Mina the Hollower

Mina the Hollower is an action adventure game with RPG elements. It was developed by Yacht Club Games, an independent studio which gained worldwide fame with the game Shovel Knight. The game was created thanks to successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.

Plot

Mina the Hollower takes us on a journey to a fantastic world inspired by gothic horror, which is inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. As a so-called hollower, Mina, the protagonist, not only specializes in exploring the earth and its hidden resources and making technological discoveries, but also can quickly move under the surface.

One day, the protagonist receives a message from Baron Lionel - her long-time friend and overseer of Tenebrous Island. The piece of land he manages has changed beyond recognition, when our protagonist gave him her latest invention - spark generators. Unfortunately, the prosperity she brought to the inhabitants came to an end, because the generators stopped working. The circumstances under which this mishap occurred are shrouded in mystery. Deprived of these technological wonders, the island began to fall into ruin, and on top of that, the forces of evil are more and more boldly moving around it. Currently, only its capital Ossex has managed to maintain its former glory.

Mina has no choice but to embark on a dangerous journey across Tenebrous to activate the generators and restore order to the island.

Game mechanics

In Mina the Hollower we observe the action from a top-down view. We explore Tenebrous and meet the inhabitants of the island as well as complete various tasks.

We are hindered by numerous opponents, among which we can find both regular enemies and much more powerful adversaries acting as bosses. The battles require dexterity and reflexes, and to be successful we have to master the skills of the protagonist. The heroine can not only attack and dodge, but also jump under the ground in a flash and move quickly under its surface for a limited time. Although Mina's primary weapon is the Nightstar whip, she also uses side weapons such as throwing daggers and an electric axe. In addition, over time we get our hands on so-called trinkets, which are special items that provide Mina with various buffs and additional abilities, which are useful both on the battlefield and during the exploration.

As we progress we gain Bones, which act here as both experience points and currency. We find them in chests or get them in exchange for defeated opponents. After collecting the appropriate number of Bones we're promoted to the next level and we get the opportunity to develop one of the character's attributes, such as attack, defense or the power of flanking weapon.

Technical aspects

Graphics of Mina the Hollower is in the 8-bit style, specifically from the Game Boy Color console. To make it look as close as possible to the appearance of games released for this platform, the whole thing is rendered in a resolution of only 256x144. In addition, the color palette is consistent with the limitations of this device. A similar treatment was decided in the case of music, which sounds like something taken out of a production designed for the MSX computer. Its composer is Jake Kaufman - author of the soundtrack to Shovel Knight.