A Dark Gothic World
The game takes place on an island where anthropomorphic animals live alongside humans. The island is divided into different biomes, inhabited by monsters, the undead, and creepy creatures – the longer you explore the surroundings, the more you want to burn everything down and forget about this place. All power is in the paws of a lion named Leonard, who, through force and cunning, imposes progress and order.
On the island, there is a guild of shrews: scientists, explorers, warriors, and digging enthusiasts, which is how they got their nickname. The shrews invented spark generators that can provide electricity to every home. Their construction was handled by a mouse-shrew named Mina – the game's protagonist.
But not everyone embraced progress in their lives. A rebel named Ships believes that the generators turn residents into monsters. He damaged the engineering marvels, and Leonard once again turned to Mina to return and fix the generators. To achieve her goal, she will have to overcome many difficulties and uncover the secrets of this colorful and eerie place.
No Hand-Holding Here
Right from the start, Mina is thrown into the thick of things. After allowing you to get used to the controls, the game provides complete freedom of action. The main goal is to fix the generators, and the order in which you do it depends on the player. The only limitation is the difficulty of enemies in different zones, which are very hard to defeat at various stages.
To progress, you'll have to solve puzzles and alter the environment using abilities. Different regions require different solutions: activating switches, finding statue heads, changing lava flows, riding on rails, venturing into the afterlife. Some of these actions are optional, but they make the game more interesting.
You'll have to indulge the whims of the locals: give a toad a drink, make a pumpkin lick itself, borrow and return a lady's head, finish off an old man with a snowball. One pink gorilla ladder will lead to a bunch of secrets. Rewards for help are souvenirs that make Mina stronger, more resilient, or faster, but only a limited number can be equipped.
At first, the heroine seems slow and clumsy. However, by finding or buying certain souvenirs, she will run faster, jump higher, and even glide in the air. Additional movement aids include a bicycle and a drill. The game has many shortcuts and secrets, but to unlock many of them, you'll have to buy or find special keys – they are well-guarded.
Excellent level design helps with orientation. The developers are so proud of it that they didn't bother creating an adequate map. The one that exists shows the general area and the number of remaining secrets. But the island's territory is huge, and you'll have to return to visited locations many times. Even with such good design, a more detailed map would be desirable – especially when it comes to finding secrets.
The Cruelty of a Retro Platformer
As in Shovel Knight, to complete Mina the Hollower, you'll have to act quickly and precisely. On your way, you'll encounter sadistic obstacles in the form of spikes, disappearing platforms, traps, and dangerous surfaces. Before jumping, you'll have to account for wind gusts, dodge lightning, and move in the dark. If you fall into an abyss, it will hurt, and your progress will be reset.
Mina can dig underground and, for some reason, underwater. By digging, you can move faster, jump higher, solve puzzles, and dodge attacks. This is a useful skill, but it's hard to get used to: before burrowing, Mina must jump, and if she attacks after jumping, she won't burrow.
Souvenirs allow you to attack while digging: leaving a poisonous trail, sending shockwaves, or exploding everything around when surfacing. Sounds great, but the damage leaves much to be desired.
Digging is the easiest way to earn local currency in the form of bones:
- Mina levels up with bones;
- Bones are needed for purchases and donations to the poor;
- A special resource, "fortitude," is used as a deposit: it can be withdrawn to level up or used directly for purchases.
Bones are scattered abundantly throughout the island. And if the moral aspect isn't important, then the cemetery will be an excellent place to earn money...
All the Pain of Combat
The ubiquitous monsters have simple but insidious tactics. They attack from the water, circle in the air, and get Mina right from under the ground. Some enemies surprise with their behavior – natives run on all fours and comb out larvae towards the shrew.
Often, enemies add to the difficulty of platforming sections – you have to jump deftly and precisely and constantly dodge projectiles. Enemies love to stand at the end of the path and knock down an approaching Mina. Hollow Knight loves to use such techniques, but there, the heroes have an arsenal to counter insidious obstacles – in Mina the Hollower, it's much more modest.
The presence of bosses is felt in all related locations. They can pursue Mina, and you can only harm them when you reach the very end. Some are associated with threats in the location that are deactivated after the boss's death.
Often, curiosity is punished with a battle against a secret boss. Like the main ones, they have a unique set of attacks that you'll have to get used to in order to win. And the game may also require you not to use healing items, which will make the battle even harder.
The Shrew's Arsenal
At the beginning, Mina can choose one of three types of weapons:
- A chain whip, like from Castlevania, is convenient for ranged attacks but relatively slow;
- Daggers are fast and convenient, but you'll have to play aggressively with them;
- The hammer is slow and inconvenient, but you can roll with it and hit very hard.
If you find a copy and go to the blacksmith, you can upgrade your weapon. Then you can change it at will and use additional attacks.
Exotic weapons are also found:
- With a combat laser, you can shoot enemies from a distance and charge shots in melee. In theory, this is very useful, but changing modes in the middle of a fight is difficult and quickly becomes annoying.
- The coffin allows you to parry attacks, but you'll have to stay in place for that. This weapon is not well suited for a dynamic game like Mina the Hollower.
Additional weapons can be thrown at enemies or used to sic pets on them, but only the axe is truly useful. You can only carry two types of additional weapons at a time, which limits you to the axe, a drill for overcoming obstacles, and a fishing rod – if you want to catch all unique types of fish and heal in a calm environment.
Towards the end, enemies become too tough and mean – even if you're well-upgraded. Fighting them simply becomes tiresome.
If Mina dies, she loses a spark, additional weapons, and their charge. Along with the final spark, you lose accumulated bones.
Diagnosis
Mina the Hollower's bright pixel graphics deceive expectations. In reality, it's a cruel and dark game that can be frightening. Although you play as a cute anthropomorphic mouse, you witness eerie events and fight grotesque monsters.
The project can be completed in many ways, and numerous modifiers help diversify the experience. If something is unclear, you can read guides, but it's more interesting and enjoyable to solve numerous puzzles and find secrets on your own – the game rewards you for it.
However, in Mina the Hollower, you rarely think: "I lost due to lack of experience – next time I'll try harder." There are many unfair and annoying moments, and the combat balance needs serious refinement. Blaming everything on "hardcore" is foolish.
But despite all its rough edges, the game remains engaging, with an interesting and well-developed world. All the pain endured is worth it to find all the secrets, reach the end, and uncover the island's main mystery.