Zanreo Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 (edited) So, I recently finished Gris (thoughts in spoilers): Spoiler In this game, you play as a girl named Gris, and from the start of the game she's clearly struggling, walking slowly and falling down several times in the prologue. As you go through the game, you'll face various things stopping you and getting in your way, like a heavy wind blowing that knocks you back, but you'll also learn various abilities to get past things (such as the "Heavy" ability, letting you break cracked ground and not get blown back by wind). Turns out Gris is dealing with the loss of her mother and the grief from that. Losing a loved one is often tough to get through, and even without words, the game gets across a feeling that she's struggling and finds it hard, but still keeps moving forwards and sometimes find ways to deal with obstacles and ways to cope (represented by the new powers unlocked throughout the game), eventually moving on while keeping all the good memories of her mother with her. There will be occasionally be points of light (literal and metaphorical), and each finished level brings back a color to the world, but there will also be parts where things feel "darker" again, like getting attacked by shadow creatures like the giant bird and eel. Even if things might get better for a while, it's easy to fall back into negative feelings and depression and feel like everything's hopeless - which, on a broader scale, is also true for grief and depression in general, the latter which I can very much relate to myself. Still, for most of the game you keep moving upwards, trying to get through this. Also, notably, singing is the last ability she gets, and doesn't get back before late in the game - if you press the "sing" button before this she'll just be struggling to make a sound and nothing will happen. The game's intro starts with her singing to a statue (the same statues representing her mother that can be seen throughout the game) and said statue breaking shortly after this - and her having trouble singing seems to imply singing now feels painful and traumatic for her. Managing to sing again late-game can be interpreted as her starting to get over this, something that takes a while. Overall, I liked the game (even if the Eel trophy was kinda annoying) As for the #YouAreNotAlone bonus badge (since it can be a game played before completing the first one)... I recently played and plated Evoland (consisting of both the original Evoland and Evoland 2), and Evoland 2 in particular would count for this, as the main character has 3 other characters (Fina, Menos and Velvet) join him throughout the story, and sometimes you'll have to use your partners' special abilities to progress (or get collectibles) - cutting thick vines, crushing large boulders, and freezing paths to cross water. Edited May 16, 2021 by Zanreo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jello Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 Like many others for this event, Concrete Genie was my game of choice. I can see why it is a popular game given that it was free on ps plus not too long ago and how it relates to mental stress and dealing with mental health. Spoiler I'm probably going to echo a lot of other peoples comments, but that's okay the more people that talk about these issues the better. Concrete Genie focuses on a teenager named Ash who is being bullied by a group of other teens. This causes Ash a great deal of fear, depression, and stress. He copes with these feelings by escaping through his art, and creating genies which could be seen as imaginary friends. With the help of the genies he fights of the darkness in his town. The darkness could be seen as a depression which he tries to fight off, not just for him but for everyone in the town including his bullies. His bullies also deal with stress and depression based on events happening in their home lives. They deal with their stress by bullying Ash which is an unhealthy way of dealing with it. Towards the end of the game, Ash has to save the bullies from the darkness and they feel bad about the way they had treated him and become friends with him. While being a relatively simple game, it's a good game for mental health awareness. I think it proves that everyone goes through some kind of stress, even people that make your life stressful like the bullies in Ash's case. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post AK-1138 Posted May 16, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 16, 2021 Completed Detroit: Become Human just the other day, in the spirit of this conscientious event. Its copious ruminations on humanity's perceived obsolescence in the face of objectively superlative sapience certainly prove fascinating... but the game's greatest strength lies in the psychological underpinnings of Connor and Hank's arc. Even with his initial dislike of his new "synthetic" partner, Hank is strangely likeable from the off. Seeing both Connor and Hank learn more about the nature of the other life form, and questioning the increasingly moral dissonance of their android hunting, was a thing of true joy... all culminating in one of the most cathartic interactive story arcs I've experienced in quite a while! On the other side of the coin, having to make bad choices for completion's sake took a toll on my own mentality. Watching Hank have to deal with Connor's de facto immortality over and over again was just sad. I couldn't even bring myself to watch the bad ending of the arc... bad enough having to realize where it was going. I went and did something else while the events played out. Gotta say, Toby Fox was on to something when he left the decision on how to play Undertale--trophies bedamned--up to you... 