Mina The Hollower Is About Way More Than Pixel RPG Nostalgia

I’m terrible at Mina The Hollower. I’m not afraid to admit I turned on a damage reduction assist after the first couple of boss battles purely so I could have a better time. But when you consider that I never touched so many of the games that inspired this retro masterpiece, nor did I fall in love with Shovel Knight like millions of others did, I’m doing pretty alright.

My first console was the original PlayStation, so by the time I picked up a controller for the first time, a number of classic titles like Link’s Awakening and Castlevania were old hat. Aside from less powerful handheld platforms like the Game Boy (and later Game Boy Advance), most developers had moved on and begun experimenting with 3D.

So, I have zero nostalgia for the games that Mina The Hollower is trying to pay homage to, but that hasn’t stopped me from loving how it expands upon so many of their aesthetic and mechanical ideas to offer a gameplay experience unlike any other. It’s a deep, charming, and challenging adventure.

Why Mina The Hollower Is More Than Just A Retro Love Letter

Upon first glance, Mina the Hollower looks like dozens of other pixel art retro adventure titles that have been released over the past decade. Although, in developer Yacht Club Games’ defence, you could argue it’s a trend Shovel Knight aided in starting. But after just a handful of minutes, you’ll realise Yacht Club is not just paying homage to a beloved isometric perspective, but also taking a range of classic mechanics only to make them feel brand-new again.

Combat is instantly reactive as Mina can not only swing at enemies with weapons like flails, swords, and spears, but also burrow underground to avoid incoming attacks or leap over the heads of enemies to dodge otherwise lethal strikes. I was taken aback by the nuanced level of movement required to conquer even basic enemies and early boss encounters. Refuse to learn and improve your skills, and you’ll be forced to try again and again and again.

The need to memorise the timing and range of animations reminds me of Dark Souls. I know that’s a clichéd comparison to make, but it seems like every enemy type has its own unique move set that must be memorised and considered if you want to survive. A failure to do so means you will be sent back to the start of battles or platforming gauntlets, even if you’ve resorted to a couple of assists like I did.

Assists prevent you from unlocking Trophies and Achievements, so keep that in mind if you’re looking to build out your digital collection and make it to the end of the game.

Yacht Club talks about how very few developers are making games like Mina anymore, and if someone is, they tend to disregard how the aesthetics and mechanics might have evolved. The aim is often to perfectly recreate the past, without considering that modern gamers want more freedom in terms of both what games they have to play and how they cater to specific styles.

One of the things that floors me most about Mina is how, from a distance, it looks like a game that could have been released a few decades ago. However, dig deeper, and you’ll see a more sophisticated take on pixel art and a profound understanding of how layered gameplay mechanics can be even when presented with the most seemingly primitive of visuals.

Struggling With Mina The Hollower? Don’t Be Afraid To Use Assists

The Dark Souls comparison I made early also extends to world design. After getting through the tutorial and being unleashed upon the town of Ossex, you can head in any direction that tickles our fancy. Still, chances are you’ll stumble into an impassable obstacle, a doorway in need of a one-use key or something else to hit your head against. But once you finally start making progress, all of these dead ends click into place beautifully.

Mina’s world is completely open, and after an hour of exploring aimlessly broke through and began defeating enemies, opening doorways, and eventually opening a doorway which in a completely logical way led back to the town of Ossex. This world intertwines on itself and is only going to set limits that can be passed through with effort and perseverance. If you wind up stuck, simply walk away, do some grinding, and come back later. It feels like a retro take on a modern action RPG with a top-down pixel art aesthetic.

If you love a deviously placed secret passage or two, this game has loads of them.

I’m yet to even dive into any of the main six dungeons, but the large areas that surround all of them are so big that you can spend hours getting lost in them alone. All through Mina’s long development, I naively believed it was going to be an adoring retro love letter that completely went over my head due to lacking nostalgia. But the folks over at Yacht Club have done such a wonderful job modernising this classic formula in pursuit of a larger audience that I’m falling deeply in love with it.

The reviews aren’t lying — this game is something special. Mina is also a cute little mouse if you’re into that sort of thing.