How to Save in Mina the Hollower

No. The pause menu has Collection, Weapons, Trinkets, Sidearms, Status, and Options — but no Save Game entry. Quitting is only available through Options.

Progress is protected by automatic saves when Mina enters a new room and by resting in the Underlab after burrowing into a save tile on the surface.

The in-game manual and HUD reference state that the game saves automatically whenever Mina enters a new room. That includes crossing a screen boundary, passing through a door, burrowing through a tunnel, or entering an Underlab.

Polygon notes that simply crossing an Underlab entrance on the surface — even without burrowing in — also triggers an autosave. Use that when you need a quick safety write before a risky fight.

• Walking into a new area is the most reliable everyday autosave trigger.
• Crossing a glowing burrow tile on the surface counts even if you do not enter the Underlab.
• Major story beats and clearing sections can also register progress.
• After beating a boss or finishing a side quest, walk into the next room and wait for confirmation before closing the game.

Room autosaves protect most exploration, but incomplete side quests can lag behind. Polygon and community reports note that carrying a quest item without finishing the task — then quitting — can reset that quest even though Mina reloads on the same screen.

Example: the lil' frog escort. Dropping the frog with the band and talking to them without entering a new room may also fail to persist progress.

• Finish the full quest chain, then walk into the next room or screen.
• Wait for the bottom-right save icon before closing the game.
• Treat partial escorts, item deliveries, and NPC dialog chains as unsafe until you see that icon.

Watch the bottom-right corner of the screen. A small save icon appears briefly while the game writes data. The HUD explicitly warns not to power off during this animation.

• If you do not see the icon after entering a new room, your latest actions may not be stored yet.
• Community reports also mention a short audio cue when activating certain save tiles — use sight and sound together before quitting.

Save points are buried. Walk past a glowing burrow tile on the surface to activate it, then hold Jump to burrow inside and drop into the Underlab — Mina’s safe room and the genre’s bonfire equivalent.

Resting in the Underlab saves the game, fully heals Mina (step into the water), refills Plasma Vials and Sparks, and lets you swap weapons and trinkets. The trade-off: enemies and breakables on the surface respawn when you leave.

• You respawn at the last Underlab you rested in if Mina dies.
• Bone Up, Bonestone conversion, and loadout changes only happen here.
• Burrow into a checkpoint immediately before a tough boss room so your respawn is nearby.

Options include a Boss Checkpoints modifier that places an Underlab entrance directly before every boss door, removing long runbacks. MeowDB lists this among 255 optional modifiers with no achievement penalty for turning it on when a fight is eating attempts.

Note: other “Weird” or “Hard” modifiers that reduce difficulty can disable achievements for that save file — Boss Checkpoints is a convenience toggle, not a full easy mode.

Dying sends Mina back to her last rested Underlab. Bones you were carrying can be lost unless protected by a Spark Orb — return to your death site to recover the blue orb if you die without a Spark.

• Bank Bones into Bonestone at the Underlab before risky routes.
• The Sidearm Recoverer and Sidearm Duplicator Guild upgrades (Drillhardt) help preserve builds after death.

Use this routine before closing the game mid-run:

• Finish your current task, then cross into a new room OR burrow into an Underlab and rest.
• Wait for the save icon in the bottom-right corner to finish.
• If you just beat a boss or bought expensive trinkets, do not quit until you see that icon.