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocoeggs Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 I completed Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice a few days ago. The general synopsis will be listed as a spoiler. The game was based around the mental illness called Psychosis. I cannot deny I'm quite unfamiliar with Psychosis, though I am familar with a similar mental illness called Schizophrenia (Schiz-o-phre-ni-a). Psychosis is simply a condition of the mind struggling to determine what is real and what is not real. Two classic examples of this is John Nash's vision of William Parcher in A Beautiful Mind and Van Gogh's A Starry Night Spoiler The game focuses around Senua, a Norse woman who suffers from Psychosis, portrayed as darkness or a curse, since she was a young girl after witnessing her mother burned alive. Then suffering from her father's verbal and physical abuse until many years later when a man, named Dillion, ventured through, fell in love and left to return to his village. After this village was hit by a plague, she left for a year, thinking it was her curse that caused the plague. After seemingly defeated the darkness, she returned to find everyone dead and Dillion used as a Blood Eagle sacrifice to the Norse Gods. By the end of the game, Senua finally accepts her loss of her lover, banishes the darkness from her, and accepts the voices in her mind. As for #YouAreNotAlone, I've been replaying the Jak and Daxter series. I recently finished Jak 3, which follows protagonists Jak and Daxter on their journey to save their planet from the Dark Makers before it's too late. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im2Fast_4U Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 I completed Concrete Genie last night. I will avoid spoilers for those who haven't played (who definitely should!!!), but this game was very good at highlighting themes such as bullying, depression, expression, and community. I found it very easy to identify, empathize, and relate with the main protagonist through their struggles with being bullied. I often found myself in introspection thinking back to my darker days, but was constantly refreshed by the triumphant nature of the story. Finding the things that bring us most comfort and happiness are the best ways to guide us out of our struggles. The genies, while creations of the protagonist, are adorable and insanely cute, and represent the best parts of friendship. I often found myself stopping in awe of how alive the genies felt and the emotions they displayed. Making a genie happy by painting a certain thing and seeing them light up in happiness or laughter reminded me of how important our friends and family are to us. I also thought the darkness plaguing the town acted as an excellent metaphor for depression/anxiety/etc., and the journey of the protagonist did an excellent job at highlighting a journey working through mental health challenges, from the highs and lows and everything in between. Also, completely separate, but my dad asked me what the story of this game was, and after telling him he said "Oh wow, that's a really nice story! They should make more games like that.", and I couldn't agree more. Games like this are incredibly empowering and do a great job of reiterating that #YouAreNotAlone, and having more such mainstream instances could prove very helpful for those (like myself) who have our own battles going on. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mesopithecus Posted May 20, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 20, 2021 I finished Persona 5 Royal today. Playing the base game through the first time, I was aware of different aspects of mental health that the game discussed, but playing Royal alongside this event really made me look more closely at the aspects. I honestly could write an essay on the subject matters. I will put my comments in spoilers Spoiler I wanted to particularly talk about the trauma suffered by Futaba; and Sumire/Kasumi as I feel like the story highlights them both suffering from some Post Traumatic Stress due to witnessing the deaths of beloved family members. Although Futaba's cognition had her hearing the voices of people who blamed her for the death of her mother, there is a subtly of survivors guilt and flashbacks to the accident itself. With Sumire, the trauma was so great for her to deal with she experienced a mental divide - you can see throughout the game she becomes depressed with herself and falls into depressive slumps. I really enjoyed the introduction of Dr. Maruki - a guidance counselor who listened to the personal struggles of the Phantom Thieves members. He displayed a lot of kindness, sympathy and helped them to find the strength to work through their trauma. Whilst he did end up doing some not-so-great things toward the end of the game, you can see how the suffering of others pained him and his ideals for wanting a world where everyone can be happy and have what they desired. