[timestamp] is a running journal and reflection on the games I play, news I’ve read, and commentary on hot topics and conversations I have come across. These will be free to read online and printed in a limited monthly edition for $15/mo Patreon supporters!

Game played: Mina the Hollower (PS5)

This was it. The day I knew was coming, the day I was excited for, has now left me feeling a bit melancholy. My time with Mina the Hollower is over. Could there be one more dungeon? One more boss? A few more trinkets to find? A new weapon to try? Sadly, no. But what a rad game.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster, with the game’s inverted difficulty bell curve. Those first few hours were such a challenge, and then finding a great groove with it. It led up to this final dungeon, which wasn’t pulling any punches. This final space brought out the difficulty again, with some really tough enemies in tight spaces, in back-to-back rooms. I was fighting for my life with each minor bit of progress. As soon as I’d find a switch or unlock a new path forward, I was scrambling back to a hollow to refill my health and save before dying.

Those last few bosses were also brutal, with the final one being the hardest for me, for sure. I tried out a combination of trinkets and sidearms to help me as best as they could, but I was just banging my head against the wall for a while. That final hollow had a candle right outside with a large joule drop that, in between every death, I would hop in and out of to refill my joule count to max. This routine got a little old, as I just wanted to run in and try again as quickly as I could.

What made things even more exciting, of course, is the “final form” situation. You can at least save between these forms, which, without that, I likely would have never beaten the game. Well, I take that back. I ended up finding a trinket that may have helped me too much, and I don’t feel ashamed for it. The Dead Leaf trinket works by standing still for a beat, turning Mina into a stone statue that only breaks when you move again. As it turns out, this statue form prevents ALL damage taken. So when you get a guest companion to join you halfway through the second part of the final fight, you can just set the controller down, turn to stone, and let this guest slowly and gradually chip away at the boss’s health until there is only a final blow required of you to deliver.  So after numerous attempts, in one of the closest fights I had, I ran out of plasma vials and had a sliver of health. I did still have my Proto Spark revive as a backup, but I didn't want to lose it all, and I decided to roll the dice and see if the statue form would let me catch my breath for a second. Not only did I discover 100% invulnerability in that state, but I also watched the battle auto-play for 5+ minutes as his health was whittled away. There I was, ready to pop out, deliver the final blow, and roll credits.

I really don’t feel bad about this tactic. I was rewarded with this trinket because I explored and challenged myself to get through the game and find it, so game recognized game here.  The game was done, a final save was made, the depressing “bad” ending rolled, and the glimpse of a better ending appeared with the unlocked New Game+. I don’t think I’ll be doing this any time soon, and I’ll likely use some modifiers that make it less stressful and pure fun if I do, but that’s all for another day.

I am thinking back on my struggles early on with the game. I am thinking about how I was trying to find a healthy place to not judge myself and to destigmatize using the modifiers, and I was almost there, but instead I managed to find a groove and complete it without using any. I feel a bit conflicted about this, as I really didn’t learn a lesson here. I met the game in its default state, learned, gained some skill, and overcame this feeling of an imbalanced difficulty. Now, what will I do if I play another game that hits me over the head with a challenge? Will I let it and hope I can just get better, potentially ruining the experience, or put it down, never to return? I am going to go through this whole fight all over again. Just play games and have fun, future Darren. Mina, you were rad!