Mina the Hollower

очень классная игра, прослеживается дух лопатного рыцаря, но в другой перпективе

I'm not going to go into everything other reviews have said. If you like 2D Zelda games or Metroidvanias, you will like this game. Just be aware of the difficulty, this game is not very forgiving at the start

Se você gosta de videogame, jogue. Mina the Hollower não é aquele indie com história profunda, personagens com estigmas fortes, nem mesmo é uma aventura épica; é apenas um jogo divertido que se propõe a te divertir. O level design de cada mapa é o ponto mais forte do jogo, juntamente ao combate bem estruturado, que trazem juntos uma das melhores experiências de platform/ exploração top-down que temos no mercado.

Just awesome, Nothing more to say

9/10- I was a rat

[h1]Introduction[/h1] I haven't had this much fun with a retro-styled adventure game in a long time. If you like the Game Boy and Game Boy Color Zelda games like I do, Mina the Hollower satisfies that itch, yet it stands on its own with its unique design, emphasizing platforming, combat, and inventive ways to utilize its new burrowing mechanic, all wrapped in a package that gives you a great degree of freedom in how you want to play. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Mina the Hollower is a 2D action adventure game in a 3/4 isometric perspective. You can jump, attack with your main weapon, and burrow to move faster, enter underground areas, and interact with many elements in the world. I used the whip for most of the game, but someone else might like the hammer and another might prefer another weapon. Fortunately, you can switch between them easily later on, so if you don't like what you chose in the beginning, you're free to change. Attacking enemies builds up Plasma, which you can use to refill health with a limited number of Plasma Vials when you're low. However, drinking a vial takes time and makes you vulnerable, so timing your heals is critical, especially during boss fights. By holding down jump, you can burrow for a short time in the ground, allowing you to avoid enemy attacks and reposition yourself. This makes huge bosses and enemy hitboxes feel more fair, as you're able to maneuver your way around a bad position and dodge attacks with a bit of planning. Burrowing also lets you cross larger gaps since it makes you move faster, and it can even be used to interact with objects in the game world. Sidearms are subweapons you can use in addition to your main weapon. I really liked using the axe and the throwable sword. Unlike the GBC Zelda games, height and depth are real in Mina the Hollower despite the 2D appearance, thus some sidearms are invaluable to hit enemies that are giving you some trouble but simply out of reach with your main weapon. There are equippable trinkets you can collect, and many at that. The trinkets add a layer of depth to the game and further enhance how you want to play. For example, one trinket lets you burrow longer, and another allows you to overcharge your Plasma meter. There are plenty of options for offensive, defensive, movement, and utility that you can use to forge the best build for your personal style or a given situation. I was always excited to get a new trinket and was pleasantly surprised at the number of them I had by the end of the game. Lastly, I want to talk about the excellent currency system. Bones are used as currency and double as experience points that can be used to level up your abilities. Defeating enemies gives bones and you can find them all over the world. Do you want to get lots of bones from enemies, or do you prefer exploring and collecting them? This builds on top of the freedom Mina the Hollower gives you to play how you want. The difficulty level felt just right to me. Challenging, but not overly so, yet not so easy that it's a pushover either. [h2]Variety and Freedom[/h2] Once you clear the prologue, you're now tasked with tackle the main areas. The best part is you're already equipped to complete all of them, as you can do them in any order you want and there are no hard requirements to reach them. Only the optional collectibles require certain trinkets or sidearms. Otherwise, walking and using the burrow mechanic creatively gets you to where you need to be. Where Mina the Hollower truly shines is in its variety. Yacht Club Games squeezed the most out of its level design, playing with my expectations and surprising me at every turn. Each main area has multiple memorable moments and uses the burrow mechanic to its fullest. I have little doubt each screen in this game had undergone numerous revisions just to craft the best experience possible. Even NPC interactions can be unexpected in good ways, and you might even find some favorite characters like I did. I can't go into too many details without spoilers, so I will just say that I truly admire how varied the game is which made it such a blast to play through. The optional collectibles add a lot of replayability as well. Some of them were tricky to get and involved clever use of the burrow mechanic. Oftentimes you can see what you need to get but need to figure out a route to reach it. These added challenge and fun to the game, and the collectibles also help with the main adventure since they are usually upgrades or trinkets. [h1]Graphics and Music[/h1] There's not much to say here other than everything is excellent. The pixel art is top notch and pleasing to the eye, with detailed enemies, distinguishable enemies and interactable elements. The game's soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and I had some of the songs stuck in my head on rotation for days. The songs fit the game environments very well and pleasant to listen to for long periods of time, which you might be doing like I did. I will purchase the soundtrack to further support the developers and encourage you to do so if you like the soundtrack to this game. [h1]Cons[/h1] Now, no game is flawless, so where does Mina the Hollower fall short? For one, I think the story could've used more clarity throughout the game. Despite playing through the game, I don't actually know exactly why the main antagonist does what they do. While I could've forgotten some details during my quest for 100%, a better story would've made it easy to remember the villain's motive. Gameplay-wise, some areas can be annoying to traverse through to find collectibles you missed. The difficulty does start out a little rough before smoothing over time as you get stronger. The damage values of some enemy attacks and hazards later in the game can be a little ridiculous, dealing very high damage despite me being at full strength. Lastly, I found some trinkets good in concept but underwhelming in execution, often because their effects were just not powerful enough, giving me little reason to use them over others. I think some trinkets can use another wave of balancing to justify equipping them. Fortunately, this wasn't a problem with many of them. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Combined with fluid movement, a great degree of freedom in how you play, masterful level design, beautiful pixel art, and an incredible soundtrack, Mina the Hollower hits all the right notes in an action adventure game. If you like games in this genre, pixel art games, or just want a very polished experience, I think you should absolutely consider playing Mina the Hollower.

Brisk brew.

<3