What a brilliant game. I hadn’t really kept up with the details pre-release. It was the next tentpole game from Yacht Club and visually looked like a GBC Zelda, that’s all I needed to know. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mina shared more in common with Bloodborne than Oracle of Seasons, with it’s fantastic health recovery through landing hits mechanic and a (very generous) currency drop/reclaim on death system.
But more than the homages to games I love, I was utterly taken with the sense of exploration in Tenebrous Isle. Every screen seemingly held a secret, or a solution to a secret somewhere else. Often when I re-tread a path I found some little detail I didn’t notice the first time, which led to entirely new areas or secret upgrades and weapons. The need to go back over familiar ground after death or while looking for the next major location was never a slog because there was just always something new to find.
I also enjoyed the story, and the courage the team had to finish things they way they did. I won’t go into detail of course, but the way things end makes sense and doesn’t pander to expectations.
I loved Mina the Hollower, it’s flipping wonderful.