Developed By and Published By: Yacht Club Games
Category: Action
Release Date: 05.29.26
Price: $19.99
I never played any of the Shovel Knight games, so I never understood the hype for Mina The Hollower. I just wasn’t interested, and I wasn’t planning on picking it up. But going back to last year, there’s a YouTuber I would occasionally talk to about the game. His excitement for it got me to finally look into it when it came out. Do I regret playing it? Probably, since it was the hardest game I ever played. But I had fun.
Mina is a scientist who invents a way to harvest a resource known as Spark. Upon visiting the island where her generators are being used, she discovers that monsters are all over. She also finds out that the generators are no longer working. It’s up to her to fix things. Despite the cuteness and style, the game goes to some very dark places. But the story doesn’t really matter as much as the gameplay.
The gameplay is like a mix between Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo and Dark Souls. You start the game with one main weapon, but you can unlock more and upgrade them. You’ll have to do just that, because the game is brutal and unforgiving in how difficult it is. The weakest of monsters will kill you, the environment will kill you, and the learning curve is tough. I must have died at least a dozen times just in the starter area.
Every time you kill an enemy, you earn bones. Collect enough and you can upgrade various aspects of Mina’s stats. But sometimes you’ll lose them when you die. I hate the concept of losing all your progress upon death in games, but there’s one bright spot. All enemies in an area respawn when you die. So if this is one of those deaths where you keep your bones, you can farm more. You’ll have to figure out how to stop dying on your own though.
The game is made even more difficult thanks to the digging mechanic. Slam down on the ground and you get to burrow underground for a few seconds. This can help you deal with pesky enemies, get through tight spaces, and jump across big holes. Timing is everything when trying to jump across a huge gap though, and it took me hours to nail it. More often than not, I’d miss the timing and fall in the hole. Falling In a hole does damage instead of outright killing you, but it’s infuriating.
It’s one thing if a tough enemy kills you in the heat of battle. But if a hole or spike kills you because of poor timing, it can suck the life out of a run. The game is brutal, I haven’t felt this much rage since I played Flappy Bird for the first time all those years ago. But then there’s a huge sense of accomplishment when you solve a puzzle or finally defeat a tough boss and it all becomes worth it.
But don’t let that deter you from trying out the game. You have access to special modifiers right out the gate that let you significantly shake up the gameplay. You can make the game much easier by turning on things like less damage, quick heal, and no bone loss. But if you’re a maniac, you can make the game even harder. There are tons of modifiers for you to mess around with that make the game significantly more accessible for casual gamers.
The rest of the game is a fun, retro-styled romp. The soundtrack is great, and the Gameboy style graphics pull its weight perfectly. If I hadn’t died so many times, I’d probably have beaten the game in under 15 hours and be less angry. But overall, I had a blast. Mina The Hollower is a really solid pickup, especially for only $20. Definitely worth picking up.
9/10