We first learned about Mina the Hollower, Yacht Club Games’ sophomore follow-up to 2014’s Shovel Knight (and all its various stretch goals and add-ons), in 2022 when the developer launched a Kickstarter campaign for the project. The rewards for that Kickstarter cite a target date of December 2023. After an increase in scope and some delays over the next two and a half years later, Mina the Hollower is finally here. Was it worth the wait? The simple answer is yes, because Yacht Club Games did the same thing to 2D Zelda-ish games that they did to 2D platformers with Shovel Knight. This is a brilliantly designed adventure filled with clever mechanics, excellent pixel art, and an overwhelming bounty of charm.

It takes a little while to get going, as the early portion is equal parts guided and overwhelming. The mouse Mina is involved in a shipwreck and ends up washed ashore on Tenebrous Isle. As the game name says, Mina is a hollower, so she has the ability to repair the various generator towers that are dormant throughout the island. After reacquainting with some old friends, your goal is clear: go fix six different generators around the island. You can go about it in any which way you want for the most part. The game doesn’t feature a traditional point-to-point map and instead relies on in-game signposts, NPCs, and general cardinal directions. More often than not, this Souls-inspired design decision works. I had a handful of times where I was frustrated and unsure what to do next, but generally in those situations, you can go off and mess around with some of the ample side quests and secrets and look for another way forward. The really cool aspect of this choice is that there is a lot of flexibility in the order you complete the game. I more or less accidentally did the fifth dungeon/area before the fourth one.

The gameplay is an overstuffed cornucopia of 2D action. I mean that primarily as a compliment, but even if Yacht Club Games wasn’t very open about the game’s delays being related to scope creep, it’s evident that they just kept making this game until they squeezed out every last drop of the concept. Some of the stuff they do in these areas and dungeons is incredible. The clever ways they utilize Mina’s underground burrowing into puzzles and combat are unending. The horror movie vibes of Septemburg are incredible. The way secrets are interconnected between regions and require thinking of weird ways to use sub-weapons is fascinating. The fact there are so many options for main weapons, sub-weapons (aka sidearms), and trinket accessories is dizzying. There is just so much game here that it almost feels daunting. It’s as if instead of having four different games like they did for Shovel Knight’s stretch goal campaigns, they just put every single thing into one adventure. It’s ambitious and cool. The game is well-paced given its 20-30 hour expected playtime, but there’s definitely an argument that it didn’t need to be this jam-packed. This is a weird pseudo-complaint because I had so much fun with the game and continue to have fun as I explore with more secrets and New Game Plus challenges.

The difficulty definitely ramps up in the intended order and in general, the challenge in Mina the Hollower doesn’t mess around. The checkpointing is relatively forgiving, but if you play the game with no modifiers initially, death might become a frequent friend. That being said, there are a ton of modifiers that can make the game easier, harder, or just more forgiving or goofy. This showed off best when my 4-year-old expressed interest in playing the game. I set him up with a set of easy modifiers and he was able to have an enjoyable time and progress through the game (as much as a 4-year-old who can’t read yet can get through a game that more or less requires reading) without getting stymied by the difficulty. It’s just cool to have options to experience the beautiful pixelated world however you want.

And damn - this game is a Game Boy Color-inspired visual feast. The pixel art work is incredible across all the various characters, especially some of the giant bosses. Every time you go into a new area, you’re treated to a gorgeous pixel art visual of Mina in the new region. Much like Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games shows that they know how to fill in the gaps between action with sentimentality and whimsy. The soundtrack, from their regular composer Jake “virt” Kaufman with some guest support from Yuzo Koshiro, is similarly incredible. It felt like every corner I turned, there was a new chiptune banger.

Mina the Hollower shows that the Yacht Club Games formula can still create a modern retro-tinged masterpiece, as Mina the Hollower stands up there with some of the best 2D Zelda-like games out there. The areas are vibrant and densely populated with secrets. The puzzles are inventive and challenging. The combat stays varied, especially as you discover different weapons, sidearms, and trinkets to make your preferred build. This is a special game that was well worth the long wait. Hopefully Yacht Club Games gets to take this mentality to even more new frontiers in the future.