Yacht Club Games’ next title is poised for massive success 12 years after Shovel Knight

A few years ago at GDC, I experienced a public build of Mina the Hollower, the latest project from Yacht Club Games. As a developer known for Shovel Knight, their pivot to a Game Boy-era Zelda homage was highly anticipated, yet my initial encounter left me cold. The controls felt unresponsive, the objectives were opaque, and the difficulty curve was needlessly steep. At the time, it felt like a project leaning too heavily on retro aesthetic without providing the substance to back up the nostalgia.

It is remarkable how much a few years of iterative design can transform a game. Returning to GDC this year, I sat down with a Nintendo Switch 2 build of Mina the Hollower, this time guided by a developer from Yacht Club. When I confessed my previous frustrations, they admitted that the earlier version was an unrefined prototype. This new demonstration, however, felt like the definitive vision. After just twenty minutes of play, it became clear that this title is poised to capture the same lightning-in-a-bottle magic that made Shovel Knight an indie icon a decade ago.

Visually, Mina the Hollower is an unmistakable love letter to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, featuring a top-down perspective and chunky, vibrant pixel art. However, the core identity shift lies in the protagonist’s unique mobility: as a mouse, Mina can burrow beneath the earth. This subterranean traversal is used for far more than simple travel; it is a tactical tool for dodging projectiles, bypassing gate puzzles, and activating hidden checkpoints. While it mirrors the utility of a classic Zelda item, the entire world is meticulously engineered to reward the creative use of this ability.

The scale of the adventure is equally impressive. Abandoning a strictly linear path, Mina allows players to tackle its primary dungeons in any order they see fit. While the developers are hesitant to pin down an exact runtime—partly due to a wealth of optional bosses and hidden content—they estimate a standard playthrough will span between 20 and 30 hours. For an indie title of this style, that represents a significant amount of depth.

Image: Yacht Club Games

During my session, I was granted the freedom to wander, though my guide steered me clear of accidentally stumbling into the final endgame dungeon—which is technically accessible from the start for those brave enough to try. After departing the central hub and fending off enemies with a morning star, I discovered a dungeon focused on a “head-hunting” puzzle. I had to tunnel beneath fallen statue heads to lift them and navigate a gauntlet of moving platforms, all while being pursued by a vengeful spirit. It was a sequence that perfectly blended high-stakes action with environmental problem-solving.

The level of polish in the current build is night and day compared to my first experience. The movement is remarkably crisp, and the game introduces several systems to mitigate frustration. Players can equip various charms to customize their playstyle, such as items that speed up the regeneration of healing resources or trigger slow-motion effects during successful dodges. There is also a substantial RPG layer inspired by Zelda 2; Mina can increase her stats by gathering bones, a progression mechanic the game cheekily refers to as “Boning Up.”

Image: Yacht Club Games

Beyond the refined mechanics, it is the game’s sense of personality that truly stands out. While there are standard hidden walls and secret rooms, there are also eccentric touches that give the world character. For instance, I encountered a jester in town who offered to tell jokes throughout my journey. Choosing to accept meant this character would occasionally “jump scare” onto the screen to deliver a punchline at random intervals. It is a completely optional, surreal recurring bit that makes the world feel alive and unpredictable.

If the final release maintains this level of charm and mechanical depth, Mina the Hollower will likely become a modern classic. It has successfully transcended its retro inspirations to become something far more substantial than a mere throwback. After years of development, the wait for an official release date has become truly excruciating.

Source: Polygon