Why Mina the Hollower's unconventional difficulty curve is a deliberate design choice
By
Bobby Schroeder
An everything bagel for the brain. Substantive, layered, well-seasoned.
Summary
A personal reflection on Mina the Hollower, Yacht Club Games' latest title following Shovel Knight. The author praises the game's lovingly crafted design, clever level gimmicks, and the unique burrowing mechanic of the protagonist. The article explores the game's old school inspirations and its intentionally designed difficulty curve, arguing that the game's challenging structure is a feature, not a flaw.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledMina is a lovingly crafted game that gets so much mileage out of its protagonist's ability to burrow into the ground
packed full of clever level gimmicks and secrets and treasure where it feels like every last pixel on the screen was carefully considered
the four Shovel Knight campaigns are some of my favorite games ever, so I was down for whatever Yacht Club had cooking next
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