10 Games to Check Out if You Love Mina the Hollower

Mina the Hollower has officially arrived, and it didn't take long for Yacht Club Games' latest masterpiece to earn widespread praise from both specialized critics and the indie gaming community – including DualShockers, where we wrote that the game is a “captivating experience that somehow turns a ten-hour session into what feels like ten minutes”.

It is simply one of those titles that, the moment the credits roll, leaves you sitting there with that classic “I really didn't want this to end” bittersweet feeling. And naturally, our immediate instinct is to start hunting for something that can replicate that specific magic, whether it is through a moody storytelling tone, a classic top-down perspective, a witty sense of dialogue humor, or just an adventure starring charming anthropomorphic animals.

So, if you are currently feeling orphaned by Mina's subterranean journey like me, I gathered some excellent alternatives to keep the hollowing momentum going.

10 The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Let Us Awaken Together

It is impossible to talk about Mina the Hollower without looking directly at its strongest inspirations: the classic 2D Zelda titles. These games serve as a massive inspiration for Mina’s journey, sharing the exact same core philosophy when it comes to world design and player agency.

And we can easily notice this in the original The Legend of Zelda, the timeless A Link to the Past, the quirky Oracle duology, and also in Link’s Awakening – the title I picked for this list. This choice was made because I feel it is the game in Nintendo's franchise that most closely resembles Yacht Club's work, featuring top-down exploration in a mysterious location where secrets hide in every nook and cranny, equipment with unusual purposes, heavy puzzle-solving, and NPCs you feel you don't truly know.

Furthermore, by simply dropping you into a compact yet dense map filled with quirky characters and cryptic overworld quests, it captures that same melancholic, slightly dreamlike atmosphere that makes you want to poke at every suspicious wall. If you want to see where Mina's mechanical roots truly lie, navigating Koholint Island is the perfect place to start. Also, Link’s Awakening has a lovely remake that is faithful to the original experience and makes it incredibly accessible for our current generation!

9 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

In Case You Want More Whips

Following the exact same line of core inspirations that built Mina the Hollower’s world, we have to take a trip into the moody hallways of the classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

While Mina opts for a top-down camera rather than Alucard’s side-scrolling perspective, the shared DNA between these two titles is undeniable, especially being able to use a lovely whip as one of your primary weapons!

So if you spent your time in Ossex rocking the Nightstar chain mace and leaning heavily into subweapons, this equally gothic masterpiece will make you feel right at home, as Konami’s title perfects the art of eerie atmosphere, wrapping its challenging encounters in a classy, dark aesthetic lined with imaginative monsters and incredible music. It is a true masterclass in stylish design and a challenging combat that rewards players who take the time to learn enemy patterns and master their spatial awareness.

8 Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo

A Modern Yo-Yo Powered Treasure

If your favorite part of Mina was navigating clever platforming challenges with a highly unique, momentum-based weapon, the 2D top-down adventure Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is an absolute treasure you cannot afford to miss.

Since it was released in 2025, the indie community has been raving about this title, with many players openly describing it as one of the best Zelda-likes ever made, praising its genuinely flawless game design.

Developed by the Brazilian studio Pocket Trap, the combat is sharp, the platforming feels incredibly tight, and the entire adventure is packed with a cute story and brilliant accessibility options that never compromise the game’s clever pacing (much like Mina’s modifiers). It just hits that rare sweet spot of being a decent-sized adventure that looks and sounds phenomenal, making it a stellar pick if you want an experience where mechanical perfection meets pure charm.

7 Hyper Light Drifter

A Silent, Beautifully Challenging Masterpiece

For those who fell in love with the challenging, fast-paced rhythm of Mina the Hollower’s combat and the quiet beauty of its world, Hyper Light Drifter is a mandatory destination.

This action-adventure RPG in the vein of the best 16-bit classics relies on an open-world structure defined by stunning pixel art, an evocative soundtrack, and a heavy, thick atmosphere. Mechanically, the high-speed dashing and slashing combat shares a very similar level of difficulty with Mina, requiring precise timing and quick reflexes to survive intense group encounters.

Just like Mina, it is also described as a sort of 16-bit era Zelda with a futuristic theme, and it sure is a beautifully constructed title that manages to weave an emotionally breathtaking narrative without a single line of dialogue, breaking your heart and pulling it back together through a minimalistic approach.

6 Unsighted

Fancy a Soulslike Edge?

Unsighted takes the traditional top-down RPG layout and injects it with a thrilling, intense dose of adrenaline, which is perfect for keeping your excitement going after finishing everything Mina the Hollower has to offer.

