Don't You Dare Go Hollow

The words are simple. They are tucked away in a quiet moment in Firelink Shrine, spoken by a character named Laurentius. When you first meet him, he is captive and scared. Yet, when you free him, he thanks you. And when you part ways, he leaves you with a motto that has become an iconic piece of gaming history: Don’t you dare go hollow.

I remember being a kid and watching Dark Souls play throughs because I was too young to own a console that could run it. Back then, I was just into the let’s plays and the walkthroughs. I watched those pixelated knights struggle against impossible odds while I sat safely behind a screen. I heard those words and didn’t think much of them at the time. But here I am, writing this article about ten years later, and I realize just how layered and important a small set of words like that can be. They aren’t just flavor text for a fantasy world. They are a plea for survival.

The Universal Language of the Challenge

Something interesting about all the FromSoftware games, whether it is the original Souls trilogy, the gothic nightmare of Bloodborne, or the vast golden fields of Elden Ring, is that they all rely on challenge as a core part of the loop. We often get bogged down in the technical details of these games when we try to explain them to outsiders. We talk about the healing systems, the intricate checkpoints, the punishing speed of the combat, or the infinite differences in character builds.

Yet, the one thing that remains constant in all of them is the idea that there are going to be massive challenges in front of you, and you can overcome them no matter how difficult they seem at first glance. When Hidetaka Miyazaki set out to make these games, I have no idea what was actually going through his head. I am not some mega fan who has read every single interview or memorized every scrap of trivia, though I have certainly watched my fair share of lore videos late at night. But I can say with certainty that the games he created are works of art that impact you on a level you have to experience for yourself to truly understand.

The Compass in the Dark

I struggled with depression during my time in college. It has been a number of years since then, but that specific type of heavy fog is something that stays with you. During that time, and in all the years that have followed, that one line has acted as a sort of mental compass. Don’t you dare go hollow. In the lore of the game, going hollow means losing your purpose and giving up until you are just an empty, mindless shell wandering the ruins. In real life, the process of burnout and depression feels much the same.

When I work on this magazine and I have hard days where the words won't come, I think about the challenges I have already overcome in my life. Then, I think about the games. Whether I am wandering through the oppressive halls of Boletaria or finally ascending the heights of the Erdtree in Elden Ring, these games have provided a necessary sanctuary. I firmly believe that for a lot of people, this specific series of games has gotten them through incredibly dark and tough times. And for that, I am incredibly thankful.

The Magic of Existing in Lordran

There are two main reasons why these games work as a form of therapy for the modern mind. The first is the sheer level of immersion. You can lose yourself in the best way possible. From the moment you create your character and that booming intro cinematic plays, you are locked into a different reality. It is one of the few games where even just walking through a forest or an old castle doesn't feel like a waste of time.

Every single enemy requires your full focus and attention, which forces the noisy thoughts of the real world to go quiet. There are details hidden in every corner, and even the flavor text on a rusted ring can reveal parts of a story you never knew existed. There are gorgeous vistas and incredible visual designs that pull you out of your own head and into something grander. When you are feeling down in your roughest moment, and you hop on at seven in the evening just needing to escape, and then you suddenly realize it is midnight and it is time for bed, you made it through another day. That is special. A lot of games try to capture that magic, but FromSoftware actually succeeded in building a world where existing feels like progress.

The Fog Wall and the Breakthrough

Existing is only half the battle, though. Then comes the fight. We all remember the feeling of finally overcoming a boss that had us stuck for days. You feel like you are on top of the entire world. When I felt useless and like I couldn't do anything right in my actual life, I would look down at the controller and realize I just did something that felt statistically impossible an hour ago.

I thought to myself, if I can do something as simple as beating this digital monster, maybe I can do something a little bit harder tomorrow. Maybe I can handle a challenge that is a little more real. You wake up at that bonfire after a defeat, you walk back over, and you step through that white fog wall one more time. You try again, and again, and again. You have those runs where you get the boss down to one percent health only to choke at the end, but even that failure teaches you something. It teaches you that you are capable of getting that close.

Greatness from Small Beginnings

Eventually, after what feels like a lifetime of struggle, I found myself in the Kiln of the First Flame standing in front of Lord Gwyn. Hours and hours from where I started as a lowly prisoner, I was looking at a hollow. I was looking at a man who once thought he had a grand purpose, only to fall to the end of his cycle like the rest of us. Except this time, this little undead character becomes a lord.

It is the classic story of greatness from small beginnings. FromSoftware games are more than just their tight gameplay. They are even more than their incredible worlds and their deep, hidden lore. They are passion projects that can impact us all on deep, psychological levels. I think the entire world finally learned that truth when Elden Ring came out and became a global phenomenon.

So, I want to say thank you to Dark Souls for teaching me that difficult things are not the same as impossible things. Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath, sit by the fire for a moment, and then get lost in a beautiful, challenging journey. Even the most daunting tasks in this life are capable of being accomplished by the most average people if they simply refuse to go hollow.

Thanks for reading.