Mina the Hollower How Long to Beat: Story, 100% and NG+

Updated 2026-10-16: Replaced our earlier HowLongToBeat ranges with the site's current averages, fixed the HLTB link, rebuilt the comparison table from HLTB and Steam, and removed figures we could not source (per-boss retry times, a 100-hour NG+ total, a genre average, and a Sean Velasco quote).

Mina the Hollower how long to beat? (quick answer)

HowLongToBeat (HLTB) averages, checked October 16, 2026:

The spread inside each row is wide. Rushed main-story submissions average about 14 hours and leisurely ones nearly 32, so two players can both "finish Mina" more than a full day apart. The story row also rests on about half as many submissions as the main + sides row.

One real-world data point: Stephen Totilo at Game File logged 31 hours with Mina, a few hours short of his total for the four Shovel Knight games that came before it.

Main story length and pacing

Mina the Hollower comes from the Shovel Knight team, but it is built very differently: a top-down action-adventure where the map opens up as you collect tools. That structure is why the main-story range is so wide. A focused run that heads for required objectives sits near the HLTB average. A run where you scan every wall, burrow under suspicious gaps and backtrack the moment a new tool turns up drifts toward the leisurely end.

Town scenes and side characters are part of what a slower, explore-everything run spends its extra hours on. Screenshot: Steam store page

Completionist run: what 100% actually takes

Going for 100% means the 50 Steam achievements plus the hidden rooms and collectibles a critical-path run skips. HLTB's completionist average is the figure above, with rushed runs under 27 hours and leisurely ones past 46. If you'd rather not search blind, our Mina the Hollower trinkets guide lists the trinket locations.

The completion time balloons because secrets sit behind abilities you only get later, so genuine 100% means backtracking through earlier areas once your toolkit is complete. A new player hunting everything blind, without a trinket checklist, should expect to sit at the long end of HLTB's spread. If the second ending is on your list, our Mina the Hollower secret ending guide explains both routes.

Yacht Club's launch trailer gives a quick look at the burrowing and the bosses you'll be spending those hours on:

If you're the type who treats a map as a checklist, Mina respects that instinct. The world is dense enough that thorough exploration keeps surfacing new things well into the back half. When a player on r/MinaTheHollower asked whether finding everything on a first run was worth it, the top reply pointed out that the sixth generator isn't the finish line: "There's a bit more game after that, which is an excellent time to go back through and try to track down everything you missed."

New Game Plus and the road to NG+7

New Game Plus doesn't stop at one cycle. You can keep going up to and including NG+7, which is where the game counts the ladder as complete, and stats keep scaling past that up to NG+12. Our Mina the Hollower tips cover how to prepare a save for it.

The cycles change the run rather than just inflating enemy health. According to the Gamer Guides NG+ breakdown, some cycles flip the world horizontally, some shuffle item locations, Sidearms and enemy stats, and some cut down the number of Underlabs, the game's checkpoints. HLTB has no NG+ category, so nobody has a reliable hour count for the full ladder yet. Treat it as open-ended bonus time rather than part of the price case.

Boss fights are where retries pile up, and on NG+ cycles with fewer Underlabs a failed attempt costs more ground. Screenshot: Steam store page

What changes your playtime

Two levers move your final number more than anything else.

The first is difficulty. How many attempts a boss takes varies from player to player, and every retry adds to the clock. Mina's modifiers exist for exactly this: the in-game manual says they "can make the game easier or harder, or add fun and interesting effects," and you can switch them on from the Options menu. Some of them disable Feats, so check before you flip one on a save you care about. How fair the difficulty feels is a big part of our Mina the Hollower review.

The second is exploration appetite. Because the map is nonlinear and ability-gated, the gap between a critical-path player and a completionist is measured in days of play, not minutes. Neither is wrong. If you want the story and the bosses, head for objectives. If you want every secret, our Mina the Hollower complete guide collects every route and collectible guide in one place.

A practical tip: treat rooms you can't fully clear as exactly that, and move on. Forcing progress against an ability gate you haven't unlocked is the easiest way to inflate your own playtime without meaning to.

