@Tanookduke yea im usually pretty good until there’s enemies chasing you down then I struggle with the lightning. I ended up adding checkpoints before bosses and not loosing any skulls upon death. Everything else seems fair in the game with the exception of those 2.

Starting to think that this game isn't for me.

Apparently I, somehow, stumbled into a late game area right after the intended first one, beat my head against a wall for two or three hours until I beat that boss VERY underleveled and now I cannot for the life of me find where I even access ANY other place.
I can find the area I'm meant to go, I think, but it's some remote corner of that place with a big old dead end. Then there's a bunch of side paths, the two areas I already did and the town. I legitimately don't understand where the game wants me to go to progress and it's starting to seriously anger me, because it feels like the overworld is legitimately awfully designed in many ways, already.

They say south east but there's nothing but roadblocks and shortcuts I'd have to open from the other side there, besides said side paths I found already.
Someone just spoil it for me, I want to like this but I don't think I'm having fun anymore, after four-five or hours of gameplay.

It's also INSANELY stupid that I can't access places that require two generators to be active because the game checks SPECIFICALLY for the FIRST two generators. I know not finding where to go is a skill issue, and I'm probably just f***ing dumb, but right now I don't see how this is the highest rated game of the year in any way because it sure as hell can't be because of the very rudimentary combat and its shoddy hitboxes.

@Dom_31 south east...so assume you're trying to get to bones beach? If so, yeah I got stumped there too. The way you're supposed to go is not very clear. You have to navigate through that cave with all the puff balls you bounce on. Once you exit , you should emerge on some cliffs which are dark blue in color, this is where I got stuck. Seems like a complete dead end, but you actually have to move a lone puff ball (by digging under it), closer to the far wall at the bottom of the screen. There's a ledge that's lower than the others which you can bounce up to. It's really easy to miss. Once you get up there you'll enter a new area which leads to the beach.

@Dom_31 The game is apparently open world (but if what you're saying is true, then not as open as I thought) so you can go to almost any area in any order- though there is a specific order they are designed to be played through in increasing difficulty as suggested in the newspapers you collect:
crypt, bayou, Septemburg, beach, Coltrane peak (after collecting 10,000 bones to replace the train), manor, and Astral orrery .

@Dom_31 Yeah,Gaining axcess to other areas involves paying close attention to the environment to figure out how to open new paths and axcess new areas. If you're ever lost just use a guide, I'm almost at the end of the game and I sometimes wonder how the devs thought that the average player would figure out how to axcess new areas on their own with how obscure the entrances are.

I don't think the game world delivers on being "easy and natural to navigate" as they claimed in a video talking about why Mina the hollower dosent have a map.

I have since figured out how to swim and cleared another area. I'm still stumped on what the game wants me to do with those doors that use...energy balls? Or whatever to open.
I THOUGHT it's unlocking the towers/generators but since I have three of those now and still can't access the doors with two slots I must be missing something pretty crucial.

Also @OldManHermit, I think I must've hit that ledge the exact wrong way, several times because I could've sworn you can't go up there. Like I said, I guess I'm too stupid for the game. 😭
There's a very similar spot to the left of that area, so the natural assumption, to me, was that that must be the way back, since there's a rope right below the cliffs, too.

Definitely some...quirky level design in this one.

@Dom_31 if you're talking about the spark containers, you can find upgrades that allow you to hold more of them in the overworld or in the upgrades shop in ossex with the rose on top.

They open up optional areas and challenges

Getting close to the end here. Or at least think I am. Completed 5 of the main towers and I’m in what I think is the last area. Some sections are frustrating as hell. It’s not that’s it’s difficult, it’s cheap in many ways with enemy placement, knock back from hitting, and cliffs. I’ve died so many cheap deaths in this game. And avoided areas because of the enemy placement. While it sucks, it doesn’t hinder my overall experience with the game. It’s still a rock solid 8/10 so far. I don’t love it as much as all the shovel knight campaigns, but it’s close enough.

After around 20h I'm "done" with the story. I got up to 96% completion but I completely burnt out on the game at the end there. The best thing about it is definitely the world, even if I think the actual structure of how the different areas connect is kind of...a mess.

But that might just be my overall assessment of Mina at the end here, the game's a mess.

Fun, for large parts of the ride, but there's way too many things that I'm iffy on that just have me in disbelief that THIS is the highest reviewed game of the year so far. Legit don't get why it's this high.

