’s political situation, the role of Baron Lione, the social conditions in the city of Ossex and whether or not Mina’s quest is truly helping the island’s people… or merely serving more powerful interests. What appears to be the de facto hero’s journey develops into a more nuanced story, with unexpected revelations, moral ambiguity and consequences tied to Mina’s decisions.
Graphics
Taking inspiration from Saga of the Moon Priestess’ visuals- wait, that can’t be right; let’s try that one again: Mina The Hollower’s pixel art was clearly inspired by the GBC-era Zelda games, but the end result is far more elaborate and expressive than any actual Game Boy Color game could have been. The game has a strong retro aesthetic that evolves classic handheld adventures while still feeling modern. The game’s tone mixes cutesy designs with gothic influences, the latter hailing from its setting. Crypts, haunted locations, spooky monsters, and other unsettling imagery coexist with charming animal characters and varied, colourful environments, each with distinct visual identities and even gameplay gimmicks. The game’s retro-simplistic appearance goes hand in hand with its visual performance. We didn’t find any issues with the game’s frame rate, crashes, bugs, loading issues or other technical shortcomings, no matter how hard we looked.
Sound
Accompanying those nigh-on perfect GBC-style graphics is a fantastic chiptune soundtrack that perfectly fits with the visuals and the game’s overall atmosphere. The soundtrack does almost all of the lifting here, but that is fitting for the era of video games that Mina the Hollower wants to evoke. As such, ambience and voice acting don’t exist here, and the sound effects serve more as a way to provide feedback than to make the world feel alive. That’s not a complaint, mind you, as these are very effective. Attack feedback in particular is satisfying, with other sound effects sounding both crisp and appropriately retro.
Gameplay
The core gameplay experience of Mina the Hollower is built around five interconnected pillars: exploration, combat, burrowing, discovery, and customisability. At its heart, Mina the Hollower is a top-down action adventure game inspired by those aforementioned classic Zelda games, but with a much more open structure and a healthy dose of Souls-like design philosophy. Rather than sticking with a linear dungeon order, you’re given the freedom to explore Tenebrous Isle in whatever direction your skill and curiosity will take you. Most areas can be visited directly from the start, and progress is less driven by finding key items and more by mastering different mechanics, uncovering shortcuts, improving Mina’s abilities and learning how the world itself works. The game’s standout mechanic is Mina’s ability to burrow underground, which serves multiple purposes simultaneously, including puzzle solving, dodging enemy attacks and reaching hidden areas.
It’s this burrowing system that transforms the game from a love letter to old-school Zelda games into something that is uniquely its own. Learning when to dive underground, how long to stay there and how resurfacing affects Mina’s movement is an essential aspect of both getting around and combat. Speaking of combat, this is surprisingly challenging at the game’s standard settings; more on that later. Enemies hit hard, and Mina’s success becomes dependent on timing, positioning, dodging and recognising attack windows instead of button mashing. Fortunately, our little mouse heroine isn’t entirely defenseless, and there are a plethora of weapons to choose from, trinkets to equip that alter abilities and stats, and a wide variety of side arms. There is no single “correct build” or strategy here, and the game heavily encourages you to experiment to find what works for you.
It all ties into that overarching feeling of freedom that is present throughout the entirety of the game. Exploration is a joy, with the world filled with hidden passages, breakable walls, and concealed rooms, some of which even hide optional bosses or NPCs. Nearly every screen contains something worth investigating, and the game constantly rewards observation and experimentation. Puzzles follow a similar philosophy, focusing on movement, timing, and environmental manipulation rather than traditional lock-and-key dungeon puzzles. The final piece of this excellent puzzle is just how customisable the whole experience is. A massive modifier system allows you to make the game easier, harder or even just stranger, with your options ranging from extra checkpoints and invincibility to removing leveling entirely. Initially, we feared that this would mean that the base experience would be unbalanced and that Yacht Club Games wanted players to balance everything for them. However, those fears turned out to be unfounded, and the standard experience turned out to be challenging but fair. The customisation options do imbue the game with nigh-infinite replay value, while also making it accessible to players of all skill levels.
Conclusion
At the risk of repeating ourselves: yes, Mina the Hollower really is that good of a game. Despite its retro flair, this is a modern masterpiece that deserves to be in the library of any self-respecting gamer. Oh, and with all this gushing, we almost forgot to mention that the game comes with a frankly ridiculously low €20.49 price tag. What are you waiting for?
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