Explore the latest developments concerning Mina the Hollower.
Mina the Hollower Review – Refined Throwback
Despite Shovel Knight’s myriad spin-offs and continued ubiquity in the indie game space, it’s been more than a decade since developer Yacht Club Games delivered something wholly new. And maybe calling Mina the Hollower entirely “new” is a misnomer, as it is a reverential showcase of beloved game design and visual ideas from the past and present, all arranged into something that manages to be unique and nostalgic at the same time. Mina is not without its frustrations, but its density of discoveries, sense of place, and heartfelt story and characters all deliver an experience I was thinking about often whenever I wasn’t playing.
The Highest Metacritic Review-Scored Game Of 2026 Is ‘Mina The Hollower’
While 007 First Light releases today, and has racked up a very solid 88 metascore, tying it for third place for the year, now, it’s fourth place. A new game is #1 and by a somewhat significant margin in the context of these things.
That would be Mina the Hollower, out May 29 ,which has just gotten a 93 metascore, two full points above Forza Horizon 6’s 91. It is obviously not a AAA production, and likely a game that many gamers have not heard of at all. Here’s the synopsis:
Ah, well, you might understand now. The developers who brought you Shovel Knight, the hugely beloved series that began in 2014 and had releases as recently as 2022. But Mina the Hollower is the first new game developed by Yacht Club outside of the Shovel Knight family…ever. Reportedly, the studio has been facing financial issues, and Mina the Hollower is said to be “make-or-break for sure” by founder Sean Velasco. Well, hopefully these kinds of scores lead to “make.” Mina’s 93 score is above the 85 of the original Shovel Knight and above every other expansion made for the game as well. Mina may echo last year’s Silksong, which had a 90 score and led it to be a GOTY nominee.
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REVIEW: ‘Mina The Hollower’ Is Dark, Deep, And Another Yacht Club Success
For the past eight years, Yacht Club Games has been the developer of all things Shovel Knight. Now, in 2026, they are releasing their newest in a completely different genre than anything they’ve done before with Mina the Hollower. The champions of indie 2D platforming have branched out to 2D action-adventure with lots of twists and inspirations from niche historic games.
Gone is the cheerful silliness, replaced by a darker, more Halloween-y aesthetic rich with deep anecdotes from our current day and age. Most importantly, Mina proves that Yacht Club Games has done it yet again, with another immensely fun universe ripe for exploration.
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