Mina the Hollower: The First Preview
Over the past decade, developer Yacht Club Games has created an empire under their Shovel Knight brand making them arguably the face of the indie game space. But with Mina the Hollower, the studio is aiming to bring something completely new to the table, and after my first-look demo, I am eager to see more.
Inspired by the Game Boy Color era and more specifically, The Legend of Zelda franchise, Mina the Hollower wants to bring the best in old and new game design while introducing its own mechanics into the mix. After playing a full level of the game, I was met with fair, but challenging obstacles to overcome alongside fresh, but also familiar gameplay. The result was something that felt completely its own.
At first glance, Mina the Hollower plays as your go-to 2D action-adventure with a top down perspective, but it also reminds me of what I would find in a platformer without traditionally being one. Instead of jumping, your protagonist Mina burrows underground. You can ascend from the ground whenever you want, but you can’t stay burrowed forever. If she is near the ledge of a gap she will leap across, giving you control on where she can land. Throughout my demo I was approached by multiple skill challenges where I had to master the timing of my burrows and jumps to progress through a section of the level. Burrowing will also allow Mina to pick up rocks and pots that can be thrown at enemies.
Mina is equipped with a whip that serves as her primary weapon, but it also has an additional special property. If Mina isn’t at maximum health, hitting bad guys will build a yellow bar past your current health, and by using a flask you can gain your health back to that level. This is similar to flasks in Dark Souls, but this time
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