Mina the Hollower — Metacritic 91, Yacht Club's Best Since Shovel Knight
Seven years after Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games has released its second original IP. Mina the Hollower launched May 29, 2026 on PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch to immediate critical acclaim: Metacritic 91, Steam Very Positive (88% of 2,977 reviews), and widespread recognition as one of 2026's best indie releases.
Quick Facts
| Title | Mina the Hollower |
|---|---|
| Developer / Publisher | Yacht Club Games |
| Genre | Top-down action-adventure |
| Platforms | PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch |
| Release Date | May 29, 2026 |
| Price | $19.99 |
| Metacritic | 91 |
| Steam Reviews | Very Positive (88%, 2,977 reviews) |
| Main Story Length | ~20 hours |
Official Trailer
What Is Mina the Hollower?
On the surface, Mina is a top-down action-adventure in the Zelda mold. Below the surface — literally and structurally — it's something more demanding. Yacht Club drew explicit inspiration from Dark Souls for the game's world structure, risk-reward loop, and interconnected level design.
The setting is a Victorian gothic horror world: fog-covered clock-tower villages, haunted manor houses, and pitch-dark underground mines. The protagonist Mina is an engineer armed with a whip and hammer — a direct homage to Castlevania's Simon Belmont filtered through Yacht Club's sensibility.
The Burrow Mechanic
The defining mechanic that separates Mina from every other top-down action game is burrowing. Mina can dive underground, move beneath enemies, and resurface to attack — or simply evade.
| Use Case | Effect |
|---|---|
| Combat | Dodge attacks without rolling; attack from below |
| Exploration | Access hidden paths; solve environmental puzzles |
| Boss Fights | Survive phase transitions; exploit positional weaknesses |
This single mechanic reshapes how fights and spaces feel. Rooms that would be standard combat arenas in other games become spatial puzzles when you can go underground.
Dark Souls Structure
Yacht Club openly cited Dark Souls as a structural reference, and it shows:
- ▶Drop currency on death: Lost gold stays at death location and can be retrieved
- ▶Interconnected world: Regions connect organically — not a hub-and-spoke level select
- ▶Shortcut unlocks: Exploration rewards with loops back to earlier areas
- ▶Non-linear boss order: Several areas can be tackled in the player's preferred sequence
This is substantially more demanding than Shovel Knight. Players expecting a breezy platformer will find a deeper, more punishing experience.
Combat
| Weapon | Role |
|---|---|
| Whip | Primary ranged attack; classic Castlevania feel |
| Hammer | Heavy melee; staggers and breaks shields |
| Bombs | Area damage; environmental interactions |
| Special weapons | Unlocked through exploration and boss defeats |
Combat emphasizes reactive play over pure pattern memorization. Knowing when to burrow versus when to trade hits is the core skill curve.
Visual Design
Yacht Club's pixel art team has outdone itself. Mina's world features:
- ▶Dynamic torch and lantern lighting with flickering animation
- ▶Layered parallax backgrounds creating genuine sense of depth in a 2D space
- ▶Expressive boss intro sequences that rival much larger productions
- ▶A gothic color palette that shifts between warm amber and cold fog depending on zone
The art style sits between a 16-bit aesthetic and something modern — immediately readable, but technically impressive.
Mina vs. Shovel Knight
| Shovel Knight | Mina the Hollower | |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | Side-scrolling | Top-down |
| Difficulty | Challenging but accessible | Harder, more demanding structure |
| World | Fantasy knights and wizards | Victorian gothic horror |
| Length | 8–10 hours | ~20 hours |
| World structure | Linear level select | Semi-open interconnected |
Shovel Knight fans will likely love Mina, but should expect a meaningfully different experience — more complex, more atmospheric, less forgiving.
Critical Reception
| Outlet | Score | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Metacritic (aggregate) | 91 | — |
| IGN | 9/10 | "Yacht Club's greatest game" |
| GameSpot | 9/10 | "Inventive mechanics and meticulous design" |
| Eurogamer | Essential | "One of the best indie games of 2026" |
| Steam users | 88% positive (2,977 reviews) | "Deeper than Shovel Knight" |
The consistency across outlets is notable — Mina's Metacritic score has barely moved since launch. Critics praise boss design, the burrow mechanic's spatial creativity, and the structural depth exceeding Shovel Knight.
Where to Buy
| Platform | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|
| PC (Steam) | $19.99 | Steam Store Page |
| Nintendo Switch | $19.99 | Nintendo eShop |
At $19.99 for approximately 20 hours of content, the value proposition is strong. No Game Pass or PS Plus inclusion at launch.
GamePeak Verdict
A Metacritic 91 from a developer releasing their second original IP after Shovel Knight is not a coincidence — it's the result of Yacht Club Games spending several years making every system work together. The burrow mechanic alone elevates Mina above its genre peers, and the Dark Souls-inspired structure gives it staying power well beyond the initial playthrough.
If you want a top-down action game with real depth, Mina the Hollower is the best indie pick of early 2026.