This is because the game by the Brazilian studio PixelPunk Studios also offers a highly unique world ruined by something full of plot twists, while featuring a distinct Soulslike edge to its combat mechanics, emphasizing precise parries, stamina management, bosses with complex attack patterns, and smart positioning.

Much like Mina, the game doesn't hold your hand, forcing you to utilize your entire movement toolkit to navigate hazardous environments and overcome towering boss fights. Also, its clever level geometry ensures that exploring the map feels like solving a giant, interconnected puzzle, making every unlocked shortcut feel immensely rewarding for players who love a mechanical challenge.

5 Death’s Door

A Gothic, Crow-Starred Underworld Adventure

If you are looking for a title that perfectly mirrors Mina The Hollower’s blend of cute animal protagonists and dark, gothic undertones, Death’s Door fits the bill more than flawlessly.

Stepping into the feathered shoes of a sword-wielding crow tasked with harvesting the souls of the dead, this top-down action-adventure wraps a melancholic story in a beautifully stylized, somber world. And the combat is also fast, precise, and heavily reliant on learning enemy telegraph cues, offering a smooth but demanding learning curve.

Between the grim underworld aesthetics, the witty but bleak dialogue from its strange NPC cast, and the rewarding exploration, it captures that exact cozy-yet-creepy vibe that makes Mina so addictive – along with featuring an absolutely adorable anthropomorphic protagonist.

4 Tunic

Decoding Mysteries

Tunic is an extraordinary love letter to classic exploration that focuses heavily on how you actively engage with the game map (or, more accurately, the lack thereof), and if this description reminds you a bit of Mina the Hollower’s vibe, you are definitely not alone.

To start with, we have another adorable anthropomorphic protagonist, as we step into the paws of a tiny fox in a mysterious world, making the game truly share Mina's spirit of unguided discovery through the eyes of a special creature.

Basically, instead of pointing you toward your next objective with neon signs or map pings, Tunic drops you into a complex, beautifully detailed world where you must manually reconstruct an in-game instruction manual written in a fictional language to figure out the mechanics. It is a brilliant mind game that treats the player with immense respect, transforming simple exploration into a constant string of mind-blowing "aha!" moments.

3 Hollow Knight: Silksong

A Punishing Journey for Hardcore Fans

When trying to think of another indie that matches the challenging essence of Mina the Hollower and is also already a classic of the genre, Hollow Knight: Silksong is what immediately pops into our minds – and with good reason.

The game by Team Cherry expands the universe of the Hollow Knight franchise while showcasing a different facet thanks to its female protagonist, and Mina and Hornet share a lot in common, as both are highly respected creatures within their respective worlds.

That way, both games appeal to basically the same crowd: players who want a punishing, beautifully animated world filled with cryptic lore, tight hitboxes, and iconic boss encounters that push your mechanical execution to its absolute limit. In addition, something fun to think about is how interesting it would be if Mina the Hollower’s unique modifiers had their own version in Silksong! Would love to suffer just a little bit more against Tessela.

2 Undertale

Unforgettable NPCs

If your favorite part of exploring Mina the Hollower was interacting with bizarre, memorable NPCs who constantly subvert your expectations – like a merchant with multiple faces or a weaponsmith who isn't exactly who he says he is –, Undertale is a must-play experience because it delivers that exact same feeling.

Yacht Club Games loves filling their worlds with witty, left-of-center dialogue, and Undertale practically built its legendary reputation on that exact style of humor. Toby Fox’s masterpiece is famous for its cast of hilarious and subverted monsters, turning what looks like a simple retro RPG into an unforgettable subversion of video game tropes that also constantly pokes at the player's way of thinking.

So it basically shares that same creative spark where speaking to a random character on the road can instantly turn into a memorable joke or an emotionally poignant moment.

1 Shovel Knight

Celebrating Yacht Club’s Original Masterpiece

When you fall in love with a specific game, it is always a fantastic idea to look back at the historical catalog of the studio that built it.

And by doing exactly that with Mina the Hollower, you stumble upon the fantastic Shovel Knight, which is basically an indie world classic and the one responsible for putting Yacht Club Games on the map. So, checking it out for the first time or simply revisiting this blue-armored hero provides an incredible look at the team's core design philosophy.

While it is a 2D side-scrolling platformer rather than a top-down adventure, it shares pretty much the same uncompromising dedication to tight controls, spectacular chiptune music, brilliant level design, different subweapons, and traversal abilities. Experiencing the game's multiple campaigns is the absolute best way to show respect for the developers who just gave us Mina's incredible journey, making it a mandatory play for any indie enthusiast.