The best video games don’t have to be expensive. Mina the Hollower could easily be mistaken for a Game Boy Colour title. Coming from indie developer Yacht Club Games, you play as the mouse-like Mina, who can leap and burrow into soft soil, nimbly navigating obstacles and slipping past enemies — before suddenly popping back up with a jump.

Addictive enough to keep you playing well into the small hours, Yacht Club has kept the price refreshingly reasonable, particularly given the rising cost of, well, everything. At just ₹750 on Steam, we’ve been thoroughly enjoying it on the MacBook Air. It’s a steal, to say the least.

Mina’s ability to tunnel briefly underground before springing back up is the signature move that most players will fall in love with. The burrow-jump doubles as an excavation tool, unearthing treasure as you dig your way through the earth. In combat, it becomes all but essential — duck beneath the fray, tuck yourself into the safety of the soil, and emerge precisely where your enemies least expect you.

Launched on May 29 across PC and console platforms — including Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S — Mina the Hollower is currently joint highest-rated video game of 2026, having sold 300,000 copies within its first three days, according to the developer.

Studio co-founder and director Sean Velasco told Bloomberg that the strong sales mean Yacht Club can continue operating without redundancies or outside investment — at least for now. At a time when the games industry feels increasingly volatile, Mina the Hollower arrives like a breath of fresh air.

Mina begins her journey by choosing one of three weapons: a maul, a pair of daggers, or her trusty Nightstar whip, with which she can slice and dice her way through foes. Further weapons can be unlocked as the adventure progresses, each with its own distinct feel and upgradeable abilities. She also carries a rotating selection of sidearms — secondary weapons scattered across Tenebrous Isle — and when danger closes in, she can use hollowing techniques to vanish underground, reappear behind opponents, or slip beneath obstacles entirely.

Visually, the game draws clear inspiration from the Game Boy Colour’s distinctive palette and pixel art style. Its story is steeped in Victorian Gothic horror, with a soundtrack composed by Jake Kaufman alongside legendary Japanese composer Yuzo Koshiro.

The central narrative is elegantly simple: Mina must restore six colossal, broken spark generators scattered across the island — machines she designed to bring electricity and prosperity to Tenebrous Isle. As the story unfolds, however, she begins to reckon with their unintended consequences. There’s a quietly pointed climate change allegory woven into the plot, and it lands with more grace than you might expect.

Unlike many Zelda-inspired action-adventure titles, there’s no fixed order to the dungeons. You’re free to tackle them as you please, and you’ll likely clock around 20 hours before the credits roll.