Mina the Hollower: Everything We Know Before Spring 2026
Yacht Club Games' next project blends top-down exploration with deliberate whip combat and a unique burrowing mechanic. Here's what to expect from Mina the Hollower.
March 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Ex-competitive player turned writer. If a game has a ranked mode, I've probably grinded it. I write about what's worth your sweat.
Yacht Club Games built their reputation on Shovel Knight, a game that proved retro aesthetics could still captivate modern audiences. Mina the Hollower is their next major project, and it shifts the formula considerably. Where Shovel Knight was a side-scrolling platformer, Mina is a top-down action-adventure game in the style of Game Boy Color classics. It releases this spring on Switch 2, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Here is everything we know about the game so far.
What Kind of Game Is Mina the Hollower?
Mina the Hollower
Yacht Club Games
Jun 30, 2026
Mina the Hollower is a bone-chilling action-adventure game featuring classic gameplay and an 8-bit aesthetic in the style of Game Boy Color, refine…
Think Link's Awakening meets Castlevania. The camera sits above the action as Mina explores a cursed island filled with monsters, puzzles, and gothic horror. The visual style recreates the Game Boy Color era with pixel-perfect accuracy, but the gameplay runs at a smooth 60fps with modern quality-of-life improvements.
Combat centers on Mina's whip, called the Nightstar. Unlike a sword that swings instantly, the whip has a deliberate windup before cracking in one of four directions. This creates a rhythm to combat where positioning and timing matter more than button mashing. You cannot spam attacks and expect to win.
The Burrowing Mechanic
The standout feature is "Hollowing," Mina's ability to burrow underground. Hold the button as you land from a jump, and Mina digs beneath the surface. While underground, you can pass under hazards, avoid enemy attacks, and access areas that would otherwise be blocked.
This opens up exploration in interesting ways. A room with a floor covered in spikes becomes trivial if you can burrow beneath them. An enemy's projectile attack is useless if you are not on the surface. The tension comes from managing how long you can stay underground and when to resurface.
Combat and Gear
Beyond the Nightstar whip, Mina carries an arsenal of sidearms. These secondary weapons provide different tactical options. Some deal damage at range. Others create defensive options. The exact lineup has not been fully revealed, but expect variety similar to the sub-weapons in classic Castlevania games.
Trinkets round out your build. These are equippable items that modify Mina's abilities. Whether they function like passive upgrades, active abilities, or something else entirely will become clearer as the spring release approaches.
The Setting
The game takes place on an island under a curse. Mina is a "Hollower," someone with the ability to burrow, and she is sent on a mission to rescue the island from whatever darkness has taken hold. The atmosphere leans into gothic horror without going full grimdark. Expect bizarre characters, creepy enemies, and secrets hidden in exotic locales.
Yacht Club Games has always excelled at worldbuilding through environmental storytelling and NPC dialogue. Shovel Knight's world felt lived-in despite its retro constraints. Mina the Hollower appears to be taking the same approach with a darker tone.
Development History
Mina the Hollower was announced via Kickstarter in early 2022. Yacht Club Games returned to crowdfunding not because they needed the money (they funded most of the project themselves) but because they wanted to build a community around the game the same way they did with Shovel Knight.
The campaign was successful, and development has continued since. The original release target was October 31, 2025, which would have been a fitting Halloween launch for a horror-themed game. That date slipped, and the current window is Spring 2026. No exact date has been confirmed.
Platform Support
Mina the Hollower launches on Switch 2, Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. The game is designed to run well on a wide range of hardware given its retro visual style, so performance should not be a concern on any platform.
The Switch 2 version is notable for anyone who wants to play on a handheld. The Game Boy Color aesthetic fits perfectly on a portable screen, and the 60fps gameplay should feel snappy on Nintendo's new hardware.
Why This Matters
Yacht Club Games is a studio with an excellent track record. Shovel Knight and its expansions delivered on every promise. If they apply the same level of polish to Mina the Hollower, this could be one of the standout indie releases of 2026.
The combination of top-down exploration, deliberate whip combat, and the burrowing mechanic creates something that feels familiar and fresh at the same time. Spring 2026 is not far off. Keep this one on your radar.