Over the past decade, developer Yacht Club Games has created an empire under their Shovel Knight brand making them arguably the face of the indie game space. But with Mina the Hollower, the studio is aiming to bring something completely new to the table, and after my first-look demo, I am eager to see more.
Inspired by the Game Boy Color era and more specifically, The Legend of Zelda franchise, Mina the Hollower wants to bring the best in old and new game design while introducing its own mechanics into the mix. After playing a full level of the game, I was met with fair, but challenging obstacles to overcome alongside fresh, but also familiar gameplay. The result was something that felt completely its own.
At first glance, Mina the Hollower plays as your go-to 2D action-adventure with a top down perspective, but it also reminds me of what I would find in a platformer without traditionally being one. Instead of jumping, your protagonist Mina burrows underground. You can ascend from the ground whenever you want, but you can’t stay burrowed forever. If she is near the ledge of a gap she will leap across, giving you control on where she can land. Throughout my demo I was approached by multiple skill challenges where I had to master the timing of my burrows and jumps to progress through a section of the level. Burrowing will also allow Mina to pick up rocks and pots that can be thrown at enemies.
Mina is equipped with a whip that serves as her primary weapon, but it also has an additional special property. If Mina isn’t at maximum health, hitting bad guys will build a yellow bar past your current health, and by using a flask you can gain your health back to that level. This is similar to flasks in Dark Souls, but this time around you have to earn your healing bringing an engaging risk vs reward system as combat is the way to both your potential survival or death. There were many moments throughout my playtime where I considered whether or not it was worth fighting an enemy to gain healing or to burrow and escape the encounter. It is ultimately your confidence in the mechanics that determines what you will do in each combat scenario.
Other ways to heal include hitting random objects or by visiting any of Mina’s underlabs, an underground location which serves as a checkpoint as well as where Mina can store items. There were several moments throughout where I felt accomplished by getting to the next underlab, thus allowing myself to breathe and regain my bearings in this charmingly little sanctuary.
Partnered with her whip, Mina can gain access to sidearms like throwing knives and axes that can be lobbed at your foes. Defeating enemies will earn you bones, which not only serves as your currency to increase your stats, but determines your level-ups as well. Mina not only has a health bar, but also sparks which can be compared to lives in most other games. When Mina dies, the spark is consumed by the enemy that kills her, requiring you to kill that enemy on her next trek to gain that spark back.
What makes Mina the Hollower so fun is how everyone will attack every room differently. You can choose to take the offensive, defeating anything that is in your path or you can avoid combat in most cases and burrow past each threat in your way. Naturally though, you’re going to find the balance that is right for you. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer for the complete package .