Polygon.com / 31.07.25

Dig Donkey Kong Bananza? Check out this new hole game next

After pounding my way through Donkey Kong Bananza earlier this month, I declared that 2025 was a big year for hole. DKs adventure was the third game Id played this year (fourth actually, as Id forgotten Neteases Rusty Rabbit at the time) that took the childlike joy of digging in a sandbox and turned it into a creative gameplay hook. Today, that trend goes another layer deeper thanks to the well-timed Mashina. Following up on last years striking Judero, Mashina is a new game from Talha and Jack Co. that continues the studios experiments with stop-motion animation. It stars an egg-shaped robot who finds herself on a mission to save her world by gathering minerals. How does she accomplish that? By digging holes, of course. While its a proudly lo-fi project thats leagues apart from Nintendos latest in scope, Mashina is a chill chaser I needed after weeks of Donkey Kong Bananzas loud and proud environmental destruction. Structurally, Mashinas closest parallel is Steamworld Dig. My job is to...
Read more