If you're a dedicated fan of FromSoftware ARPGs like Elden Ring, Dark Souls, and others, I'm willing to bet you're familiar with the name Zullie the Witch. The Soulsborne content creator has been making informative, easily digestible videos on the developer's titles for several years now, datamining and researching them and then using the findings to show off cut content, reveal hidden secrets, or put forward carefully thought-out lore theories.
Zullie has rapidly become one of the most popular and beloved YouTubers in the Soulsborne community, and has covered every FromSoftware game post-Demon's Souls extensively. In their first video about the upcoming co-op roguelike Elden Ring Nightreign, though, they shared that they've been going through some personal struggles.
"I am clawing my way out of a pit of depression, but the pit is deep and my claws are blunt. I'd been hoping to get back to making videos at the start of the month, only to find myself just slipping in at the end of it instead," Zullie wrote in a pinned comment on the video.
"Between that, the fact I haven't been able to secure a sponsor video in a while, and a looming $15,000 in medical expenses, I'm reluctant to do this, but I'm openly asking for donations."
Within hours, thousands of Soulsborne fans rallied to show Zullie their support, with each one donating at least $5 (possibly more) to their Ko-fi page. At the time of writing, 6,524 donations have been made, with more still coming in; so far, at least $32,620 have been raised in total.
"I'm removing the donation links because this has already smashed every expectation I had and I'm kind of overwhelmed by how quickly and emphatically you've all lent your support," Zullie said in an update to the original comment. "I've always been a deeply anxious person, and a large emphasis of that anxiety lately has been financial issues, so I truly didn't anticipate seeing the bulk of those issues get crushed into nothing in the span of a single afternoon."
"It feels conflicting, because I've always been ashamed of even slightly inconveniencing others, but choosing to suffer in noble silence was still suffering," they continued. "Thank you all so much, I'm hardly able to comprehend, let alone express, what I'm feeling right now."
As a huge fan of both FromSoftware games and Zullie's channel, coming across this story made my day, and reading through the remarks left with each Ko-fi donation has only made it even more heartwarming.
Scrolling through them, there's plenty of endearing Souls-style messages of "Amazing witch head" or "Don't give up, skeleton," along with the classic "Don't you dare go hollow" and heartfelt comments about how much people enjoy Zullie's content and want to support them.
Indeed, many nifty secrets and thought-provoking details have been unveiled by Zullie's videos, and they're always produced with a wholesome, calm tone that makes them easy to watch and encourages collaborative discussion in the community.
Whether you want to learn about the largest FromSoftware dragon, what an Armored Core 6 mech looks like in Elden Ring, or why dogs in Dark Souls 3 teleport when you run from them, their channel is a treasure trove of bite-sized high-quality content. I can't recommend checking it out enough.
Notably, Elden Ring Nightreign — another game Zullie will most likely investigate and make content on — is just a few months away from its scheduled May 30 launch on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5. The co-op roguelike take on the award-winning 2022 ARPG is available to preorder now for $39.99, but you can get it on PC for just $35.19 at Fanatical thanks to a deal.
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