Mina the Hollower [REVIEW] – Digging Up a Masterpiece 

It has been a really, really, long time coming, but Yacht Club Games has FINALLY delivered a follow-up to their shovel-wielding smash hit, and believe me, it lives up to all of the hype. Mina the Hollower dives headfirst into the 2D action-adventure genre, bringing an almost spooky, Souls-like vibe along for the ride, and after sinking hours into the murky depths of Tenebrous Isle, I can confidently say the team has absolutely struck old-school gold yet again. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

The game puts you in the role of Mina, an inventive mouse and member of the Hollower’s Guild. She is called in by an old friend, Baron Lionel, to fix a series of malfunctioning energy towers that power the land, but of course, it doesn’t take long for things to go completely pear-shaped. It makes for a charming tale (and one that can explore some surprisingly heavy themes), and with plenty to discover in the world and a ton of quirky characters to meet, it’s easy to find yourself wholly invested. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t get too deep and it’s clear that the gameplay is at the forefront, but I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I cared about what happened to these characters by the end. 

At a quick glance, it’d be easy to look at Mina the Hollower and see a classic top-down Zelda-like adventure, but believe me, the actual flow feels much closer to a modern, punishing action-RPG more than anything else. You aren’t simply wandering around hunting for a specific gadget to unlock a gated door – instead, you are trying to survive brutal combat gauntlets and tricky environmental hazards, all whilst trying to keep your experience points intact to reach the next underground checkpoint. So far, so Souls-like, am I right? Don’t worry, I mean that in the best possible way, because it’s really fun to play. 

What stands out the most is the game’s burrowing mechanic. Mina can dive beneath the earth to evade enemy swings, speed around the map, and pop up at the last second to clear massive gaps, with it bringing with it a unique and incredibly satisfying sense of manoeuvrability that really helps make it feel completely different to similar releases. It embraces a sort of ‘easy to learn, difficult to master’ approach… you will DEFINITELY misjudge a dive or fall down a hole because of a dodgy jump, but once it clicks in your brain, traversing the world feels brilliantly fluid, dynamic, and intuitive, ensuring the more platforming-driven aspects of the game are an utter joy. 

“Mina the Hollower is an absolute triumph, with the brilliant world design, exciting combat, and fun burrowing mechanic ensuring it stands out as a distinct, old-school treat.” 

Combat is equally deep, largely thanks to how much you can tailor it to your liking. You’re continually unlocking new weapons as you progress which keep the combat mechanics diverse, whilst your sidearms and equippable trinkets give you an extra trick up your sleeve. With around forty trinkets to find, you can equip a handful at a time to completely alter your build, and whether you want to spawn little healing ghosts to help out, light up pitch-black caves, power-up your attacks, or just get that second-chance when you meet an untimely end, the sense of customisation that they offer is staggering. The use of all of these tools is essential to survival across the game world, and when you add in the thrilling boss encounters that test your reflexes and skills with their complex attacks, there’s PLENTY going on in combat to ensure it remains exciting from start to end. 

Fortunately, there’s also a rewarding levelling system that ensure that Mina’s capabilities are constantly improving. Defeating enemies earns you ‘Bones’, which act as both your shop currency and your experience points. Amass enough, and you can boost the likes of your health, attack, or sidearm power. Die, and you drop the lot… so sad, too bad. It is a familiar, punishing setup that Souls-like veterans will be familiar with, though Mina the Hollower does throw you a lifeline with ‘Sparks’. These act as a safety net to prevent you from losing everything, but even if you do drop your Bones, you can fight your way back to recover them.  

Everything comes together wonderfully to make for a brilliant adventure, and with six distinct, non-linear biomes to stick your teeth into, it’s a meaty one too. The level design across the board is absolutely stellar, but be warned: the game doesn’t hold your hand with a detailed mini-map, but instead, you get a broad overview and are left to figure out the intricate, puzzle-like dungeons yourself. It makes finding a hidden route highly rewarding (as well as opening up shortcuts), and with a good balance of combat, puzzling, and platforming found across each area, you’re constantly kept enthralled with exploration. To top it all off, the sheer volume of content is MASSIVE. A standard playthrough might take you around twenty hours, but the robust New Game Plus modifiers let you tweak just about every rule in the game, from enemy difficulty to full-on item randomisers, offering near-endless replay value for those who want it. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

That said, if you are a completionist looking to mop up every last secret, the lack of a detailed map and a slightly restrictive fast-travel system makes backtracking a bit of a chore. It’s the only issue I had with the game, though it’s a minor caveat in what is otherwise a brilliant adventure to be a part of. 

Developer: Yacht Club Games 
Publisher: Yacht Club Games 
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch 
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1875580/Mina_the_Hollower/