GODEEPER: If the early skill walls are eating your time, the friction points and burrow mechanics are worth reading before you start. Mina the Hollower Tips: Burrowing, Bosses and NG+ Prep →

How Mina compares to similar indie action-adventures

HLTB main-story and completionist averages plus current Steam list prices, all checked October 16, 2026:

Hollow Knight is the obvious comparison: both are ability-gated action-adventures with demanding bosses. Hollow Knight is longer on both counts and cheaper, and its completionist time is roughly double Mina's.

Axiom Verge 2 is the clearest case where Mina wins on length: same price, more than twice the main story. Animal Well flips the shape: a short main story, then a completionist run that more than doubles it as you chase its secrets.

Is Mina the Hollower long for $19.99?

Yes. Against the games above it lands second on both main story and completionist time, behind only Hollow Knight, and the NG+ ladder sits on top for players who want it. If you measure value in hours, Mina is one of the better buys at its price.

GODEEPER: Wondering whether the length is worth your time at all? Our full verdict covers difficulty, craft, and value. Mina the Hollower Review: Yacht Club's Gothic New World →

How Mina's length compares to Shovel Knight

For Yacht Club fans, Game File's numbers are the cleanest yardstick: one thorough Mina playthrough came within a few hours of the four Shovel Knight games combined. Shovel Knight spread its length across separate character campaigns; Mina puts it into one nonlinear map, which is why the spread between a quick run and a thorough one is so wide. The game does not stop you from missing, or obsessively finding, whole optional areas.

Related Reading

• Mina the Hollower Complete Guide: the hub for every Mina the Hollower guide on this site, organized by system.
• Mina the Hollower Review: Yacht Club's Gothic New World: our full verdict on difficulty, craft, and whether the $19.99 price holds up.
• Mina the Hollower Tips: Burrowing, Bosses and NG+ Prep: the friction points, burrow timing, and what to unlearn before a boss costs you an hour.
• Mina the Hollower Preview: What the Full Release Confirms: early hands-on impressions of the world structure and combat feel.
• Fatekeeper How Long to Beat: 2 Hours Now, 15 Planned: Fatekeeper how long to beat in Early Access is about 2 hours. Paraglacial targets 15 hours for the....
• CALX Preview: What the Free Demo Shows Before Launch: what the free Steam demo shows of True Colors' action game before its launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Mina the Hollower take to beat? HowLongToBeat players finish the main story in the high teens of hours, and take about 24 and a half with side content (October 2026). Rushed story runs average around 14 hours and leisurely ones around 32, so how much you explore the map decides where you land.

How long is a completionist run of Mina the Hollower? About 32 hours on HowLongToBeat. Rushed completionist runs average under 27 hours and leisurely ones over 46. A completionist run covers the 50 Steam achievements plus every trinket and hidden room.

How long is New Game Plus in Mina the Hollower? HowLongToBeat has no NG+ category, so there is no community number. The ladder runs to NG+7, where the game counts it complete, and some cycles flip the world or shuffle items, Sidearms and enemy stats.

Is Mina the Hollower a long game? For $19.99, yes. Its main story is more than twice as long as Axiom Verge 2's or Animal Well's on HowLongToBeat, though still shorter than Hollow Knight's.

Can you make Mina the Hollower easier? Yes. Modifiers in the Options menu can make the game easier or harder or add other effects. The in-game manual warns that some of them disable Feats.

References

• Mina the Hollower on Steam: store page with price, review rating, and 50 achievements listed.
• HowLongToBeat: Mina the Hollower: community-reported completion times by playstyle.
• 31 hours with Mina the Hollower (Game File): firsthand playthrough timing, plus the 34 hours spent with the four Shovel Knight games.
• New Game Plus explained (Gamer Guides): NG+7 completion, world flips, shuffles and Underlab limits by cycle.
• Modifiers and Accessibility, in-game manual (MeowDB): the manual's own text on modifiers and Feats.
• Mina the Hollower Official Launch Trailer (YouTube): gameplay footage of burrowing, boss encounters, and the Game Boy Color-inspired art.