My most anticipated indie game, a Game Boy-style mashup of Zelda, Dark Souls, and Castlevania from the Shovel Knight devs, just brought its excellent demo to Nintendo Switch 2

Mina the Hollower
(Image credit: Yacht Club Games)

Mina the Hollower has looked incredible from the jump – the Shovel Knight devs taking the bones of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening,adding some distinctly Castlevania aesthetics and weapons, and bringing in a touch of Soulslike combat depth and healing systems? That's a downright magical recipe, and Nintendo fans can finally get a taste of what to expect as the previously PC-exclusive demo comes to Switch.

As announced during today's Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Mina the Hollower isn't just coming to the original Switch – it's also getting a dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 version. I doubt we'll see too much difference with that upgrade here, but hopefully that means we can get those pixels in their most razor-sharp form with the new console's 4K support.

Mina the Hollower – Release Date Trailer – Nintendo Switch 2 - YouTube Mina the Hollower – Release Date Trailer – Nintendo Switch 2 - YouTube
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Perhaps most importantly for eager, retro-loving Switch fans, there's now a demo for Mina the Hollower on the eShop. The demo was previously exclusive to Steam, and was only available there for a limited time through Steam Next Fest, so this'll be your next-best opportunity to try it out.

The demo appears to cover the same early-game content as the Steam version, and it's well worth your time – I loved it, and it even made an impression on one of my substantially-less-retro-minded colleagues. Mina the Hollower has been on the top of my indie wishlist for years, and we don't have too much longer to wait ahead of its October 31 release date.

Check out our guide to upcoming indie games for 2025 and beyond.

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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