Mina the Hollower Reviews
Yacht Club Games' return bridges the gap between souls-like games and their 2D action-adventure ancestry with enough confidence and energy to instantly become a new indie classic.
Mina the Hollower is a serious adventure that is playful, charming, silly, and brutally challenging.
Mina the Hollower can be considered an exceptional action-adventure platformer that, with its stunning artistic approach and superb music, not only tries to pay homage to some of the most prominent classics of the genre, but simultaneously delivers a highly polished and captivating experience. The city of Ossex and its inhabitants bring great vitality to the game's world, and interacting with the various characters can be very pleasing. The gameplay, relying on the principles of Soulslike titles, creates a highly challenging experience that occasionally suffers from imbalance in certain aspects, but remains enjoyable thanks to the solid depth of its systems.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The game offers one of the best exploration systems I've experienced in 2D action-adventure games.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Mina the Hollower is an amazing title from Yacht Club Games that everyone needs to try.
Mina the Hollower is a chilling action-adventure game that combines classic gameplay with an 8-bit aesthetic in the style of the Game Boy Color, adapted to modern times.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
An almost perfect retro adventure with a compelling story, cute characters, and incredibly captivating gameplay.
Review in Russian | Read full review
A retro-styled 8-bit action adventure, there's a lot to like about Mina the Hollower if you don't mind a challenge. But unforgiving combat, accessibility options that lock out achievements, and lack of any guidance makes this a more frustrating experience than it should be.
A gem of an 8-bit-style action adventure that pays homage to The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, and Bloodborne
Coming in with high expectations, Mina the Hollower's tiny mouse masterfully fills some mighty big shoes. Needless to say, Yacht Club Games has another hit on its hands.
The combat stays varied, especially as you discover different weapons, sidearms, and trinkets to make your preferred build. This is a special game that was well worth the long wait. Hopefully Yacht Club Games gets to take this mentality to even more new frontiers in the future.
While Mina the Hollower might not play like the games it's clearly inspired by, Yacht Club Games has instead taken bits and pieces from all of its inspiration and combined it with its years of experience on Shovel Knight to create a masterpiece. The demo may not have sold the game's full potential, but the final product surpasses expectations. Going for a full 100% run is a ton of fun, and it’s taking all sorts of strength to not go back and play another full game.
Mina the Hollower does for Zelda what Shovel Knight did for Mega Man. It's a revival of a classic franchise in spirit while having enough of its own flavor and style to avoid coming across as a simple clone or copy. It's clever, creative, and an absolute delight to play from start to finish, while having enough bonus content and modifiers to keep the game exciting even after you complete its roughly 20-hour playtime. In a year that's already filled with amazing games, Mina still shines.
Mina the Hollower shines in its building of a detailed, complex world that rewards the attentive gaze of explorers with pleasant surprises and benefits. However, its many difficulty modifiers don't help much for those who have trouble figuring out the paths, since the game's main issue is the lack of a useful map. This demanding and meticulously crafted adventure may end up dividing the audience, pleasing those who find satisfaction in exploring and progressing on their own and alienating those who prefer a more directed and convenient experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
After Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games strikes again: Mina the Hollower is a dense, inspired and surprising action-adventure.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Mina the Hollower is one of the best games of the year and one of the standout indie titles of its generation. Its stunning 8-bit graphics conceal a wonderful adventure that keeps you feeling like you're constantly discovering something new.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Mina the Hollower is simply one of the best games you'll ever play. Between its outstanding world design, visceral sense of challenge, beautiful retro presentation, and absurd amount of content, you'll be burrowing into this gem over and over again. 🐭
Mina the Hollower proves that lightning can strike twice in the same place. Yacht Club Games’ new masterpiece pulls off the feat of simultaneously filling the massive shoes of Shovel Knight, paying a heartfelt tribute to 2D Zelda games, and establishing its own unique identity through a brilliant, confident adventure. It is confident in its superb gameplay and map design, confident in its respectful rapport with the player, and confident that no one will be able to leave Tenebrous Isle without unearthing every single one of its secrets.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Mina the Hollower is a grand, exhilarating adventure that never lets up, springing out fully formed as an absolute "mouse-terpiece." The thrill of discovering new areas, levelling Mina up to become stronger, and conquering seemingly impossible boss fights only gets more rewarding as you utilize everything the game has to offer and become the strongest Hollower you can be. The worldbuilding presents a beautiful, colorful setting that you’ll want to root for, even if the story suggests a more complex, morally grey truth to it all. Yacht Club Games has conquered its sophomore slump and delivered a truly special experience, one that, on every level, sparks joy and wonder even amidst turmoil and strife.
Mina the Hollower delivers a meticulously polished classic action-platformer experience, brilliantly blending the brutal challenge reminiscent of Souls-like games with excellent level design philosophy that grants the player complete freedom of exploration. Although it suffers from a few missteps, such as vague guidance during the early hours and poorly distributed enemies in some areas, the game makes up for it with solid gameplay backed by a charming art style and soundtrack. This makes it one of the best games in its genre and an exceptional, must-play value for its price.
Review in Arabic | Read full review