Mina the Hollower
Tenebrous Isle is cursed, its Spark Generators are failing, and the person sent to deal with them is a mouse who digs. Mina the Hollower is a top-down action-adventure of tunnels, hidden rooms and gothic horror, played alone from start to finish.
Top 3 Reasons to Play
Secrets behind nearly every wall. The island is stitched together from breakable walls, hidden holes and shortcuts, and some of those holes drop straight into boss fights. Progress opens new paths, and the first four generator routes can be tackled in more than one sequence.
Difficulty is adjustable. Speed modifiers cut down backtracking, while damage and boss-health modifiers soften combat. Switching on many of them disables certain feats and their achievements.
Presentation that critics singled out. Reviewers praised the spritework and sound design, and IGN and RPG Site were among the outlets that gave the game a perfect score. IGN placed its action and style alongside Zelda, Castlevania and FromSoftware's RPGs.
Story and Lore
The story unfolds on Tenebrous Isle, a 19th-century island where humans share the streets with anthropomorphic animals and mythical creatures. The tone leans toward Victorian gothic horror.
Ten years before the game begins, Mina and the philanthropist Lionel built Spark Generators across the island. Now the generators have gone wrong, and Mina returns to put them right. Her ship is attacked on arrival, and in Ossex she finds the island split on what should happen to her machines. Thorne, once the head of Lionel's guard, has broken with him and wants the generators destroyed; Lionel insists they must stay.
Several places on the island carry stories of their own:
- Ossex is the hub city, where the Hollowers' Guild gets rebuilt once Rhene is brought back from the rebels.
- Septemburg holds the tale of the Carving Man, whose victims include a group of schoolchildren Mina can save.
Gameplay and Mechanics
The camera looks down at a three-quarter angle, and fights revolve around positioning: Mina attacks in a straight line along the direction she faces, while some enemies, flyers especially, can strike from any side.
Mina starts with her pick of three weapons: the Nightstar whip, the Whisper and Vesper daggers, or the Blaststrike Maul, a hammer that strikes in four directions. Two more can be found later, and only one is carried at a time. Swapping happens at Underlab checkpoints rather than mid-fight, and a weapon found in the field equips itself.
Hollowing is the signature move. It sends Mina underground for a short distance, which makes her untouchable for the duration and doubles as traversal, carrying her across gaps and into secret spots.
- Sidearms: throwing axes, boomerang knives and a poison gas pump, with ammunition that runs dry quickly. They are lost on death.
- Trinkets: equippable items that grant bonuses or abilities and can be upgraded. They stay with Mina after death.
- Bones: currency and experience in one. Dying drops them, and they can be recovered once. Bonestone, a related material, is never lost.
- Plasma Vials heal in proportion to the damage Mina deals, and a hit during the healing animation wastes the vial.
Characters and Factions
On the faction side, the Hollowers' Guild is the closest thing Mina has to an institution, with a Hollower Secretary running its hall. Lionel's Guard remains loyal to him, while the troopers who followed Thorne have turned against it.
- Mina is a Hollower mouse, a celebrated inventor and the playable character.
- Lionel, a philanthropist, leads the isle. He co-built the Spark Generators with Mina and hands her the job of restoring them.
- Thorne, a bat, once ran Lionel's personal guard. He turned rebel and leads the troopers who sided with him.
- Cappy is the sailor who gives Mina her Plasma Vials. Mr. Furgus is Lionel's cat butler.
- Rhene, Drillhardt and Muriel are fellow Hollowers. Drillhardt, a spiral-horned deer, runs a shop of Underlab upgrades.
- The Duke wanders Queensbury Crypt in search of a lost love, startles easily and needs an escort through the catacombs.
- Lady Susan runs the Trinket Bazaar in Ossex, and her stock grows as the story advances.
- Meowstro leads the Cat Choir.
Editions
The game ships as a single Standard Edition, with a few optional extras around i, such as soundtrack bought separately.
A physical release has been announced as planned for a later date. No date, price or publisher has been given.