von From the first hit of the chip tune soundtrack to the classic game boy aesthetic, you would be forgiven if you need to remind yourself it’s 2025. However, anyone who played Yacht Club Games’ excellent (and appropriately difficult) Shovel Knight should immediately have an idea of the quality game they are diving into. And for those who haven’t, please let me explain.
Mina the Hollower is an isometric perspective (the map doesn’t move with you until you go to a new area) action game that takes from the handheld Legend of Zelda games with some modern twists. The story seems to be more a vehicle for the gameplay and aesthetics. You play as Mina, a bipedal mouse, who is also part of a group called the Hollowers who travel the world. She is also the inventor of spark generators and is travelling to the Tenebrous Isle to figure out why these generators have stopped working. Will there be twists and turns and memorable characters? Possibly. But as it stands right now, the story is merely an ok vehicle to get to the gameplay. And that is where the game shines.
After a relatively short introduction, the game truly begins with you selecting one of three weapons: a pair of daggers, a whip, and a hammer. The daggers attack quickly but have a very short range. The whip on the other hand has better range but attack much slower. And the hammer has a quick attack while also being able to have a charge attack that can stun enemies. The only problem during this selection is there are no enemies or dummies to test them out so you have to go mainly on gut feeling and based on your general preference for weapons in games. However, even if you don’t like the weapon, there are a variety of sidearms to use such, as throwing knives and a hatchet, to shoot out as a ranged option.
After attaining a weapon the game kicks you out into the deep end against a boss. This demo does not hold back nor hold your hand. There’s no explanation of controls or step-by-step tutorial. You just know what to do or die trying. However, once you beat the boss and get to the mainland the game truly is realized. And this is where you will be forced to utilize the burrowing ability. Which again, unless I missed some sort of tutorial, you simply learn via pressing buttons and seeing what happens. By holding the jump button, Mina dives underground instead of just landing, allowing her to burrow underground. This is used to navigate past fences, avoid enemies, and get under rocks which Mina can then lift to throw at enemies.
Much like how Shovel Knight was a high quality homage to 2D platformers of old, Mina the Hollower manages to accomplish the same feat with action. However, while Shovel Knight was difficult, to some extent even unforgiving, Mina the Hollower has the chance to be easier. This is due to two more modern additions to the genre. The first is a flask-like system where the player has a helping item which refills as they damage enemies. The second is the leveling up system using the currency, “bones”. However because the bones seem to not be reproducible (enemies and environment seem to only drop it once and if it de-spawns it doesn’t come back on subsequent returns) may frustrate perfectionists or players who are just shy of a level up, particularly if there is no way to get more in the full game.
Ultimately, the demo for Mina the Hollower seems like it will be another hit for Yacht Club Games when the full game releases. Because they have such a strong aesthetic and sound they can take risks with the gameplay, and those risks seem to pay off. While maybe not the best game for beginners due to the difficulty and lack of instruction, it does make for an engaging and enjoyable game. Only time will tell whether the gameplay mechanics and story will be rewarding, but from what the demo shows it is shaping up to be another classic.
Demo Deep Dive is a series looking at upcoming games via available demos to be able to give an impression on everything from the aesthetics to the sounds to, most importantly, how they play. Hopefully you find this series enjoyable, informative, and ultimately helpful both to inform you of games while also promoting games that you may otherwise not have heard of.
This demo for Mina the Hollower is available until September 30th via the ID@Xbox Xbox Selects Demo Fest.
Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/xbox-gamepad-controller-gaming-5209486/
