Mina the Hollower is the second game from Yacht Club Games, the makers of the transformative Shovel Knight. Whereas that game stood out and created something unique in 2014, Mina, while providing more of the same retro charm as the previous game, stands as a statement release in 2026, showing that gaming is a tale of two paths: massive AAA projects that claim to give players full autonomy over vast universes and lovingly crafted independent games that truly put the power in the player’s hands.
The first thing that grabs your attention when you see an image or any gameplay of Mina is its Game Boy Color-like aesthetic. This is a trend that’s been popping up more in the independent game scene, with games like Tearscape and Ratcheteer DX also opting for that layer of charm. However, as is to be expected with such a prolific developer, there’s a level of care and consideration in all the mechanics, allowing the game to stand out on its own and be more than just a Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening homage with elements of Castlevania thrown in.
Play Your Way—Accessibility Options Abound
It’s important to note that this game is tough, but the developers let you play it your way, and there are a ton of accessibility settings that can make it easy or challenging as you feel at any given moment. At any time, you can turn on modifiers from the options menu that will make the bosses weaker, make leveling up and Boning Up in this game 20% faster, make it so that you never lose bones, give you free sidearm weapons, speed up healing, or make it so that you just don’t take any damage at all and have infinite health.
That being said, there are also modifiers to make the game that much more difficult, reversing all of the effects that I just mentioned. While the game takes about 30 hours to get through, this is one that I can see many players coming back to, whether it’s an easier experience to just enjoy the story of the game or turning on harder modifiers to make sure that you get more of a challenge. The replayability of this game is extensive.
As a gamer with cerebral palsy, I don’t dive into accessibility options as much as I probably should, but I will admit that being able to turn on some modifiers for easier footage capture was very helpful, as a few missed jumps had me dying about 11 times before I’d even gotten to the first cutscene. I will say that I chose to rock the hammer for most of my playthrough, but I also enjoyed using the Castlevania-inspired whip and Mina’s dagger weapons as well.
The opportunity to switch up my layout is all the more reason to go back and play this wonderfully charming game. I won’t lie: I struggled with this game, but it was the kind of struggle that reminded me why I started playing video games in the first place. It allows you to escape into a different world and face its challenges while temporarily shutting your mind off from the many real-life struggles surrounding you.
A World Worth Burrowing Into
Mina’s signature mechanic in the game is burrowing, which is appropriate because there’s a lot to dig into with this game. This game features a really charming world filled with interesting trinkets to boost your weapons, with dozens of options that give you boosts to your weapons, burrowing ability, health extenders, and more. The bones in this game work just like Souls in Dark Souls and act as your way to level up the strength of your attack, sidearms, and more.
This game is rooted in exploration, and you’re encouraged to break everything in a space in order to find secret pathways, health boosts, and more. There are many secrets in this game that are worth exploring, plenty of which I’m sure I haven’t even found yet, but not to beat a dead horse, it’s why this game is going to be played a lot more for years to come.
More Bang Without Spending Your Bucks
I love retro games. Admittedly, I’m not someone who typically spends hours grinding away in Elden Ring or jumping on ARC Raiders or Call of Duty, but my particular vices when it comes to games are IPs I’ve loved since I was a child. I’m the sucker who will spend over $100 every year on the annual WWE release, and I will definitely spend $90 to play LEGO Batman 3 days early.
I bring that up to say what I said at the beginning of this write-up: gaming is in a weird space. Millions of dollars are being spent on supposed AAA experiences, and while you drop the money to be part of the initial hype, the payoff may not be there. With a game like Mina, even with its numerous delays, there’s trust that the developer is delaying it to create the best possible experience for the community that will be able to play it for years to come, for just $20.
Combine that with the fact that this game has dozens of secrets, an equal amount of trinkets, a charming story, and enough replayability to ensure that it will likely last just as long as Shovel Knight did in terms of impact, and this game is easily going to be on the lips of many for Game of the Year.
Mina The Hollower Review Verdict
With Shovel Knight, Yacht Club arguably kicked off the retro-inspired indie generation, with Mina, they’ve perfected it, and, at least to me, it stands as a line in the sand for what gaming can be without breaking the bank at a time where all of the major console developers are citing turbulent marketing conditions as reasons to raise the price of everything you want to play.
This is a game worth experiencing if you like this style, and even if you don’t, it’s going to be one that you’re going to feel fomo if you don’t pick it up at some point in the near future.
Mina the Hollower releases on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on May 29. To talk about this game and others, join the Insider Gaming Discord. And don’t forget to sign up for the Insider Gaming weekly newsletter.
Mina The Hollower
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Mina The Hollower
