“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 […]
We recently brought you our panel from TwitchCon, which addressed building supportive communities for mental health while streaming. Here’s another TwitchCon panel you won’t want to miss out on: Mental Health and Tabletop Role-Playing Games. Moderator KelsaDelphi brought together panelists Kent Sheely, Tristarae, Adam Koebel and Andrew Gillis to talk about how mental health impacts […]
Most of us have stories about how video games helped us through difficult times. Studios have also made any number of games designed to help people with mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders. But while players might find games like Flowy or Nevermind helpful anecdotally or in internal trials, they’re a long, expensive way from receiving […]
