Knight: Silksong is finally out in the wild. The launch was so ridiculous that it crashed storefronts on multiple platforms because everybody tried to download it at the same time. More than 500,000 concurrent players on Steam? Three million copies sold in under a week? That’s not a game launch, that’s a digital stampede. But while Silksong soaked up every headline like a greedy little knight, another indie gem has been standing off to the side, tapping its tiny foot and waiting for attention. That game is Mina the Hollower.Let’s be real: Yacht Club Games doesn’t need my pity. These are the folks behind Shovel Knight, the game that basically kicked down the door for the entire 2010s indie boom. Before
Knight even existed, Shovel Knight was the poster child for retro-inspired indie excellence. It sold millions, got a pile of expansions, and earned a permanent spot in "best games of all time" conversations. So when Yacht Club announced Mina the Hollower, I should have lost my mind immediately. Instead, I did what a lot of people did: I nodded politely and went back to refreshing Silksong threads. I regret that now.Mina the Hollower launched last Halloween, and it is not a
Knight clone just because the word "hollow" sneaks into the title. It’s an isometric action-adventure game with heavy Game Boy Color energy, like The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons got dressed up in a little Victorian gothic coat and went looking for trouble. You play as Mina, an anthropomorphic mouse and inventor, which immediately earns points from me because mice in tiny hats are objectively charming. She’s trying to restore power to a cursed island, and between the fast-paced combat, interconnected levels, and MSX-style soundtrack, the whole thing feels like a lovingly preserved relic from an alternate 2001 where pocket gaming never grew up.The weird part? Yacht Club Games spent more than a decade without releasing a brand-new standalone IP. Let that sink in. Shovel Knight came out in 2014, and ever since, the studio has mostly tinkered with spin-offs and collaborations. Mina the Hollower is the first completely solo, original game from Yacht Club in ages. That alone should have made the launch a massive event. But Silksong’s shadow is long, and I guess being a mouse with a wrench doesn’t generate as many unhinged memes as a silent bug with a needle. I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy, but I am saying the hype machine has questionable taste.
Let’s compare quickly, because both games deserve a fair shake.
Feature
Knight: SilksongMina the Hollower
Developer pedigree
Team Cherry, Metroidvania royalty
Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight legends
Main character
Hornet, a fierce bug warrior
Mina, a mouse inventor in a tiny hat
View
Side-scrolling
Isometric
Vibe
Melancholy, vast, dreamlike
Cozy-creepy Game Boy gothic
Launch impact
Crashed digital stores
Deserved more noise, honestly
Yacht Club originally ran a Kickstarter for Mina the Hollower back in 2022, then went quiet for what felt like forever. Now that the game is actually here, I hope it gets a legitimate shot at Game of the Year conversations. If you’re still on the fence, there’s a free demo available on modern platforms. Go play it. Give the mouse a chance. She’s been waiting patiently while we all screamed about Silksong, and honestly, she deserves the hype.
Maybe Silksong is the flashy headliner, but Mina the Hollower is the secret set you didn’t know you needed. Don’t let it pass you by.
If this comparison has sparked even a flicker of curiosity, now is the perfect time to carve out a weekend for Mina’s adventure—or to finally check what all the Silksong fuss is about. Indie gems like these reward patience, but they also reward a little smart budgeting before you hit that purchase button.
Fortunately, you don’t have to overpay to dive into either world. Whether you’re grabbing a launch discount, hunting down a seasonal sale, or stacking coupons for a digital storefront, a savvy shopper knows it always pays to find the best deal before committing. A few minutes of price-checking can be the difference between hesitating and happily losing yourself in a beautifully crafted new universe—so go give Mina the spotlight she’s earned.