The long-awaited Mina the Hollower from Yacht Club Games (Shovel Knight) finally arrived this week and the reviews have largely been glowing. This is an action-adventure game in which you play as a mouse named Mina. She can burrow underground to temporarily become invincible and pop out of the ground to cross short gaps.
Mina the Hollower looks like an 8-bit Game Boy Color game and it's clearly inspired by classic top-down Zelda adventures. It has a gothic horror tone and Soulslike progression. It's also a platformer. So, there's a lot going on here. The world seems to be appropriately dense with secrets hidden all over the shop.
I'm definitely going to need to find some time to try this. Mina the Hollower is out now on Steam (Windows, Mac and Linux), Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2 and PS5. It costs $20.
It's taken seven years for lead developer Alex Massé and the team at Paralives Studio to bring their game to light, but Paralives has finally arrived, albeit in early access. It's available on Steam for Windows and Mac (usually $40, 10 percent off until June 1).
Paralives is a life sim in the vein of The Sims. It's an attempt to create a viable alternative to what EA has been offering up with its long-running franchise. As you might expect, you'll create characters, build homes, explore a town, meet NPCs, try different careers and all that jazz.
Massé and the team expect Paralives to remain in early access for a couple of years, during which time they'll add a weather system, pets, houseboats, cars, a town creation option, gardening, pools (no word yet on whether you'll be able to delete the ladder after a character jumps in), an event calendar and much more. I wager they'll be squishing bugs too — I did enjoy the acknowledgement in the release trailer that the early access version isn't totally polished.
In the meantime, players will be able to create their own mods. As with The Sims, you can expect some of those mods to be quite spicy.
Here's another game that just hit early access. Effort Star's Enter the Chronosphere is a turn-based roguelite that's out on Steam (Windows and Mac). It's normally $15, but there's a 10 percent discount until June 8.
This is a bullet hell game with a twist — nothing moves until you do, including the projectiles you fire. That gives you a chance to anticipate incoming attacks and plan your moves. You can see where enemies are going to shift to as well.
I've played a couple rounds of Enter the Chronosphere and I'm enjoying it so far. It reminds me a bit of Flick Shot Rogues, a turn-based game that took over all of my attention for a while last year.
Maps! Who doesn't love maps? I sure do love maps, so I would like to play Map Map – A Game About Maps. Here, a small crew is on the hunt for a lost treasure that's hidden somewhere in an archipelago. As the crew's cartographer, you'll use real navigation techniques and equipment — including a compass, telescope and sextant — to help find the booty.
Map Map sounds educational and it looks lovely. This game from Pipapo Games and co-publisher Rekoup is out now on Steam for Windows (usually $15, 10 percent off until June 11).
If you're looking for something a little more chaotic to play with friends this weekend, you might want to consider Crashout Crew. This is a co-op game in which up to four players work together to fulfill warehouse orders while contending with safety violations like faulty wiring causing the lights to flicker and cacti springing up to get in your way.
I haven't had a chance to play it yet, but as an Overcooked fan, Crashout Crew seems like my cup of tea. Developer Aggro Crab has a strong recent track record too. The studio was behind the brilliant Another Crab's Treasure and it was the co-developer of Peak, a big hit from last year.
Its latest game is out now on Steam (Windows), Xbox Series X/S and Xbox for PC. It usually costs $8, but it's 38 percent off until June 7. Crashout Crew is also on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
