In many ways, Yacht Club Games' upcoming game Mina the Hollower could be described as a cross between The Secret of NIMH and Bloodborne. From the former, it has the cute animal world and characters (including our brave mousey heroine) that are in contrast with a more darker world. From the latter, it has architecture and atmosphere that borrows a lot from Gothic horror (even if presented in a more cartoonish style), and from both, it has to potential to traumatize anyone who might experience it. Okay, maybe that was a bit of hyperbole, but Yacht Club clearly has a game here that's bringing the challenge, and doing so in a way that still potentially delivers one ridiculously fun game to tackle.

While the demo we were able to play recently only showed off a portion of the massive world, what was there still showed off a ton of personality and seemed to provide a good glimpse of what's in store during the full adventure. It may have the appearance of something akin to a Game Boy Color-styled Zelda game (like Oracle of Ages/Seasons), but there's a also a healthy dash of classic Castlevania as well, with the various 8-bit ghouls and monsters faced along the way. Much like Yacht Club's legendary game Shovel Knight, Mina the Hollower expertly feels like something that feels exactly like a game straight out of its era's glory days, with its visuals being immensely stunning.

Don't let the appearance of those retro beasties fool you, as they can still put up quite a fight. Mina does have access to their trusty whip, but can pick up a nice arsenal of additional weapons and sidearms along the way, consisting of axes, daggers and more, each with their own moves. All of them are fun to try out, but one death means heading back to the last underground lair marked as a checkpoint, with the additional sidearms lost. In this writer's case, one particular hazard was a series of pits the Mina seemed to have trouble jumping over, at least with use of the analog stick, a problem that will hopefully be fixed later. Thankfully, Mina's various lairs come with other weapons they might have stashed away, various ways to upgrade things to help them out, and a station where they can refill their healing flask (which is naturally included).

Of course, there are also trinkets one can find in order to apply effects with different benefits, but we sadly didn't come across any of them in our run...if only because they may have been successfully hidden away. Mina the Hollower has a nice chunk of secrets to find, either through the tried-and-true method of using certain weapons on suspicious scenery and walls, or by heading down more challenging paths, or by burrowing through certain areas if needed. The burrowing mechanic, allowing Mina to dive underground for a certain amount of time, is ridiculously satisfying and fun to use...although given that the game's title alone lets players know how prominent it is, that should come as no surprise. It allows players to move around, find treasure, dodge attacks and more, making certain challenges at least a bit more easier.

The only thing that was missing from our look at Mina the Hollower was a look at the story, which apparently promises to lean into the horror aspects while still being rather heartwarming in the end. If it's as good as it sounds, then combined with its impressive gameplay and aesthetics that evoke some of gaming's more unsung classics, this could easily be a another gem from Yacht Club, and we'll see if that's the case when it surfaces next year.