Mina the Hollower Review
Following the success of the Shovel Knight series, developer Yacht Club Games returns with Mina the Hollower - a top down action adventure game inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Bloodborne, and Castlevania, in the 8-bit style of the Game Boy Colour.
You play as the titular mouse, Mina, a respected member of the Guild of Hollowers: a group of explorers and inventors who study the earth by using their special technique called Hollowing, that allows them burrow into the ground. As a genius inventor, Mina's greatest accomplishment was harnessing Spark technology to create her masterpiece of the Hollowing arts, the Spark generators. Six generators that power all of Tenebrous Isle - from the main town Ossex, all the way to the six surrounding regions - transforming it into a bustling industrial era.
But when Mina returns home from an expedition, she finds Tenebrous Isle under attack by dangerous monsters. Her friend and leader of Ossex, Baron Lionel, explains that her Spark generators have malfunctioned and put everyone's lives at risk. In order to fix them, Mina sets off on another adventure to repair her creations and defeat the massive creatures guarding each generator.
Right from the start, Mina the Hollower throws you straight into the action. Yacht Club Games smartly tutorialises Mina's journey to the town of Ossex. By the time you arrive at the town, you've learned the key gameplay mechanics. Mastering Mina's 8 directions of movement. Learning how to attack with one of three starter weapons, the Nightstar Whip, Blackstrike Maul hammer, and Whisper and Vesper daggers. Becoming accustomed to how far Mina can jump. And learning how to collect energy called Joules, to try out sidearms like throwing axes, swords or a trusty bike.
However, Mina's unique skill is Hollowing: where Mina jumps into the air, then burrows under certain surfaces to avoid enemy attacks, jump further across gaps, traverse under low barriers, find buried treasures or lift up seemingly immoveable objects.
After getting grips with the basics, you steadily improve your combat skills. Holding your weapon of choice - mine was the whip - you master the reach and how to combine attacks with Hollowing, to travel underground to avoid many attack patterns.
Inevitably, you're going to get hit, which rapidly reduces Mina's red health bar. While the combat is challenging but fair, you can use Plasma Vials to replenish your health. But unlike traditional instant heal items in other games, you need to attack enemies to refill your red health bar with an orange plasma bar. Only then can you convert plasma into health and drink a vial to replenish however much of the orange bar you've filled - an exhilarating no risk, no reward system that keeps combat engaging from beginning to end.
Mina also shares similarities with Bloodborne's health system, where she can replenish her limited stock of Plasma Vials at checkpoints called Underlabs. Simply burrow underground and the lab dispenses new Plasma Vials. Creating an addictive gameplay loop of trying your best to get to the next checkpoint - a smart way to encourage constant forward momentum.
At the end of the tutorial level, you encounter the first boss, and put all of your learned skills together to defeat it. Gaining a sense of accomplishment as you witness your improvements in real time. Combat and movement coalesce to become second nature. It feels like a modernised classic Zelda.
Eventually you arrive at Mina the Hollower's central hub, Ossex - a lively town inspired by Victorian gothic architecture, brimming with character. Children kick a can about in the street, a creepy monster tries to steal from you, animals and creepy creatures operate shops. All ruled by the hulking Baron Lionel, Mina's confidant and the very person that asks her to fix her six generators.
From this point on, you can theoretically go to any region if you discover the correct route through dangerous interconnected paths. Nothing is blocked by needing specific abilities or unlocks. But some areas are harder than others. Giving a strong player freedom and sense of adventure.
Despite this freedom, Yacht Club have opted against a traditional map, instead, choosing environmental navigation. You stand at the heart of Ossex, where a grand fountain with six flickering orbs acts as both a compass and a map. Pointing you towards each generator.
However, it's the newspapers that offers the most direction. These recount your accomplishments and share a headline that tells you the best order to fix the generators. Publishing a brand new article after you complete each generator, so you're never lost. But if you ever lose your way, signposts are dotted around the world to get you back on track.
But before you embark on your mission to save Tenebrous Isle, it's worth exploring every inch of Ossex. NPCs share interesting details about the world. Mina can visit the Guild of Hollowers. Or visit a plethora of merchants. Although, like every other region, Ossex has many secrets and inaccessible areas that you can figure out how to access. But from the easily accessible buildings, you can purchase keys to access secret areas, buy new weapons or upgrade existing ones at the blacksmith, purchase a treasure trove of trinkets to offer bonuses to Mina, and buy a selection of upgrades like an increase to your health bar.
When you inevitably purchase new trinkets or weapons, you must return to the Underlab to change or equip them. New weapons offer brand new ways to approach combat, like speedy up close daggers or a slower hammer strike. But it's trinkets that can really change the game. These can do things, such as allow Mina to walk on spikes, equip a lightly glowing lamp, or enable the ability to emit an explosion when you emerge from burrowing, and there's many others to find in the world. And then, in order to create the perfect build, you'll need to acquire and find trinket bag upgrades that add slots to equip additional trinkets.
However, much like the real world, Mina the Hollower has an economy. Used for everything from levelling up Mina, buying from shops or hidden traders, and giving to other causes. Each requiring Mina to spend her well-earned Bones. A strong and balanced economy that makes your choice of what to spend your bones on matter. One player could choose to focus on levelling up Mina, whilst another could prioritise purchasing permanent upgrades.
