Mina the Hollower

pretty brutal game , hope there will be dlcs for this

One of the those games that really make you appreciate the skill, thought and effort needed to create games. Really enjoyed it (I have 30 hours, steam offline mode didn't record all of them)

Mina the Hollower is nothing short of excellent. It is an very tightly designed video game with mechanics that play well off of the bare essentials of "run, attack, burrow". With burrowing being big gimmick the game is built around. On most surfaces you can dig underground for a few seconds, and pop back out. This allows you to dodge (most) enemy attacks for a brief period of time, but also get further distance on jumps. Tons of tiles interact with this mechanic. - Ice removes the ability for Mina to make adjustments to her burrowed movement, but it also launches you much further when you jump out of a dig. - Lava tiles get a normal stone layer that is temporarily removed. if flowing lava is attached to a removed stone tile, it expands the flowing lava. Making the environment more dangerous for you and the enemies. - Water is a surface that you fall into normally, but you can burrow into to survive while you're underwater. - Burrowing under certain items like pumpkin and stones allows you to pick them up. So many mechanics are built around burrowing, and it makes each area feel so unique and fun! On top of that, trinkets are fun, collecting items are fun, the fighting enemies is fun. The difficulty is pretty high, but feels fair (with lots of options to lower and raise the difficulty, at the cost of achievements sadly.) It's just a great experience! My personal game of the year for 2026.

Mouse!

I highly recommend this game. 10/10 after getting 100% (though not every achievement). Much of the criticism of this game is generally accurate or reasonable, but those issues are minor compared to what this game does excellently. - Music: far exceeds expectations. I listen to the OST just for fun. Go and listen to "A Sinking Feeling" and tell me that doesn't make you want to jump in and play. - Combat: though many find it clunky, I'd give it 10/10 with no reservations. The hollowing aspect makes it unique, and there is enough liberty choosing a weapon to accommodate any play style. The trinkets make the game as easy or difficult as you want, so after about 5-8 hours it plays how you want it to. - Story: not elaborate, but simple and tasteful for a quirky RPG. I found the lore interesting and the characters funny and charming. It didn't try to be more than it was. - Level design: absolutely genius. Its overall design scratched an itch that games rarely do these days. I had so much fun exploring. - Collectables: just fine-tuned enough that getting 100% was obtainable, challenging, and worth the ride. - Pacing: many found the pacing unnatural, but it takes the right risks. I liked the ebb and flow of difficulty. - Health / Leveling: unique, meaningful, masterfully done. Once you get how it works, it feels fluid. - Graphics: flawless. Just buy it.

Mina is very well designed all-around and fun to play, and is an easy recommendation for anyone into retro-inspired games with a challenge. The best part of this game is the level-design and exploration with secrets and items that are actually worth finding. The levels all feel very distinct from each other with a mix of platforming, combat, and some puzzles. The game has minimal guidance and can be pretty difficult at times compared to most games. I did have some frustrations with the combat mainly due to the top-down perspective. Your jump attacks to hit flying enemies are blocked by some grounded obstacles, even though your jump is high enough to hit the enemies and the objects are low enough for the enemies to constantly fly over them back and forth. Also, the contact damage feels very annoying against the bigger enemies as their head touching your toe hurts you, even though you are a good distance away from their true position where their feet are. But most of the challenge in this game feels fair, leading to a worthwhile experience for those who like the classic approach of finding and doing things yourself.

Okay, this game has really good gameplay, yet it's the most rage-inducing game I've ever played. Unironically, I have played Elden Ring and this ♥♥♥♥ makes me more aggravated than any Souls game because they feel like they have a balanced healing, movement, and combat system. Although I did hate on it a bit, this is definitely a good game to give a try especially if you're looking for a challenge you masochists