Product Info

Platform

Switch 2, Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PC

Publisher

Yacht Club Games

Developer

Yacht Club Games

Genre

Action, Adventure

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

873 MB

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Mina the Hollower is a fantastic adventure game by the Yacht Club Games team. Nearly every area is packed with secrets, detailed environments, and customizable options that make Mina the Hollower worth digging through more than once. One of the best games of 2026.

A Hollowing Mystery

You’ll play as Mina, a knowledgeable mouse who travels to a mysterious island to fix the broken Spark Generators, a massive power system that brings electricity and prosperity to Tenebrous Isle. With the generators malfunctioning, monsters and darkness overrun the island. As Mina works to restore power to the island, an unknown crisis emerges that turns Tenebrous Isle upside down.

The game is filled with surprising events that can occur anywhere from the boat ride to Tenebrous Isle, to the center of Ossex, the island’s main city, and in the middle of a train ride to the snowy mountains. Unexpected encounters and hazards constantly keep the adventure on edge. The story eventually shifts into some unexpected directions and I’m all for seeing at least a prequel or sequel to this entertaining title.

A Retro Nightmare

Mina the Hollower’s designs use a classic top-down design with pixel style art that resembles the classic The Legend of Zelda games from the Game Boy era. The pixel art is beautifully crafted, from the character sprites to the environmental designs. Every scene you explore is highly detailed. Water reflections on the ground and wind effects look fantastic. The user interfaces are clean and simple to understand. Its dark themed designs give it that Victorian Gothic feel from the mid-to-late 19th century. At first glance it feels like it would be a fusion of Castlevania and The Legend of Zelda but it plays more like The Legend of Zelda due to its level designs and gameplay mechanics. While there’s six locations you need to visit to complete the game, there’s much more to explore, collect, and mini games to play.

Jake Kaufman (Shovel Knight, Ducktales: Remastered) returns as the game’s composer, along with some tracks composed by Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Ys I, Ys II). The game’s overall score is fantastic and gives that dark and upbeat tempo with chiptune inspired melodies that resemble the Game Boy era. Boss battles feel energetic and give off that overwhelming feeling that you’re in for a tough battle. It’s a soundtrack you want to pick up and play on repeat when you’re not playing Mina the Hollower.

At first, you can only use one type of weapon but more options become available the further you play. Combat feels flexible thanks to weapon choices including whips, daggers, hammers, and shields. Upgrading each weapon to become more destructive is available but requires players to search around the island to do it. Trinkets and weapons that improve Mina’s stats can only be swapped inside her underground lab, which acts as the game’s save point system.

The amount of optional content and replay value makes Mina the Hollower feel far larger than its budget price suggests.

Burrow Your Way Through

Each location carries a hazardous path that requires skill to get across large pits and maneuver around enemy attacks. Mina the Hollower offers a visual display when you’re too close to the edge where Mina is sweating if you are about to fall. Players will want to utilize and get familiar with the burrowing technique soon as possible. Mastering the short-timed burrow lets Mina launch farther across dangerous gaps.

This trick lets you avoid flying projectiles and some enemy attacks. Learning at first took some time but once you understand the feel to initiate it on the controller, it begins to feel like a normal execution you’ll do often without realizing.

If It’s Broken, Fix It

Players will find themselves in constant battles to figure out enemy patterns by trial and error, climbing up and avoiding being electrocuted from climbing the generator tower, and much more. I found myself enjoying the challenge but as time went on, the game overwhelmed me with the obstacles that started to deteriorate my patience and deplete Mina’s health fastly. From boss battles to generator climbs, the game constantly pushes players through punishing encounters.

I wanted to see how the story unfolds and explore every piece the game offers without the concern of cheap and quick deaths. Enter the Modifiers, a game option where you can alter the game’s difficulty from easy to hard, along with other odd visuals. Players can turn on auto regenerate Mina’s health, take less damage, walk on pits, turn off weather conditions, increase in-game currency, hover in the air longer, and more. It’s like a cheat code built into the system and players can adjust the game’s settings to their comfort level. It feels like Yacht Club Games wanted to deliver a challenging experience while still giving less experienced players ways to enjoy the adventure.

The major drawback is towards trophy and achievement hunters. Turning on the Modifier to anything, even if it’s just turning on the option to make enemies attack Mina harder, will disable the features, which is a log of your trophy/achievement list. I can understand why to motivate players to play the original setup but I think these awards could have been handed out regardless and keep some dedicated to normal playthrough.

World map access is limited which may bother some but exploring the game from edge-to-edge is what makes exploring the mysterious island fun in the first place. Exploration gives me that nostalgic feel of when first exploring The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Digging Deeper

When you complete the game, new options arise for players. New Modifiers to change the gameplay and a New Game Plus option that can go up to seven rounds. Each round gives more challenges, along with visuals are adjusted such as island layouts are flipped horizontally, Mina’s level caps are increased, and more. It changes the way the game feels and makes the adventure feel like a new run. The game already feels massive and these new options make it feel well worth the game’s original price.

The Final Generator

Mina the Hollower delivers a retro-inspired adventure packed with rewarding exploration, stylish pixel art, and a standout soundtrack. While its punishing difficulty may frustrate some players, the flexible Modifier system and massive amount of content make it a journey worth digging into more than once.

A PlayStation 5 review code was provided for this review. Mina the Hollower arrives on the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on May 29, 2026.