Mina the Hollower is finally out, and it’s a sprawling retro-inspired 2D adventure I’d heartily recommend to everyone. However, Yacht Club Games had a bit too much fun with sneaky jump scares that might startle some players. Here’s when those scary bits pop up and how you can avoid them in some cases.
Mina the Hollower jump scares explained
Mina the Hollower expertly mixes whimsy and dark fantasy elements, but like its bigger 3D relatives, it also packs some horror DNA, which is why I wasn’t personally surprised by the presence of some nasty jump scares that may have startled me good.
While there are other stressful situations in this game, if you’re looking for quick list of what/who to watch out for in terms of jump scares, I’ve got you covered:
- Klumpy the clown (pictured above) is a seemingly normal NPC who’s hanging around Ossex, the game’s central town. If you talk to him, he’ll offer to tell you some pretty good jokes. You’ll get the chance to accept or deny. If you accept, he’ll randomly blast through walls or pop out of the ground at several points during your journey, scaring the bejesus out of you before dropping some gallows humour and (thankfully) a small reward.
- The Carving Man is one of the game’s main bosses, and you’ll come across him in the Septemburg area. Before the boss fight, additionally, he’ll stalk and chase you a few times in terrifying, relentless fashion à la Dead by Daylight. At times, he’ll even burst through a wall during normal exploration, so he can produce some solid sudden scares on top of the stress of having to run away from him.
- Some bosses also have pretty sudden intros or activation phases that some players might find a bit startling. For example, Madd House (seen in the article’s main image), while not technically a jump scare, isn’t something I was expecting at all.
- Staying too long in the darkness also triggers the game’s biggest jump scare, which deserves its own section…
Mina the Hollower darkness jump scare
The worst jump scare in Mina the Hollower by far happens when you stay in a completely dark area outside a light source’s range for too long.
At first, the screen will begin to pulse with red colour. Then, a heartbeat sound ramps up. After a few more seconds, the full screen will show an undead-like creature screaming before Mina is “thrown” back to the safety of a light (and with some damage to her HP too), also making progress through poorly lit areas impossible without the right tools or planning.
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