Is Mina the Hollower worth it?
Short answer: yes. Metacritic 92 (PC), OpenCritic 98% recommend, Steam 84% Very Positive across 1,265 reviews, IGN 10/10, Shacknews 10/10. $19.99 for 20-30 hours is $0.66-$1.00 per hour — comfortably below the indie value floor. Below: who it's for, who it isn't, and how it compares.
By the numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Metacritic PC | 92 — universal acclaim | Wikipedia |
| Metacritic PS5 | 89 | Wikipedia |
| Metacritic Switch 2 | 89 | Wikipedia |
| OpenCritic | 98% recommend | Wikipedia |
| Steam reviews | 84% Very Positive (1,265 reviews) | Steam store page (2026-05-31) |
| Day-one Steam sales | 55,000 units (<24h) | VGChartz |
| Base price | $19.99 / $29.98 with OST bundle | Steam |
| Platforms | 7 — Windows, macOS, Linux, Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series | Yacht Club Games release notes |
| IGN | 10/10 | Wikipedia review aggregation |
| Shacknews | 10/10 | Wikipedia review aggregation |
| GameSpot | 9/10 | Wikipedia review aggregation |
| GamesRadar+ | 4.5/5 | Wikipedia review aggregation |
Wikipedia's critic framing reads as “reminiscent of Link's Awakening DX and the Oracle games” with a Bloodborne-style boss design layer. That comparison is the single most-repeated framing across the major review outlets and is the cleanest one-sentence read of what the game actually is.
Hours per dollar
At $19.99 base for a 20-30 hour main story, Mina lands at $0.66-$1.00 per hour on the base purchase. For context, the indie value floor that buyers tend to anchor on is $1/hour — anything below is considered a strong value buy. Mina is below that floor even on the worst-case (rush) interpretation.
| Purchase | Cost | Hours | $/hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base ($19.99) · main story | $19.99 | 20-30h | $0.66-$1.00 |
| Base ($19.99) · 100% completion | $19.99 | 40-60h | $0.33-$0.50 |
| Base ($19.99) · all 7 NG+ cycles | $19.99 | 100-150h | $0.13-$0.20 |
| OST bundle ($29.98) | $29.98 | 20-30h + Jake Kaufman OST | $1.00-$1.50 (game-only basis) |
The OST bundle premium ($9.99 above base) gets you Jake Kaufman's soundtrack plus guest tracks by Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage / ActRaiser composer). For Yuzo Koshiro fans specifically, the bundle is a no-brainer; for everyone else it's worth it if you tend to put indie OSTs in rotation.
Who should buy it
| Player type | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Top-down ARPG fans | Strong yes | Wikipedia's 3/4 isometric framing puts Mina directly in the Link's Awakening DX / Oracle games tradition. If those games hit, Mina hits. |
| Soulslike fans | Yes | IGN's “Link's Awakening × Bloodborne” framing is structural — boss design demands reads, not memorisation. Difficulty is dialled by the 200+ modifier system rather than hard-fixed at Souls-level. |
| Trophy hunters / completionists | Strong yes | 50 Steam achievements, NG+7 (7 cycles), 200+ modifiers, 60 trinkets, 9 secret bosses, 4 mini-games. One of the largest 100% targets in indie ARPG. |
| Shovel Knight fans | Yes — but expect a tone shift | Yacht Club Games made both. The Shovel Knight tone (heroic comedy 8-bit) is replaced by Mina's 1700s Gothic horror — same craft, different mood. |
| Speedrunners | Maybe | Speed Runner achievement (sub-4h) ships day one. Route stability post-patch is open — Yacht Club has flagged future patches and the modifier system may rebalance. |
| Story-first / cinematic players | Qualified yes | The ending tree pays off and the lore is dense, but you'll have to clear boss fights to reach it. If Soulslike-tier boss reads frustrate, dial modifiers easier (locks achievements but unlocks the story). |
| Casual difficulty seekers | Qualified yes | Easier modifiers exist (200+ system per Scout). They lock achievements but not progression — you can finish the game on dialled-down difficulty. |
| Pure platformer fans | Skip | Mina is not a side-scroller. Different camera, different core loop. If you wanted Shovel Knight 2, this is not that. |
| Live-service / co-op players | Skip | Single-player only. No multiplayer, no co-op, no live events. The replay loop is NG+7 and challenge runs. |
Origin — Kickstarter solo project
Per Wikipedia: Mina the Hollower started as solo developer Alec Faulkner's side project. A Kickstarter campaign launched February 2022 raised $1,239,584 from 21,439 backers, with total crowdfunding exceeding $1.4M. The campaign originally targeted October 31, 2025; delayed to May 29, 2026. Composer Jake Kaufman (Shovel Knight) returns; Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, ActRaiser) contributes guest tracks.
