Windows Central Insider
Recently, Forza Horizon 6, the latest entry in Microsoft's flagship racing franchise, has had its high Metacritic scores overtaken by an unlikely indie title, Mina the Hollower, with a Metacritic score of 92.
Now the general public will get to see why this game earned such a favorable reputation with critics, as Mina the Hollower has now launched for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2, and PC via Steam and Windows.
Admittedly, I didn't really know much about Mina the Hollower until it showed up Forza Horizon 6, other than that it was being developed by the Yacht Club Games, the team behind the legendary indie platformer, Shovel Knight.
So curious, I decided to look it up, and I immediately regretted not putting this game on my backlog until now once I did so. Here's why you should be excited for Mina the Hollower.
Mina the Hollower is a retro-style, isometric, 2D action-adventure game with an art style and gameplay heavily inspired by 1990s-era Game Boy Color games.
You play the titular Mina as she embarks on a quest to liberate an island from a terrible curse while exploring gothic-horror castles, burrowing underneath death traps, and fighting off hideous monsters with whips, sidearms, and magic trinkets.
The game features gorgeous 8-bit pixel-art graphics, an adrenaline-pumping chiptune soundtrack, deep exploration and combat gameplay, and challenging, over-the-top bosses to defeat.
Windows Central's Take
Judging from its launch trailer, Mina the Hollower definitely nails the Game Boy Color aesthetic it's going for it because it looks gorgeous without feeling outdated thanks to having sublimely detailed animation.
However, what caught my attention the most about this game is its gameplay, as it reminds me a lot of Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, my all-time favorite Legend of Zelda game that I played a ton of through a second-hand Game Boy Color when I was a teen, playing a marathon of Zelda games.
I enjoyed Link's Awakening even more than legendary titles like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, for its surprisingly gripping story and having more compelling mobility and combat gameplay mechanics than most other games in the Legend of Zelda series.
It looks like Mina the Hollower is taking the isometric gameplay and mobility options of Link's Awakening and running a marathon with it while updating it with modern controls and sprinkling elements of the Castlevania franchise, like using a whip weapon and Metroidvania-style exploration.
Overall, I can't wait to play this game, especially on handhelds like the Steam Deck or Xbox Ally to fully replicate the Game Boy experience.
I'd recommend putting it on your radar too, regardless of whether or not you grew up with the games Mina the Hollower is homaging, because it looks like an absolute blast to play and one that could end up being one of 2026's sleeper hits.
🗨️ Over to you
Are you excited to play Mina the Hollower? If so, what platform are you getting it on?
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