Mina the Hollower’s release weekend overperformed Yacht Club’s projections and the Steam wishlist that had been swelling for years finally cashed in. The Game Boy Color homage holds together, the burrow mechanic is genuinely fresh, and the boss design earns the comparisons to the classics it was built around. The catch — and it is a happy catch — is that people who finish Mina want more in the same vein. We rounded up seven Mina the Hollower alternatives that scratch the same itch: tight 2D action, deliberate exploration, and bosses that respect the player’s time.
This list covers Zelda-likes, action-platformers, and lateral entries that share Mina’s design DNA. We tested every pick on Windows; macOS and Linux availability noted per game.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Cost | Standout | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove | Yacht Club lineage at its source | $24.99 | Four campaigns in one box | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Tunic | Cryptic puzzle-Zelda | $29.99 | Manual-as-discovery mechanic | Windows, macOS |
| Death’s Door | Polished isometric Zelda | $19.99 | Combat feel and tight pacing | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| The Messenger | Punky 8-to-16-bit shift | $19.99 | Soundtrack and time-travel hook | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Blasphemous | Soulslike with Spanish folklore | $24.99 | Atmosphere and brutal boss design | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Hollow Knight | Genre-defining Metroidvania | $14.99 | Map density and combat depth | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Hyper Light Drifter | Pixel-art post-apocalyptic action | $19.99 | Wordless storytelling | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Why “what should I play after Mina” is the question
The Steam reviews and the r/Mina_the_Hollower threads land on the same checklist of what made the game work:
- Tight, weighty controls where the dash, attack, and burrow timing all matter
- Boss fights that pattern-test you, then reward learning
- Map design that rewards exploration without overwhelming the player with markers
- Pixel art that is unapologetic about its 8-bit reference (Game Boy Color rather than NES)
- Soundtrack composed by Jake Kaufman, who is now permanently entangled with the genre
The seven picks below each hit four or five of those checklist items. None is a one-for-one replacement; that game does not exist yet. Played in sequence they cover most of what made Mina work.
The 7 best Mina the Hollower alternatives
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove — best for the Yacht Club lineage at its source
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the obvious first stop. Yacht Club’s previous game, sold as a bundle of the original campaign plus three full-length expansions (Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, King of Cards), is where Mina’s design language was developed. The 8-bit aesthetic is NES (Mina’s is Game Boy Color), but the boss pattern philosophy, the combat weight, and the soundtrack DNA all carry forward.
If you finished Mina and want to understand the design vocabulary Yacht Club has been building, this is the canon.
Where it falls short: The 8-bit colour palette feels more restrictive than Mina’s GBC palette. Some platforming sections are punishing in a way Mina deliberately softened.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Base: $24.99 for the full Treasure Trove
- vs Mina: Cheaper, longer (four campaigns), older aesthetic
Switching from Mina: Same studio, same design philosophy. The shovel as a weapon-traversal-attack tool maps onto Mina’s hollower roughly. Boss patterns reward the same study-then-execute rhythm.
Download: Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Shovel Knight when you want to understand where Mina’s combat instincts come from.
Tunic — best for cryptic puzzle-Zelda
Tunic is the small isometric Zelda whose central mechanic is collecting pages of an in-game game manual, written in a language you cannot read, that gradually reveals the rules of the world. Combat is competent; the real reward is decoding the manual, finding hidden shortcuts that were technically on screen the whole time, and realising the map has secrets you walked past on day one.
For Mina players who appreciated the puzzle-density of the world map, Tunic doubles down on that instinct.
Where it falls short: The combat is the weakest layer compared to Mina’s tight hollower-attack rhythm. Some puzzle solutions are obscure enough that a guide is the realistic completion path for many players.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Base: $29.99
- vs Mina: Comparable price, more puzzle, less combat
Switching from Mina: Adjust expectations away from rapid boss execution and toward exploration patience. The combat is in service of the puzzle.
Download: Tunic on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Tunic when discovery and decoding are the parts of Mina you want more of.
Death's Door — best polished isometric Zelda
Death’s Door is Acid Nerve’s follow-up to Titan Souls and the most polished isometric Zelda in recent memory. The combat is the standout: dodge, light attack, charged attack, and a small set of sub-weapons (bow, fireball, hookshot) recombined elegantly across bosses. The art direction (small bird crow protagonist in a Tim Burton-inflected world) is unmistakable.
For Mina players who liked the boss-pattern execution, Death’s Door is the most direct combat-feel relative on the list.
Where it falls short: Shorter than the other picks (8 to 12 hours main story). Limited replay value once you have rolled credits.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Base: $19.99 (regular discounts to $9.99)
- vs Mina: Cheaper, shorter, dramatically polished combat
Switching from Mina: Combat mental model carries over directly. The pace is slightly faster.
Download: Death’s Door on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Death’s Door when combat feel is the part of Mina you want repeated, and you are okay with a shorter run.
The Messenger — best punky 8-to-16-bit shift
The Messenger by Sabotage Studio starts as an 8-bit Ninja Gaiden homage and pulls a structural twist halfway through that recontextualises everything. The soundtrack (also by Rainbowdragoneyes) is wall-to-wall heaters. The dialogue is funny in a way most retro homages are afraid to attempt.
