Mina the Hollower saves automatically when you pass over burrowing holes — small holes in the ground scattered throughout each area. There is no manual save and no save menu. Here is exactly how the save system works.
The save system in Mina the Hollower is tied entirely to burrowing holes — small holes in the ground that appear regularly throughout each region of Tenebrous Isle. There are two ways they trigger a save:
When you walk over a burrowing hole without pressing anything, the game performs a quick save automatically. Your position is recorded at that hole. If you die or quit, you return here.
When you actively burrow down into a hole (hold the burrow button), the game performs a hard save. This is the most reliable way to ensure your progress is recorded before a risky area or boss fight.
Death in Mina the Hollower has a meaningful but recoverable penalty:
| On Death | Result |
|---|---|
| Respawn location | Last burrowing hole you passed over or burrowed into |
| Bones (currency) | Lost — all Bones you were carrying are gone |
| Trinkets | Kept — all equipped and collected trinkets are retained |
| Sidearms | Kept — all collected sidearms are retained |
| Weapon upgrades | Kept — all purchased upgrades are retained |
| Area progress | Enemies respawn; items you already collected stay collected |
Find the burrowing hole nearest to the boss door and burrow into it for a hard save. This sets your respawn point right outside the boss room so you do not have to trek back across the area after each attempt.
Always pass over or burrow into a hole immediately before closing the game. Quitting from the pause menu or title screen does not trigger a save. The only save trigger is the hole itself.
If you have farmed a large amount of Bones, go to Ossex and spend them on weapon upgrades or trinkets before continuing. Bones are lost on death — purchased upgrades are not.
The only way to save is to trigger an autosave by passing over a burrowing hole — a small hole in the ground found throughout each area. Walking over one performs a quick save. Burrowing down into one performs a hard save. There is no manual save option and no save menu.
Yes, but only at burrowing holes. The game does not autosave continuously or on a timer. You must physically walk over or burrow into one of the small holes in the ground. As Polygon confirms: "The only way to save your game in Mina the Hollower is to trigger an autosave."
No. Quitting to the main menu or closing the game does not trigger a save. If you have made progress since the last burrowing hole you passed over, that progress will be lost. Always burrow into a hole before quitting.
Save points are the small burrowing holes scattered throughout each region of Tenebrous Isle. They appear regularly along main paths and near boss doors. They look like small circular holes in the ground — the same type of hole Mina uses for her Hollowing mechanic.
You lose all Bones (currency) you were carrying. Your trinkets, sidearms, and weapon upgrades are all kept. You respawn at the last burrowing hole you saved at. See the beginner guide for tips on managing your Bones to minimize loss on death.
The exact number of save slots has not been confirmed in reviewed sources. Check the game's title screen for the save file selection screen when starting a new game.
Conceptually yes — burrowing holes function similarly to bonfires or checkpoints in Souls games. You respawn at the last one you activated, and currency (Bones, like Souls) is lost on death. Unlike bonfires, enemies do not respawn when you save at a burrowing hole — only on death.