{"id":9799,"date":"2026-05-27T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/?p=9799"},"modified":"2026-05-27T18:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T14:55:00","slug":"mina-the-hollower-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/2026\/05\/27\/mina-the-hollower-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Mina the Hollower Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the opening hour of Mina the Hollower, I found myself dropped into a hostile world with no obviously \u201ccorrect\u201d path to follow and roaming enemies that could kill me in just a few hits no matter what direction I chose. That\u2019s about when I realized this retro RPG was hiding far more than I expected beneath the surface \u2013 and once I burrowed on in, I never wanted to come back up. Mina is a tough-as-nails adventure gorgeously done up in the style of the Game Boy Color\u2019s best, and it isn\u2019t shy about those influences. It borrows The Legend of Zelda\u2019s open-world structure, adds a healthy amount of Castlevania\u2019s horror setting and haunting chiptunes, and peps things up with a surprising dose of FromSoft\u2019s Souls games in its combat and progression. But somewhere in that mix, Mina becomes more than the sum of those parts, cleverly riffing and remixing them them with consistent brilliance. Its blocky exterior disguises rich combat systems, some of the best puzzle solving ever put to screen, and a funny, deeply weird <\/em>world I loved to explore. <\/p>\n

Developer Yacht Club Games is no stranger to retro tributes, with its standout Shovel Knight series drawing heavily from NES classics like Mega Man. While Shovel Knight stuck to its source material pretty closely, Mina uses Zelda games like Link\u2019s Awakening and the Oracle duo as a foundation for a much deeper, more modern take on a top-down action-RPG: You have a jump that will get you over small gaps but never up to a higher ledge, an overworld that partially scrolls but has distinct edges between regions, and of course start out with a stubby little weapon (actually, several to choose from). These are not the Zelda games you usually see developers aim their sights at, but I love how the seemingly-limiting constraints of imitating the early handheld Zeldas conceals Mina\u2019s inner complexity. <\/p>\n

However, very much unlike<\/em> the Game Boy games it draws from aesthetically, and more like The Legend of Zelda for NES (or Breath of the Wild decades later), Mina has a completely open world. There are no paths blocked until you get some special item, and nothing but your own skill level keeping you from going to any one of its four initial dungeons first. You just need to fight your way there. And if you can\u2019t cut it, there\u2019s probably another area to try instead, a clever place to grind for money and levels, or some side quests that lead to optional upgrades. <\/p>\n

Mina\u2019s world is often surreal, dreamy, and uncanny. Built around the central village of Ossex, the Tenebrous Isles are an entrancing mix of gothic fantasy and magically-infused steampunk tech. There are plenty of adorable animal denizens, like Mina, but also building-busting giants, perfectly friendly abominations, and a whole lotta possums \u2013 which are a type<\/em> of monster. Cutesy overworld sprites are sometimes subverted by ghoulish character portraits when you stop to chat. It all smacks of the David Lynch-inspired characters that make up the otherworldly island of Link\u2019s Awakening in just the right way (and that\u2019s not some snooty art school connection I\u2019m making, Twin Peaks has been widely cited by the devs as a major influence on that 1993 Zelda game). Additionally, these characters all have lives that are affected by your actions, and many end up holding a greater purpose in the larger story, which has some fun (if predictable) twists and turns, but really saves the good stuff for the end.<\/p>\n

Mina herself is a bit of an enigma. She\u2019s a monster slayer, but also something of a mad scientist who has outfitted Tenebrous Isles with tech that is being mysteriously sabotaged. The plot follows whether her machines are actually good or bad, and while brave little Mina seems to act heroically in this kill-or-be-killed overworld, often solving problems for the Islefolk, she also causes a few: Without spoiling anything, those can come back to haunt you. This little white mouse explores a lot of grey areas, and I love that! <\/p>\n

Mina\u2019s world is often surreal, dreamy, and uncanny.\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

There are six main dungeons spread across the Tenebrous Isles, each with a matching area that leads up to it \u2013 a swamp, a beach, a crypt\u2026 you\u2019ve played a video game before. There\u2019s even a small but very cool nod to Castlevania here, with short establishing shots showing the boss towers silhouetted in the distance for every area \u2013 and then those creepy spires showing up in backgrounds as you climb, just like Dracula\u2019s perched lair. While most of Mina\u2019s art choices are limited to blocky tiles, these sweeping scenes and backdrops show off some stunning pixel art that helps set the mood. <\/p>\n

Mina stares down the spooky menace of Septemberg in Mina the Hollower.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(And then there\u2019s the soundtrack: Pure Castlevania! Baroque jams performed on a glorious, beepy boopy NES\/Game Boy soundalike instrument set. I\u2019ve been associating this sort of gothic Casio sound with tense horror action games since 1987 and it still feels totally rad<\/em> when executed this well in 2026.)<\/p>\n

All six areas are filled with charm and challenge, but one called Septemberg especially stood out as a piece of storytelling I\u2019d never experienced before. It\u2019s a region frozen in autumn, with gusty winds that blow you around, piles of fallen leaves, pumpkins, and a general Halloween vibe. All of it is out to kill you. You quickly learn of a lurking terror in your midst there, and the escalating nightmare of trying to manage that threat through a hedge maze, a lightning storm, and more is an absolutely bonkers, adrenaline-inducing sequence I couldn\u2019t stop talking about with others who had seen it; just an incredible amalgam of schlocky, spooky-season fun. <\/p>\n

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While you could go to Septemberg as your first area or not find it until much later, there are<\/em> areas you can\u2019t access immediately, but the way to reach them is never a dungeon-based upgrade. It\u2019s a secret passage, a side quest, or, in some cases, by using a specific Sidearm (secondary weapon) or Trinket (ability-modifying equipment) that you find while exploring the overworld. This is the best and most pure kind of open world, and it\u2019s executed excellently here. Mina dangles a prize just out of reach to challenge you: Can you get to that treasure chest from another screen? Can you survive long enough in the water to reach that gap under a bridge? Should you go in that creepy hole in the ground right now<\/em> with no save point in sight?<\/p>\n

Mina\u2019s move set as you meet these challenges is all her own, and it is a ton of fun to learn and master as you explore. Her ability to burrow beneath the ground and then pop up for an aerial leap is multipurpose: It\u2019s a dash, a dodge, a long jump, and eventually a graceful way to dance around an enemy like a furry lil\u2019 ninja. There\u2019s a learning curve for sure, and effectively working this move into my hacking and slashing took time. There are no counters or dodge rolls here, just sliding under an enemy to get the better of them. But once I got the hang of burrowing, it became a versatile combat tool that made Mina feel extra nimble compared to, say, a certain squat, little Hylian. <\/p>\n

I was always excited to experiment with new Trinket loadouts.\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

There are two other aspects of Mina\u2019s arsenal that will surely catch Castlevania fans\u2019 eyes \u2013 and ears \u2013 right away. First off, the whip: Mina\u2019s Nightstar (actually described as a mace on a chain) is one of five possible weapons to pick from, and it\u2019s a fantastic go-to option (and, of course, any aspiring Belmont\u2019s choice of weapon). I stuck with the Nightstar for most of the roughly two-dozen hours it took me to reach the credits, but I ended up also falling in love with the daggers, Whisper and Vesper \u2013 more of an Alucard thing. The Nightstar is good for delivering fast, heavy damage at a safe distance (and you can upgrade it to do the useless, dangling chain thing, ala Castlevania IV!). But the daggers, when boosted by a Trinket that adds an attack multiplier for landing hits without missing, became an awesome boss killer. <\/p>\n

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Mina The Hollower – 15 Reveal Screenshots<\/h3>\n