Mina the Hollower is a masterpiece that has a glaring issue it should address, and it relates to accessibility.
Mina the Hollower has a big problem. I know what you may be thinking. What? The highest-rated game of the year so far? The concern with this is that it is so ingrained in gaming that you would not even consider it to be an issue. But it’s there. Whenever you turn on any accessibility features that turn down the difficulty, the achievements in the game are disabled.
This is something that countless games do. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, for example, had some of the toughest trophy lists in gaming. It asked players to spend hundreds of hours doing outright unpleasant activities and was extremely difficult overall. So much so that the developer itself expressed regret over how overboard they went on the difficulty.
And it’s a pervasive issue. Many games have a difficulty-based achievement to beat the game on the highest difficulty. This means that people who want to engage with the game in a more amicable manner will never earn it. But I can hear you. You might be saying, “But why do I care about other people’s experiences? Trophies are supposed to be gained after you have suffered through what the game asks you.”
Counterpoint: Does it really affect you if someone else earns the trophy in an easier way? Even then, there are plenty of people who “cheese” their way through a boss or game mechanic to earn a difficult trophy. It happened recently with Saros and the trophy to complete a biome without getting damage. It’s permeated in our society, so maybe you should start asking how much your precious and hard-earned achievement really matters.
There are plenty of disabled people who would love to partake in trophy hunting but simply can’t. Mina the Hollower is the latest example in a long list of games that disable trophies when you turn off the difficulty. It is so ingrained in society that the developers possibly did not even think about how it impacts a certain part of the gaming community. But you know who did? Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo devs Pocket Trap. Before I go on, let me say that I am not pitting or comparing games, as both are impeccable Zelda-likes in their own right. I am just showing the best path forward.
Pipistrello is not an easy game. Using a yoyo to attack enemies, some of them move much faster and cause more damage that avoiding them almost seems impossible. It may even reach the point of frustration. Regardless of why players would turn on its accessibility settings, they are there. And they *do not* disable achievements. You can defeat bosses in one hit. You can negate damage to complete challenges unscathed. Hell, you can even game the system to collect as much in-game money as you like to get those types of achievements. And why would players who don’t want to struggle to earn these achievements want to go through this process? Because it’s FUN.
We don’t need to perpetuate mechanics who were initially designed for sweaty tryhards. I will concede that it is exhilarating to die over and over again, only to triumph at the last second against Laxasia. Then again, if somebody had defeated this boss with easier settings on, that wouldn’t detract from my experience. On the contrary, it would make me happier to see that other people were able to witness the grandiosity of such a battle and show their accomplishment in their own way.
I believe this notion that only an exclusive club that struggles their way to earn a digital reward should be dispelled. Videogames are supposed to be fun. If someone finds trophy hunting fun for their personal reasons, disability or lack of ability shouldn’t get in the way of their enjoyment.
Mina the Hollower is an excellent game. We, and many other outlets, gave it a glowing 10 out of 10. And I am enjoying it immensely. With accessibility features on and without earning any achievements. I don’t mind it. But that does not mean the developers shouldn’t either. By engaging in this deeply ingrained design choice to attach achievements to difficulty, they are alienating a substantial player base who would love to chase these achievements. And they can’t.