You earn Bones from defeating enemies, hitting things in the environment like grass or candles, or from treasure chests in the form of Bonestones - a condensed version of Bones that are stored in the Underlab and cannot be lost. Yet ordinary bones can be lost upon death, unless you pick up your energy Spark that stores them, by killing the enemy that defeated you or returning to your place of death. It feels very Soulslike in this regard, as you reclaim your bones or risk losing what is essentially your money and experience points. That's why when combined with the Plasma Vial healing mechanic, it creates an on-the-edge-of-your-seat no risk, no reward combat system.
Upon collecting enough Bones, Mina can Bone Up, the game's version of levelling up. You choose between increasing Mina's attack, defence, sidearms, or converting your Bones into Bonestones to store in the Underlab. If you choose to store your Bones, you can extract them in the Underlab at any time - another example of player choice.
But it's Mina the Hollower's level design that shines the brightest. A labyrinth of interconnected levels, secret areas with side bosses and treasures, all available to explore in any order - a feat of game balance. Each region is distinct and a joy to explore. Every frame is a unique palette of 8-bit pixels in modern wide-screen, differentiating each region by colour, theme and enemy variation. Whether a cemetery of green grass and grey gravestones, haunted by ghoulish creatures. Or the deep blue waters of a swamp overrun by amphibious, overgrown monsters. Each enemy type meticulously designed to fit into a region with unique attack patterns and animations. Battles that force you to learn and adapt inside every memorable environment.
Although, to reach each region's dungeon, you'll need to keep your wits about you to overcome even the most basic of enemies. Most enemies deal significant damage, forcing you to stay alert. Ranging from pig men who slam down to activate a lava floor, to giant plants that can fill the area with hazardous spikes.
Then there's the environmental and platforming challenges that are unique to each area. Environmental obstacles like slippery ice floors, flip switches that propel you over enemies, large pools of water, lava floors and more. Also, platforming challenges, range from retrieving statue heads whilst avoiding ghosts, grinding rails, lowering and raising water to access new platforms, quickly jumping from floating handholds before they disappear, bouncing across organic matter, detonating dynamite with a bomb and so much more. All while keeping an eye out for shortcuts to unlock in the form of pipes or climbing ropes.
Mina the Hollower rewards meticulous exploration. You never know which locked door or breakable wall hides treasure or a side boss. The world and dungeons hold many secrets. Sometimes you can find upgrades, trinkets or secret shops. All things to prepare you for the ultra tough, multiphase boss battles that require patience and skill to defeat. Every one a worthy challenge with a unique moveset that reflects its dungeon. Like a swamp battle where the boss replaces the floor with water that Mina cannot swim in. So, it becomes a battle between finding the right moments to strike and burrowing across risky pools of water.
After defeating a boss and collecting a permanent health upgrade, you come to the final big gameplay mechanic in the game. Mina must ascend the massive generators in a chaotic arcade style mini game. Attached to a rope, you guide Mina up the tower, avoiding enemies and using her Hollowing technique to destroy walls blocking your route, to reach the top before a burst of electricity catches you. These are short sequences without any punishment for failure. But they feel like the antithesis of the ultra responsive gameplay. Some flow well, but later ones feel like a pinball machine if you make one wrong move.
Even though Yacht Club have clearly spent years perfecting the balance of combat and exploration, there's no denying Mina the Hollower is a tough game by design. The developers somewhat alleviate this by allowing you to equip trinkets and level up Mina as you reach more challenging regions.
But Yacht Club Games isn't precious about Mina the Hollower's difficulty. The hardcore retro experience is always front and centre if you want it, but for those who want to tweak the experience, there's a full suite of modifiers. Settings to reduce the difficulty in a variety of ways, like reduced damage and more Bones - the downside is using these modifiers turns off in game achievements called feats.
But there's also weirder modifiers for fun. Or for the masochist, a bunch of modifiers to make the game harder. Yacht Club cater for as many players as they can. So many options to make this 20-30 hour plus game for you. It's a truly deep game that offers something for everyone. And with a ridiculous amount of modifiers to unlock and a new game plus system with depth, Mina the Hollower should last far beyond the original playtime for people who enjoy these extra options.
Although, Mina the Hollower isn't just about the gameplay. The world is richly textured by well-written NPCs that expand on the lore. Even without voice acting, conversations deliver helpful details and humour. Making Mina's simple story feel like it's set in a gothic world alive with personality. Bolstered by amazing pixel art animations that introduces and sets the tone of each new region: vistas of farmland, swamps, beaches and more. And a stunning chiptune score by Jake Kaufman that compliments Mina's gloomy but heartwarming tale.
However, I would've liked a system to mark important discoveries to return to later on. Yet, without a map, I don't know how this would've been achievable. I do hope that Yacht Club Games adds some kind of modifier to do this in the future. Despite this exclusion, I found the sense of discovery impressive.
Mina the Hollower is a special game from a talented studio that understands how to perfectly balance retro and modern sensibilities. Like Shovel Knight before it, Mina the Hollower takes the best parts of its inspirations and changes them into a definitively Yacht Club Games title. I've even chosen to exclude many details, as Mina the Hollower's greatest strength outside of its gameplay, is its unrivalled sense of player driven discovery. Although a challenging retro style game won't be for everyone, the fantastically balanced gameplay and expansive suite of difficulty modifiers should help Mina the Hollower appeal to a wider range of players.
*Review Code Provided By Publisher
