PC Critic Reviews

From start to finish, Mina the Hollower had me enthralled, which is pretty incredible for a game that ran me about 18 hours for a first-time playthrough (54% exploration rating). Some truly masterful game design on display, along with excellent spritework and sound design, make this an all-timer and an easy recommend for...frankly, anyone that enjoys video games. You can set the difficulty to your liking in a way that I haven't seen, ever, which makes this accessible to a very wide range of players. The exploration is top-notch, the story is riveting, the art style is striking, and the myriad ways the developers pull tricks on you is both amusing and well thought-out. I can't recommend Mina the Hollower enough.

Mina the Hollower is a brilliant 2D action-adventure game that takes clear inspiration from classic Zelda while building something that feels fresh, challenging, and uniquely its own. Its open-ended exploration, clever combat systems, strong sense of discovery, and flexible modifiers make every part of the adventure feel personal. While its difficulty can spike, Mina the Hollower stands out as an instant classic and one of the best games in its genre.

More than just an ode to the GameBoy Color, Mina the Hollower is a masterclass in how constraints can fuel creativity. Inventive and engaging to the end and beyond, this is an instant modern classic. Across two dozen hours, Mina the Hollower reminded me why I ever picked up a controller in the first place; because great games make the playing its own reward.

Mina the Hollower is a rewarding journey all the way to the finish, and thanks to the extensive modifiers and also New Game+, I expect I'll have a blast seeing what we can do with this magnificently spooky adventure for a long time.

What is perhaps most impressive about Mina the Hollower is how effortlessly confident it feels. Many retro-inspired games are content to imitate the aesthetics of the past while sanding away the rougher edges. Yacht Club Games understand that the magic of those older games came not just from how they looked, but from how boldly designed they were. Mina embraces mystery, difficulty, experimentation, and discovery with absolute conviction.

Mina the Hollower will burrow into your brain and set up a cozy little house there. I couldn’t let it go: Clues to unsolved puzzles pop into my brain before bed; a corner high out of reach that I never set foot on beckons me every time I pass it on my way to the shops in Ossex; the math tells me maxing out my attack power would just take one really good grinding spot, and then I could beat that secret boss that destroyed me. Mina achieves the same heights in both action and style that its impressive inspirations – Zelda, Castlevania, and FromSoft RPGs – reach on a regular basis, and with far fewer resources. Even if all you’ve played is Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring, don’t let the retro look fool you: Mina the Hollower will scratch the same itch, with an open world that’s 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.

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 is an almost faultless game that combines elements of nostalgic classics we know and love with a healthy dose of Yacht Club’s flair and expertise to make it something that truly stands out as a retro-inspired masterpiece. I could honestly play it forever, with Yacht Club proving that it’s not just a one game studio with yet another bonafide classic.

Best of all, Mina the Hollower is no mere nostalgia bait, proving the player-first design ethos evident in Yacht Club Games' past successes. As much as I love the Blue Burrower, I'm truly grateful that the studio took the risk of this new character and setting and followed it through. If you grew up with old-school Zelda, all the better, but Mina the Hollower is a magnificent adventure regardless of the era, a giddily creative labor of love with no prior experience required.

With Mina the Hollower, Yacht Club Games managed to beautifully pay homage to some of the absolute greatest classics in gaming history, all while carving out their own entirely fresh identity with an irresistible experience. It’s like a gothic Zelda with touches of Castlevania and Dark Souls that I never knew I needed. If you have a passing love for classic adventures, gothic atmospheres, or tightly-knit game design, do yourself a favor and fully dive into this world.