137. Mina The Hollower Review
Welcome to the Fresh Juice podcast! Your go-to spot for in-depth reviews, insights, and discussions on indie games. We're passionate about uncovering hidden gems in the gaming world and giving indie developers the spotlight they deserve.
In each episode, we dive deep into the gameplay, mechanics, and artistry of various indie games. We also feature exclusive interviews with developers, sharing their stories and the inspirations behind their games.
Yacht Club Games is back, and they didn't just make a follow-up to Shovel Knight — they made something that might actually top it. This week we're diving into Mina the Hollower, the gothic horror action-adventure that just launched on May 29th after years of anticipation and a delay from its original Halloween 2025 release date.
You play as Mina, a genius mouse inventor and member of the Hollower's Guild, who returns to the cursed Tenebrous Isle to restore her Spark Generators — and finds a whole lot of monsters, mystery, and mayhem waiting for her. Think top-down Zelda meets Castlevania, rendered in a jaw-dropping Game Boy Color aesthetic with a Jake Kaufman soundtrack that goes hard.
We get into all of it: the burrowing mechanic that makes combat feel completely unlike anything else, the trinket system that lets you totally reinvent your playstyle, the souls-like difficulty that rewards patience over brute force, and whether the story holds up to the spectacle around it. Plus — is the $19.99 price tag worth it, and does it earn the "mouse-terpiece" label critics are slapping on it?
Mina The Hollower: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1875580/Mina_the_Hollower/ [https://store.steampowered.com/app/1875580/Mina_the_Hollower/]
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Notable Releases This Week
* 33 Immortals https://store.steampowered.com/app/958520/33_Immortals/ [https://store.steampowered.com/app/958520/33_Immortals/]
* Trials Survivors - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3762660/Trials_Survivors/ [https://store.steampowered.com/app/3762660/Trials_Survivors/]
NEWS:
* Game announcements recap - https://gamesrecap.io/?showcases=300,280,278,277,302 [https://gamesrecap.io/?showcases=300,280,278,277,302]
* Nintendo Direct tomorrow (6/9) - https://www.nintendo.today/en-US/contents/0e70d0b6-d79a-4922-a8af-1ee3f9a14a7d [https://www.nintendo.today/en-US/contents/0e70d0b6-d79a-4922-a8af-1ee3f9a14a7d]
* Vampire Survivors: Legacy of the Bloodmoon is coming this summer! - https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1794680/view/693137145499484494?l=english [https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1794680/view/693137145499484494?l=english]
* No Rest 1.0 date https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1371980/view/667240813476973385?l=english [https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1371980/view/667240813476973385?l=english]
Game Updates:
* Grind Survivors - The Skill Tree & Enemy Variety Update! - https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3816930/view/706647310215414364?l=english [https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3816930/view/706647310215414364?l=english]
REC ROOM:
Workaholics - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1610527/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1610527/]
Coin-o-matic - Deer Tick https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/0adRFOWXf5lvqSlLzK2GOx [https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/0adRFOWXf5lvqSlLzK2GOx]
Description tags: fresh juice podcast,indie game podcast,indie games,mina the hollower, mina review, mina the hollower review
