Mina the Hollower

Yacht Club

While 007 First Light releases today, and has racked up a very solid 88 metascore, tying it for third place for the year, now, it’s fourth place. A new game is #1 and by a somewhat significant margin in the context of these things.

That would be Mina the Hollower, out May 29 ,which has just gotten a 93 metascore, two full points above Forza Horizon 6’s 91. It is obviously not a AAA production, and likely a game that many gamers have not heard of at all. Here’s the synopsis:

“Take control of Mina, a renowned Hollower hurtled into a desperate mission to rescue a cursed island. Whip foes, burrow through the ground, and explore a pixel-perfect world in Mina the Hollower, a brand new game from the developers who brought you Shovel Knight!”

Ah, well, you might understand now. The developers who brought you Shovel Knight, the hugely beloved series that began in 2014 and had releases as recently as 2022. But Mina the Hollower is the first new game developed by Yacht Club outside of the Shovel Knight family…ever. Reportedly, the studio has been facing financial issues, and Mina the Hollower is said to be “make-or-break for sure” by founder Sean Velasco. Well, hopefully these kinds of scores lead to “make.” Mina’s 93 score is above the 85 of the original Shovel Knight and above every other expansion made for the game as well. Mina may echo last year’s Silksong, which had a 90 score and led it to be a GOTY nominee.

What are critics saying about it? It has 11 perfect 10 scores, practically a third of all reviews in. Here are the highlights, including from some heavy hitters:

• IGN (10/10): “. Even if all you’ve played is Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring, don’t let the retro look fool you: Mina the Hollower will scratch the same itch, with an open world that’s crammed with mysteries worth finding and lively, clever combat I couldn’t get enough of. It’s a big game in a small package, and an absolute masterpiece of an adventure.”
• The Gamer (10/10): “Mina the Hollower is an almost faultless game that combines elements of nostalgic classics we know and love with a healthy dose of Yacht Club’s flair and expertise to make it something that truly stands out as a retro-inspired masterpiece. I could honestly play it forever, with Yacht Club proving that it’s not just a one game studio with yet another bonafide classic.”
• Game Informer (8.8/10): “Mina the Hollower looks like a nostalgic throwback, and it undeniably is, but its thoughtful design and larger sensibilities make it play and feel like a contemporary video game – one that has taken the right lessons from the medium’s history.”

So, we obviously have a new GOTY contender on our hands, one that may be closer to a possible winner than most (I really do wonder if GTA 6 is an auto-win this year). You can play Mina the Hollower for yourself on Friday, May 29.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.