I think by far the weakest aspect is the combat. I get it's all about positioning but I still wish there were actually good defensive options here, and I outright hate how awful targeting/aiming for enemies can feel in many cases because Mina is kind of...slow compared to everything else in the game. It's very deliberate, it's not suuuper hard to adjust to but it feels clunky in the same way DeS and DS1 feel clunky but without enemies being wholly designed around that type of moveset. Definitely doesn't feel as intuitive as Shovel Knight did, and it doesn't flow..at all, which does blow a little when we're talking about a title that feels like it wants to be an action game at its core.
I also dislike...all of the weapons. I eventually settled on the daggers, because of the upgrade that gives you that little jump towards enemies, more so for platforming than actual fighting, but while I do appreciate what they were going for with the rest of the weapons, they're all way less fun to me than the daggers. And I wasn't exactly over the moon with those.

The platforming itself also is pretty unbalanced, in a weird way. It's either a bit of a struggle - again, because Mina feels like she's a LITTLE slow to turn - or you just break it in half and remove any challenge from it with trinkets. Almost felt like there's very little wiggle room in between. It also felt like they made a few of the hazards and environmental quirks overly annoying to get the player to just pop on whatever trinket negates said hazard. Which, again, makes the whole ordeal sort of pointless to me.

Same for the game balance. The initial hours are going to kick you lower backside left and right until you hit a point around mid game to two thirds into the story where it's almost like a switch gets flipped and suddenly you go through encounters, dungeons and bosses like a hot knife through butter. Maybe that was the point where I finally adjusted to what the game, maybe, wants from me or it was the time when I got enough trinkets and trinket slots to just break stuff with good passive effects. Maybe it's also just a weird jump in stats through leveling, I can't quite put my finger on it.

I will say that music, the style, writing and exploration within any given area was good - great. But I always, always, hit points where the stuff I dislike about the gameplay started to slowly drown out the "good parts".

I'm not gonna say it's too hard, it's just going for different things than games that look similar (Zelda, first and foremost, really) but I've been frustrated with Mina the Hollower enough for the whole experience to get a bit dragged down. Frustrated that I don't seem to enjoy the game, mostly, but also with some of the quirks in controls and design.

I think if I had to gvie it a score it'd probably be a low-ish 7/10. It's absolutely a good game, overall, but it does too many things I don't...love, too often for me to call it one of the best (new) games I've played this year. Not even sure if I'd call it one for the best indie games I've played on general. But that's not to say it's bad or that I'll judge people who genuinely enjoy it and maybe just adjust better to its systems than I did - dragon's dogma 2 was my GOTY whenever that released, I'm not much to judge other people's tastes 😛

Also, f*** the leaf in Septemburg. If you know, you know. It took me a solid hour to figure out that's what it was in that tunnel... 🙃

The people who said the trip to the first major area would be the difference maker to getting into the game were obviously correct. I am very much reminded of BOTW where getting through the initial slump of failing made it click for me. It is a very odd game though, I read someone else say it feels more like a weird perspective of a platformer than a top down Zelda, and that is at least potentially correct, I think. And while I do wish there had been Zelda worthy puzzles (there's a few that risk being close when it comes to dealing with environmental hazard), it is also much better combat than most of top down Zelda so it evens out.

I'm really glad the internet told me about the mirrors tho. Shovel Knight was never this pointlessly cryptic from what I remember.

@AdmiralBribery Hey, glad to see that you've gotten to start the game, too!

After getting past the initial struggle and getting a few upgrades, I really began to enjoy the feelings of exploration and progression that this game has. I'm also in Nox's Bayou now, as my second area.

Looking forward to playing it some more again soon, lol

@Uiopo Nice! Surprised we’re at similar spots and progression.

I’ll follow up with more of my progress soon. Outlining where I am at, how I got there (high level, not detailed), and share if my opinions on the game have changed. I usually play games in sprints. Like I am either gaming, in hour sessions broken up over a weekend or completely disconnected. It’s probably help to be more consistent play schedule but I find it difficult to play games if I only have an hour or so a week. I’d rather dig deep in chunks than continuously scratch it if that makes sense.

@AdmiralBribery Yeah, I totally get it! I have my own way that I play games, too, and it sometimes means that I may go a little while before I am able to get back to a game, even if I am really enjoying it. I'm definitely going to take my time playing Mina, though; I can tell that this is a really special game! Looking forward to hearing more from you about it, too! Thanks for keeping it spoiler-free, lol 😁

One week later, I put a couple more hours in Mina and I’ve beat my second area, the Bayou.

