“Just let go of everything and fade into the darkness.“ “Is there any point in continuing this fight?“ “No one can save you. And no one wants to.“ -Aqua, Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage “No one cares about you.” “People would be so much happier without you here.” -Me, when […]
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“Yeah, there’s darkness inside me, just like you said. But darkness is my enemy! And you are, too, for making everything around here reek of it!“” -Riku, Kingdom Hearts 2.5 As a kid, I never owned a PlayStation. My family’s budget never prioritized a game console after they bought the Nintendo Entertainment System on sale […]
To say that this was an easy journey would be a lie. To say that this is the only time I’ve made this journey would also be a lie. To say that the journey is to be made alone is perhaps the biggest lie of them all. Depression is a hell of a thing. […]
YouTube user Joe Bush normally shares videos of old sports games, but recently, Celeste inspired him to do something a little different. In this video, he opens up about his experiences with mental health issues, sharing how the game helped him contextualize his recently-diagnosed depression. Mental health representation can be a powerful thing. Recognizing your […]
I’ve been suffering from depression for as long as I can remember. I wasn’t truly diagnosed until I was nineteen and in college (where I could get free counseling). But I knew something was up for a while. I recall being about five and bursting into tears seemingly out of nowhere and then asking my […]
Bloodborne is a hopeless, dark pit of a game that punishes players at every turn — which is exactly why IGN’s Max Scoville says it helped him get through a period of depression. In this episode of Up at Noon, Scoville opens up about some of his mental health struggles, reminding viewers that they’re not […]
Masocore games are designed to frustrate. Loosely speaking, they’re part of a sub-genre of the platformer requiring quick reflexes, quick thinking, and a whole lot of patience. Super Meat Boy is a prime example, one that celebrates players’ failures by splattering a level in meat-boy gore. Celeste does things a little differently. It shares the […]
Will O’Neill’s games can be hard to play — they don’t tackle pleasant subjects. Actual Sunlight is well known for its unflinching depiction of depression and suicide, and Little Red Lie takes a hard, cynical look at our relationship with honesty, and how that affects our relationships with others. Destructoid contributor Charlotte Cutts recently argued […]
If you’re prone to depression during the darker months of the year, you’re probably aware of — or diagnosed with — Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a mood disorder that comes and goes or worsens with the seasons. You may also have heard that SAD “doesn’t exist,” which can be a frustrating thing to hear when […]
