Mina the Hollower takes inspiration from the classic Zelda and Castlevania games, which means it's absolutely brutal despite being all cute and cuddly. So before you dive in, here's what you need to know to avoid having birds flung at your face.

1) Explore

Starting with the most important tip - explore everywhere. And I really do mean EVERYWHERE. Mina is absolutely stuffed with secrets, puzzles and awesome loot that you can very easily miss if you just follow the obvious path. I've combed through each area multiple times and I'm still finding things I overlooked. The game is that dense!

So whenever you see something out of place - a suspicious wall, a room with no obvious exit, a weirdly placed item - activate those brain noodles. The developers are clearly hiding something, and they want you to work for it. And the sneakier the secret, the better the reward at the end, so keep those eyes peeled.

Video version of this guide (~10 minutes)

2) Proto Spark

I don't like telling people which items to take as that kind of defeats the point of - you know, playing the game. But for the Proto Spark I'll make an exception, because this thing is as essential as morning coffee.

It's a trinket that resurrects you with most of your health whenever you die, and it recharges by simply hitting a checkpoint. It has single-handedly won me more boss fights than I'm capable of counting, and I know it'll do the same for you.

You can get it by completing ghost dude's sidequest near the very end of the graveyard region. You'll need to escort him to a locked room found directly after the boss fight, and while yes - escort quests are always a pain in the booty cheeks - the Proto Spark is worth every painful second.

You'll be seeing this screen a lot

3) Just Run

While exploring a new region for the first time you'll die a fair bit. And with checkpoints usually being 10-15 minutes of gameplay apart, that might sound absolutely brutal. Thankfully, it's really not. Because you can usually sprint straight back to where you died in under a minute.

Don't bother fighting anything. Don't stop to look around. Just hug the most direct route and use the screen transitions to send enemies to the shadow realm. As it turns out, when you ignore most of the game, these regions aren't actually that big. Who knew.

4) Patience

But when it comes to actual combat, my advice is the complete opposite. Instead of panicking and bouncing around the room like a coked-up squirrel - take a breath and take it easy. Every enemy and boss in the game has predictable patterns - even if they look like a chaotic jumble of nonsense.

So especially in boss fights, just take a moment to observe. Let them swing, dodge around, and just focus on figuring out their rhythm. These fights aren't a race. Even with a highly upgraded weapon they take a while, so patience genuinely is your best tool here.

Learn how to avoid their attacks, and then when they strike their cool guy pose, that's when you should shove a whip right down their nose. It's simple advice, but it's one that'll take you far with Mina.

Bosses can feel hectic, but you always have plenty of time to plan & react

5) Healing

Healing in Mina is quite tricky. You first need to build up charge by attacking enemies, and only then can you use one of your sloooooooow healing flasks. Because of this, you might find yourself keeling over in boss fights while clutching a full stack of perfectly pristine flasks. So how do you find the time to heal?

The first advice is the same one as the last tip - patience. Wait for the boss to exhaust themselves, and then instead of attacking, take a moment to heal. The other thing is: don't be greedy. Don't let a good opportunity pass you by just because it's not going to be a full heal. Even a little bit of extra health can make the difference.

But if even that's not enough, there's also items and trinkets specifically made to boost healing. So if you're struggling, give those a chance. Even a modest bump to your survivability can be the difference between a pile of well-earned loot or you getting incinerated.

6) Weapons

Mina has five unique primary weapons - three of which you can pick from at the very start. They're all drastically different in range, speed, and feel, so I'd strongly recommend trying all of them. There is no bad weapon, even if I did my best to make them appear that way.

You can either find them out in the world, or just buy them on the cheap from the blacksmith in the main city. And the best thing is - most damage upgrades are universal. So even if you don't invest in a weapon's unique upgrade, they'll still have roughly the same power level.

So don't be a one-trick pony and give every weapon a bash, slash or just a ploink. You might be surprised by what you find.

As a big Castlevania fan, I ended up loving the whip the most

7) Sidearms

Much like Castlevania, Mina has powerful items called sidearms that cost Joules to fire. They range from throwing axes to big bouncy balls that combine into black holes. And all of them are strong. And all of them are limited.

So don't waste them on basic enemies - your normal weapons will clobber those just fine. Instead, save them for the elites - the roided-out superfreaks that can take one hell of a beating, and are usually guarding something well worth stealing.

It might feel silly saving your charges, but trust me - when you actually need a sidearm, you really, REALLY need it. So keep those reserves topped up and your life will be much easier.

8) Sidearms and Secrets

As you explore the world you'll notice areas that look just about reachable... but not quite. And if you've played Metroidvania games before, your instinct will be to assume you need some permanent upgrade to get there.

Mina doesn't really work like that. Instead of permanent traversal upgrades, many of your sidearms and trinkets double as exploration tools. The bike, for example, can be used to leave tire marks on enemy faces, but also to jump over massive gaps. And since Mina isn't a cruel mistress, there's usually a way to find the sidearm you need somewhere nearby.

That said, some areas - especially in the city - are locked behind story progression or later-game items. So if something looks truly impossible, even if you could jump twice as far, just ignore it for now. It'll come back up later.

I never thought I'd be fishing for boars

9) Dying is OK

Much like Souls games, dying in Mina means dropping your currency - bones. You'll get a few chances to recover your stash based on how many Sparks you have. But, often the same nasty area that killed you once will kill you again, and those bones will turn to dust.

This might feel devastating, but honestly? It's fine. The amount of bones you earn increases significantly as you progress, so even a big loss is recoverable pretty quickly. And if you desperately need cash, enemies and loot respawn, so bones are easy to farm.

I know this is less of a tip and more life advice, but don't get discouraged. And absolutely do not let some douchebag in plate armor and a pointy stick ruin your evening.

10) Different Paths

That said, there's no reason to keep slamming your face against a brick wall if things aren't going your way. Mina has a semi open world, which means there are plenty of different paths for you to take, even from the very start.

So if an area is using you as a pincushion, make a brave advance backwards. Try some of the other regions. You might find their playstyle more to your liking, and then you can come back to the hell zone later with better gear and a better mood. And then you can show them exactly what you think about them and their stupid birds!

Mina will teach you to hate birds!

11) Don't Hoard

Mina's world is full of shops, both in the main city and out in the wild. They often sell permanent upgrades and powerful trinkets, and you should absolutely spend your bones on them. Don't be a hoarder.

Prioritize the impactful stuff first. A +25% health upgrade now will do you a lot more good than grinding towards a super-expensive +1 damage upgrade. So get the big buffs, use big buffs to get more bones, and repeat until your little mouse has the power of a god.

And this goes doubly so for keys. They can be pricey and buying them often feels like throwing perfectly good bones into the void, but you should buy them anyway. They often hide powerful loot, and a good chunk of them will even refund a portion of their cost by throwing big bones at you. So to circle back to the very first tip - exploration really is everything in Mina.

Got Any Questions?

And there you have it. Eleven tips to make your first journey all nice and pleasant. If you have any questions about the guide or Mina in general, drop them in the video's comments. I'll do my best to help you out.

If you're interested in my thoughts on Mina the Hollower - where it succeeds and where it stumbles - I've also released a detailed review. Cheers!