Mina the Hollower

About Mina the Hollower

Mina the Hollower is a retro-inspired action-adventure RPG with platforming elements from Yacht Club Games. It launched June 30 2026 for PC Xbox Series PS5 and Switch. The game blends top-down exploration with whip-based combat digging mechanics and puzzle-solving in a pixel-art world. You play as Mina a tinkerer who must restore power to Tenebrous Isle while uncovering its dark secrets. The game leans into 8-bit aesthetics but updates classic gameplay with smooth 60fps action. It’s a love letter to 90s handheld games with modern polish from the team behind Shovel Knight.

Gameplay

Combat revolves around Mina’s whip which pulls enemies toward her or yanks environmental objects. You spend most sessions digging through soil to dodge attacks or find hidden paths. Boss fights demand precise timing as you juggle multiple weapons like boomerangs and bombs. Exploration feels tight each zone a maze of terrain to carve through and secrets to unearth. Upgrades let you dig deeper or attack from range but require careful resource management. The world is divided into distinct islands each with unique threats and puzzles. Sessions often end in death but quick respawns keep the pace brisk.

What Players Think

PlayPile users rate it 4.6/5 with 92% recommending it. Completion stats show 94% of players finish the main story in 13 hours but only 27% hit 100% with its 18-hour grind for hidden labs and blueprints. Critics on Metacritic average 89/100 praising the “sharp controls and clever level design” but note some combat repetition. Community moods are nostalgic and engaged though 15% call the difficulty curve punishing. Review snippets highlight “a joy for pixel-platforming purists” but “requires patience for its tricky boss phases.”

PlayPile's Take

Mina the Hollower thrives for fans of retro mechanics with modern upgrades. Its $40 price tag matches its 15-hour core experience with extra content for completionists. 72 achievements reward precise exploration but don’t inflate playtime much. The whip combat is satisfying but may frustrate those wanting smoother difficulty scaling. If you enjoyed Shovel Knight or Axiom Verge this feels familiar but refined. It’s not impressive but excels as a polished nostalgia trip with enough depth to justify its price.

Storyline

You play as Mina, a whip-wielding Hollower and visionary inventor. She receives a troubling letter from Baron Lionel, her longtime patron and the overseer of Tenebrous Isle. Mina’s advances in Spark Technology brought power to the Isle for the first time many years ago, ushering in newfound prosperity for its citizens. But now, the Spark Generators have gone out, and foul play is suspected. You will use a myriad of weapons and oddball trinkets to vanquish the monsters thwarting Mina’s objective. Along the way, you’ll unearth the deep, dark secrets concealed beneath the island's newfound prosperity.