Mina the Hollower

Mina the Hollower's retro world is crammed with mysteries worth finding and lively, clever combat I couldn’t get enough of – it’s a big game in a small package, and an absolute masterpiece of an adventure.

Shovel Knight was a well-deserved successful debut for Yacht Club. Mina the Hollower may be its masterpiece.

Explore every inch of a cursed island in an adventure that takes inspiration from the greats.

Mina is a gloriously gothic combination of ferocious combat and beautiful scenery, with enough secrets and modifiers to keep the game fresh and fun for a very long time.

I still want to see how many different ways I can put together all these options.

Mina the Hollower looks like a nostalgic throwback, and it undeniably is, but its thoughtful design and larger sensibilities make it play and feel like a contemporary video game – one that has taken the right lessons from the medium’s history.

This brilliant adventure creates a whole world from one character with a unique ability

Mina the Hollower is a good game for people who love the idea of mixing Zelda with Dark Souls. Unfortunately, if you don't fully love what that entails, I don't think it will win you over as much as others. For some, they will find the combat challenging in a good way, with a world you can get lost in. Others will see a series of roadblocks thrown in the player's face as they try to navigate those problems. Regardless of if you think the sum of its parts makes a masterpiece or not, Mina the Hollower was clearly crafted with a lot of passion and care.

Yacht Club Games has successfully made the leap from Mario-inspired side-on platforming to Zelda-style adventure, delivering another retro-styled masterpiece. Mina the Hollower is an intricate, challenging yet accessible adventure packed with content, set against a gorgeous 8-bit gothic backdrop.

What appears at first to be a return to game design from eras past evolves into something truly special.