Game Boy Color Energy: Pixel Adventures That Feel Like Zelda in Your Pocket

If you grew up squinting at a tiny screen with the brightness maxed out, you probably think those games peaked a long time ago.

Then Mina the Hollower shows up with a 90 on Metacritic (at the time this article was written). That ties it with Forza Horizon 6 for the top-rated game of 2026.

It's from Yacht Club Games, the Shovel Knight studio, and it wears its Game Boy Color roots proudly while playing like something much newer. So where do you go if you want more of that feeling? Which games did it first, and who's carrying it forward?

Start with the Link's Awakening remake. A small island, strange people, and a dream that never quite adds up. Then try the Oracle games, which squeezed a whole Zelda onto one Game Boy Color cartridge. For modern takes, Anodyne and Hyper Light Drifter both chase that top-down feel with their own weirdness. (Hyper Light Drifter is a lot angrier about it, lol.)

I think the magic is how small these worlds are. Every screen matters and nothing is padding.

Which handheld adventure still lives rent-free in your head?