I say my area to reinforce you have choice in your direction of how you tackle areas, but I feel the game has a lot of guardrails to ensure you follow the intended path.

I’m now just over 10 hours. Unless the remaining areas are much shorter, I don’t see how I will finish this game in the estimated 20-30hr range. I do feel I am finding most secrets, so it’s possible I could be on route to a completionist run.

What more can I add here. The hammer with both upgrades is definitely, in my view, overpowered. I can still cheese enemies with the charge attack. Example: There are areas in the bayou where you’re on high ground and you need to hop down into the water. In the water, there are a few enemies skipping around. From the high ground, I can charge my hammer and use the blast radius to damage enemies below.

To put it into perspective, I beat the second boss (I won’t spoil it) on my first attempt. Again, normally I prefer higher dexterity type builds in RPGs or souls game. You know, death by a thousand cuts, I don’t like heavy builds because they require more precision to time heavy attacks. Precision I generally lack. But in Mina, with this hammer… that’s a non issue.

The thing is, if I switch to the blades, the only other weapon I have, I feel like the enemies are too cheap. With the right movement paths, attack patterns that throws me off. Maybe I am just too used to the hammer. I’m not sure but I feel it’s the tool necessary for the job.

One other note, I spent WAAAY too long trying to achieve that feat (feat meaning in game achievements, trophies) to climb a tower without taking damage. I got into a really, really good flow climbing the bayou tower but I always hit the vines about 3/4 up because it’s difficult with the hammer to clear a specific section (you have to go right because of wall placement). The momentum of the rope and the poor reach of the basic attack made it too difficult for me to clear the vines without taking a hit. To those who can clear that tower without a scratch, I salute you!

Now, I am back in town and I read the newspaper. It explicitly states where to go next. However, before I head there, I want to go back near the bayou and finish the race with the red ghost! I enjoy those types of challenges. Short, repetitive tasks that require speed and well executed platforming. It’s like getting into a flow state and I enjoy how these little side quests or missions are sprinkled into the world.

That’s it from me. I’ll report back in another week with my progress!

As much as I like this game, I have to admit I'm getting to the point where I feel like I almost wish the game punished me more for lazily beating or avoiding enemies. You level up enough, and almost nothing, now having played through the majority of the game (I assume), is a huge deal. Occasionally you have to be overly careful, but as long as you can dodge...enough attacks and have enough ways to heal, you don't have to try your best. At least I can, and I'm not so great at games that that's some huge flex really.

That wish would not survive the reality of having to do certain fights for an extra...hour.

reviews are raving, but is it as good as it sounds? i played the demo

As someone whose played it all the way through: yes, it is. You just have to be willing to play it on its terms (or else use the generous difficulty modifiers and accept that this means no achievements ). Its otherwise reasonably accessible, and provides a lot of hints and guidance. Plus, there are tons of opportunities to simply Go Somewhere Else, and do some leveling/puzzles/equipment hunting.

do you mean that if something is too hard you can just go grind or go do side quest? Are there even side quests?

It’s an unusual game. I’m only a couple of hours in but some things have surprised me (in ways both good and bad)…

…it does feel like a retro throwback in many ways. The sense that the game has lots of obtuse and slightly “unknowable”, possibly entirely broken systems is there.

…it also feels like it brutally punishes inattention in routine fights in an old school way (even though the price for failure is ultimately low).

…specifically it feels like some NES Sunsoft games like Gremlins 2 and Festers Quest. It also feels like the top down 2d Castlevania we never got (I chose the whip). None of those things are coincidences.

…I’m not sure I need it to be a metroidvania or open world though. A linear level based challenge might have been more appealing and easier to polish.

…the options to modify the difficulty are very welcome. I think already I might have given up if they’d not been there (life is just too short).

…there are - already so early in the game - lots of cute little bits and pieces. The designers clearly respect your attention if you’re willing and able to give enough to the game.

…I’m surprised it reviewed quite so well though. It’s clearly not a game for everyone.

It depends on what you mean by "side quests". The game doesn't really have a quest system, it simply has objectives you need to complete to beat the game, and various encounters and challenges and puzzles that aren't needed to beat the game. There are tons of those latter, however, and all or almost all of them are available whenever you wish ( nothing is time limited, AFAIK ).

And yes, you absolutely can grind, with the stat upgrades making a pretty big difference in how difficult the game is for 90% of the game. It also lets you conveniently side step the "losing currency when you die too many times" issue.