With the massive platformer “Shovel Knight,” developer Yacht Club Games has solidified itself as a popular indie studio. Its second game, “I the Hollower,” has arrived after years of “Shovel Knight” expansions and spin-offs. What I love most about “Mina the Hollower” is that it’s an incredibly different game than “Shovel Knight”. While the latter was a platformer inspired by the NES era, the former is an adventure game that feels like a “Zelda” game in Game Boy color.
“Mina the Hollower” follows our eponymous protagonist, Mina, an intelligent mouse who has brought prosperity to Ossex, the only town on the Tanebrous Isle. One of his creations, the Spark Generators, has been shut down and he is on a journey to restore the seven generators scattered across the island. Although he has good intentions, he slowly discovers that his generators may be used for nefarious purposes that he must uncover. The story is straightforward and lays a strong foundation and motivation for Mina to explore the Tanebrous Isle.
The various regions around the island are incredibly diverse, from the sandy shores of Bone Beach to the snowy tundras of Coltrane Peak, each area has been pushed to its limits while still sticking firmly to pixel architecture. The way the game uses colors keeps the adventure looking interesting.
Exploration in Tanebrous is wide open again. True to its retro roots, the game doesn’t have objective markers like modern games, so you’ll need to rely on your instincts to figure out what to do next or how to get to a certain location. I wish there was more hand-wringing about this, but I honestly applaud “Mina the Hollower” for sticking to her guns here. Exploration is also beneficial, as you will be able to get upgrades such as being able to hold multiple healing pots, which can improve your survivability.
What really brings the world of “Mina the Hollower” to life is the hustle and bustle of Ossex, which serves as your central location. Its residents are always on the move, going about their days shopping or simply kicking things on the street. It makes Mina’s solo journey less lonely.
You can choose from many different weapons, such as his whip, knives and hammers. They all feel very different. The whip allows Mina to hit enemies safely from a distance, but it can take a long time to get out compared to daggers, which are instantly close but require close range. There are always trade-offs in using certain weapons over others, so choose the one that best suits your playstyle.
Additionally, you can further customize Mina by equipping different trinkets, which augment her passive abilities. The Proto Spark gives Mina a second life break in case she falls, while the Steady Shoes allow her to walk normally around the area—she won’t slip on ice and shallow water won’t slow her down. It’s a great way to add simple RPG elements to spice up the gameplay.
While most adventure games allow players to roll or dodge attacks, Mina takes a different approach. He can burrow underground for short periods of time to avoid enemies and their movements. However, Mina has to first jump for a while before going underground, so you’ll have to take that into account when timing your dungeons. The trade-off here is that Mina’s invincible frames last much longer. This allows you to reposition Mina with a greater degree of freedom than a simple dodge would. Admittedly, this took me a while to get used to, but once I got the hang of it, I loved how quick and fast it made Mina feel.
However, one of the downsides of 2D-inspired graphics is that it is sometimes difficult to judge distances. When there was a boss fight, I would dig down, and try to get out behind the boss. Instead, I would appear on top of them, and it’s a frustrating problem since just touching enemies hurts you.
Platforming is tricky as well, but there are plenty of quality-of-life mechanics that make judging jump distances easier. For example, the shadow of Mina will always appear, directing your eyes to where you should stay.
“Mina the Hollower” is not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination. The bosses are as hard hitting as if they were in a game like Souls and you have to learn their attack patterns to succeed. You can also collect Bones which are used both as currency to buy things like healing potions or new trinkets, and as EXP to level up Mina’s parameters like attack and defense.
The comparisons like Souls don’t stop there! Dying will cause Mina to drop a “Spark” and she must retrieve it before she dies again, otherwise she will lose all the Bones she currently has. So there is a constant balance of trying to stay alive while collecting enough Bones. This tension forces you to be more cautious when exploring and engaging enemies, but ultimately leads to a more satisfying feeling when you succeed or get to the next checkpoint to regroup and take a shower.
The game also has a bevy of modifiers that you can turn on and off if the automatic experience is too difficult. You can turn on settings like infinite health so you don’t die, or even increase the difficulty by having Mina take three times as much damage as usual. It also tells you if enabling a particular modifier will disable the ability to unlock Achievements/Awards in your area. That way, you won’t be able to cheat your way to 100% completion.
“Mina the Hollower” is another bold retro-inspired adventure with rewarding exploration, challenging combat, and stylish presentation. Despite a few frustrations with the visual depth and lack of purpose with the story progression, its gameplay mechanics and interesting world make it one of the best games of 2026.
Yacht Club Games has provided a PC review copy of this title. It launches on May 29 for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S.