The Kickstarter origin matters because: (a) backers paid $19+ three years ago, so the $19.99 price is roughly Kickstarter parity; (b) the project shipped with 4 years of polish past the original target, which is visible in the Metacritic 93/92/89 scores; (c) Yacht Club is the publisher, not a ground-up developer — the studio relationship matters more for support / patches / DLC than for core direction.
Which platform to buy
7 platforms launched simultaneously — Windows, macOS, Linux, Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series. Per Metacritic, PC is highest (92), PS5 and Switch 2 tie at 89. The 3-point gap probably reflects review timing rather than platform-specific performance issues — major outlets typically receive PC review codes first.
- Steam (PC). Highest Metacritic. Best for modding-curious players (none confirmed but Steam Workshop opens future doors). Steam Deck verification per Velasco RPG Site interview.
- Switch / Switch 2.Handheld-friendly given Mina's short combat encounters and save-shrine cadence. Switch 2 specifically matches the PS5 Metacritic, suggesting a closer-to-PC port.
- PS5 / Xbox Series. Best for living-room displays. Trophies / achievements on PS5 mirror the Steam 50 achievement list.
- macOS / Linux. Native ports confirmed. Linux via Steam is also Steam Deck friendly. macOS support is relatively unusual for an indie ARPG launch — a quiet commitment to platform breadth.
Specific platform performance comparisons (Switch 2 vs Steam Deck vs PS5 FPS / load times) pending — none of the Metacritic aggregations breaks down per-platform performance. Update will land here as platform-specific deep reviews surface.
What reviewers actually said
The cross-outlet consensus on Mina the Hollower aligns surprisingly tightly. IGN (10/10) and Shacknews (10/10) put it in their game-of-the-year conversation; GameSpot (9/10) and GamesRadar (4.5/5) anchor the 9-10 band. The framing consensus:
- The bone-chilling 1700s Gothic horror tone— Yacht Club's Steam features list's own framing (“bone-chilling, yet heartwarming tale inspired by Victorian Gothic horror”) gets adopted directly by most reviewers.
- The Hollowing burrow mechanic— the dig- beneath-hazards traversal system is consistently cited as the single most innovative mechanical idea, distinguishing Mina from the Link's Awakening tradition it draws from.
- The boss design language — Bloodborne-style telegraphed boss attacks with multi-phase escalation, distinct from the puzzle-style bosses of Zelda games.
- The 8-bit-via-modern-effects visual register — Yacht Club's “authentic 8-bit visuals refined for the modern era” framing matches reviewer descriptions of pixel-perfect art with selective post- processing.
Buying questions
Worth it on Switch vs PC?
Both ship at the same price. PC (Metacritic 92) leads slightly ahead of Switch 2 (89) on critical reception. For handheld / portable play, Switch / Switch 2 is the natural choice. For highest-FPS / mod-friendly play, Steam (Win / Linux / Steam Deck).
Buy now or wait for sale?
At $19.99 base for 20-30+ hours, the hours-per-dollar already beats the indie value floor. Standard indie sale cycles drop launch titles ~25% within 6 months — at $14.99 the deal is stronger but the launch-window community engagement (Steam forums, Reddit threads, ending tree decoding) is the difference. If you care about the conversation, buy now.
DLC plans?
Yacht Club Games has flagged “a couple of features in the pipe” plus palette DLC per the Velasco RPG Site interview. No paid expansion campaign announced yet. The base game ships with 200+ modifiers and NG+7, so the campaign arguably doesn't need expansion DLC to justify itself.
Is the difficulty fair?
Mostly yes — the boss design tradition (Bloodborne-style reads) rewards study over reflex. Modifiers let you dial difficulty up or down. Easier mods lock achievements; harder mods don't. See Is it hard?.
Co-op or multiplayer?
Single-player only. Yacht Club Games release page confirms 1 player. The replay loop is NG+7 and challenge runs, not social.
How does it compare to Hollow Knight?
Different sub-genre. Hollow Knight is a 2D Metroidvania (side-scroll); Mina is a 3/4 top-down ARPG (Zelda-camera). Both have demanding boss design and dense lore. Hollow Knight is longer (~40h); Mina is more accessible difficulty-wise (modifier system).
Steam Deck friendly?
Per Velasco interview, Steam Deck handling was discussed explicitly. Native Linux build implies clean Proton-less performance. No verified Steam Deck performance numbers yet but the platform priority signal is positive.
Is the OST bundle worth the +$10?
For Jake Kaufman fans (Shovel Knight / Shantae / DuckTales composer): yes. For Yuzo Koshiro fans (Streets of Rage): definitely. For others: only if you actively put game OSTs in rotation. The base game already includes the in-game soundtrack — the bundle adds extracted music files for external listening.
Will it be on Game Pass?
Not announced. Xbox Series version ships day one but no Game Pass commitment from Yacht Club or Microsoft. Track future announcements via Yacht Club's release notes.