For Mina players who appreciated the retro-loving Yacht Club tone, The Messenger lands on the same wavelength with sharper edges.
Where it falls short: The midgame twist polarises players — some love it, some feel it stretches a tight 8-bit game into a longer 16-bit game that overstays its welcome.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Base: $19.99 (regular discounts to $4.99)
- vs Mina: Cheaper, comparable length, more genre-flexible
Switching from Mina: Combat is more action-platformer than Zelda-like; expect to dash and slice through enemies on rhythm. Boss design rewards the same pattern-study.
Download: The Messenger on Steam
Bottom line: Pick The Messenger when retro homage with a twist and a great soundtrack is the headline.
Blasphemous — best Soulslike with regional flavour
Blasphemous (and Blasphemous 2) take the Metroidvania template and dress it in Spanish-Catholic folklore. The Penitent One’s combat is deliberately weighty, parries matter, and the pixel art borrows from Goya and Solana more than any other game in the category. The 2024 free DLC plus Blasphemous 2 expanded the world considerably.
For Mina players who liked the moody-but-warm tone, Blasphemous offers the moody-but-cold variant.
Where it falls short: Difficulty is higher and less forgiving than Mina. Some boss patterns require multiple deaths to learn. Story is dense and intentionally opaque.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Base: $24.99 (Blasphemous 1) or $29.99 (Blasphemous 2)
- vs Mina: Comparable, more difficult, darker tone
Switching from Mina: Plan to die more. The dodge-and-strike rhythm is slower and the bosses pattern-test harder.
Download: Blasphemous on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Blasphemous when you want a moodier Soulslike take on the pixel-action template.
Hollow Knight — best genre-defining Metroidvania
Hollow Knight is the modern Metroidvania benchmark and the obvious “what should I play next” answer to almost any 2D action game. The map density, the combat depth (nail attacks, spells, charm builds), and the optional bosses (Path of Pain, Pantheon of Hallownest) define what the genre is capable of.
If somehow you have not played Hollow Knight, this is the pick.
Where it falls short: No fast travel between most points without unlocks. The map is dense enough that early-game navigation is occasionally frustrating. Silksong has been awaited for years.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Base: $14.99
- vs Mina: Much cheaper, much longer, deeper combat system
Switching from Mina: Hollow Knight rewards slower exploration. Plan a 40-hour runtime for the main story and longer for true ending.
Download: Hollow Knight on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Hollow Knight when you want the deepest Metroidvania run on the list and you have not played it yet.
Hyper Light Drifter — best pixel-art post-apocalyptic action
Hyper Light Drifter is Heart Machine’s pixel-art masterpiece, all wordless storytelling and crystalline pink-and-purple environments. Combat is fast, the dash is generous, and the soundtrack by Disasterpeace anchors the entire mood. The map structure is open enough that you find bosses in any order, which gives the game a different flavour on replay.
For Mina players who appreciated the pixel-art density, Hyper Light Drifter sits at the top of the category.
Where it falls short: No spoken or written narrative beyond environmental cues — some players bounce off the deliberate opacity. Combat difficulty spikes hard in late biomes.
Pricing:
- Free: No
- Base: $19.99 (regular discounts to $4.99)
- vs Mina: Cheaper, no narrative text, more open structure
Switching from Mina: Plan to learn the bosses by death. The story comes from environment and ambience rather than text.
Download: Hyper Light Drifter on Steam
Bottom line: Pick Hyper Light Drifter when the pixel-art mood and wordless storytelling appeal more than dialogue and quest log.
How to pick the right one
If you want to study Yacht Club’s design lineage, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the canon. If you want puzzle-density above all, Tunic. If the combat feel is what you want repeated, Death’s Door is the closest match.
If retro homage with a twist is the appeal, install The Messenger. If you want darker atmosphere and you accept higher difficulty, Blasphemous. If you somehow have not played the genre-defining Metroidvania, Hollow Knight is mandatory.
If mood and wordless storytelling carry the experience for you, Hyper Light Drifter is the pixel-art high-water mark.
Replay Mina for a second run on the harder difficulty when none of these feel right. Yacht Club has hinted at post-launch content; the second playthrough holds up while you wait.
FAQ
What is the best free Mina the Hollower alternative?
There is no fully free pick in this list. Demos exist for several (Tunic, Death’s Door, Hollow Knight on occasion). The cheapest paid option is Hollow Knight at $14.99.
Is Tunic more like Zelda than Mina the Hollower?
Tunic is closer to top-down Zelda’s exploration-and-decoding loop. Mina draws more from Castlevania and Zelda II’s combat rhythm. They sit on different sides of the broad Zelda-influence spectrum.
Does Mina the Hollower have a Steam Deck mode?
Yes, Mina the Hollower is Steam Deck Verified. Every alternative on this list that lists Linux support also runs cleanly on Deck.
Are any of these games made by ex-Yacht Club developers?
Several composers and pixel artists who worked on Shovel Knight have credits on other entries (Jake Kaufman’s soundtrack work spans multiple picks). No game on this list is a Yacht Club spinoff studio.
What should I play after I finish all seven?
Look at Iconoclasts, Animal Well, Crypt Custodian, Pseudoregalia, or Pizza Tower. The 2D action category in 2026 is wide enough that the “what next” question has more answers every six months.