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Briste Posted May 20, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 20, 2021 I have all but finished my choice Ghost Giant VR. I have one trophy left that will take just a couple of minutes to pop, but I am saving that for my rain day on May 31st. I figured I'd do my write up now while the game is fresh in my mind. I wanted to play something I felt most people probably wouldn't play since I wanted to add some variety to what is being shared. I also figured this was a good excuse to dust off my VR. Tons of spoilers below. Spoiler This game is one of the saddest games I've ever played. The game is set up like a play on a stage. Each 'level' is a different scene and you don't move. The clouds are hung by string and it does a great job of feeling like you are watching a play. You play the Ghost Giant and are the supporting cast member to the little fox(?) named Louis. Louis is all alone and has no one to play with or talk to and you are his imaginary friend that he makes up to confide in. The story gives hints in the beginning that something is off. No parent is around and you see Louis telling lies to other adults when they ask him how his mom is doing. You find out that they aren't paying their bills and that their farm is in a bit of disarray from a lack of upkeep. The beginning of the game starts with you trying to get some sunflower seeds to plant in their farm. Rats ate the ones they had and without the sunflowers, you get the impression that Louis' family will not survive. Louis thinks that getting these seeds planted and growing, will help things. Once you get them planted, you find out that this may be the thing to get his mom happy again. When he gets home, he is so excited to tell his mom about their good fortune. She is laying in bed and after hearing the good news, she tells Louis that she is tired and pulls a curtain to shut herself in her bed. Poor Louis is crushed and falls to the floor crying. At this point he turns to his imaginary friend to explain that his mom gets really, really sad sometimes and he just wants to help make her happy. He says she always gets happy again and he just needs to figure out what to do to make her that way. During this scene, you discover that his mother is an amazing Cellist and that she loves to play music. She also loves apple pie and Louis decides to surprise her with music and apple pie to get her out of this funk. So Louis and his Ghost Giant set out to find what is needed to make this happen. Throughout the journey, you learn that Louis also lost his only friend because he was forced to miss his piano recital taking care of his mom. You never see a second parent in the picture and it's just little Louis and his mom. He tries very hard to protect her secret by making up stories about her absence and doing the things that you would expect a parent to do for their kid....but he just can't keep up. When he gets everything to surprise his mom, she takes no interest in what he has setup for her. You feel heartbroken for the little fox, however fortunately for him, some of the people in town have noticed what is going on and two adults come to check on her. One being a doctor. Louis is desperate to protect his mother and doesn't want them to go in. He is afraid they'll take her away from him. The happy ending is that mom gets the help she needs and begins to cope with her depression. The epilogue scene shows Louis playing with his friend....laughing and being a kid again. This game hit a little close to home for me. Growing up in a single mother household with a mother who suffered from alcoholism...I could really relate to him wanting to protect his mother's secret and doing everything he could think of to make it all better again. I really appreciated how the game didn't make it an easy experience for the player. You could really feel and see the heartache that depression can cause....not only from the person suffering....but for the people who care about that individual. The little boy wants nothing more than his mother to be happy again and that one thought consumes all of his actions. He can't be a kid, he is losing friends and they are in danger of losing the farm. Since he is afraid his mother will be taken away, he doesn't seek help for her and tries to do it all alone putting a ton of stress on a child. Since mom is in the throws of depression, she isn't in a position to help herself either. You can really feel how helpless the situation seems. Thankfully, this game had a happy ending and was able to show one possible outcome of seeking treatment and getting help. Mom could start to focus on making herself better while not putting that burden on her child and her child could go back to being a child. Once Louis has his best friend back...there is no need for the Ghost Giant and you fade away. In addition to the theme of the game, the game play wasn't bad either. There are some decent puzzles and the VR experience was pretty good. There are some collectibles to nab throughout, but nothing crazy and there are a lot of little fun things to do for trophies. My last trophy is for a Cat Taco which involves putting a taco hat on a cat in one of the scenes. Not hard, but nothing you'd necessarily do through natural game play. The game is short, only four or five hours probably....but it is well done. If you have a VR, I'd recommend giving it a play. It's probably not worth the price I paid of like $25 or so, but if it shows up on a sale, I'd say throw some money at it. I have a ton of games to chose from for the bonus game and will figure out which one I want to use and post later. Thanks again @Beyondthegrave07 for an awesome idea for an event 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Starrk_01 Posted May 20, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 20, 2021 I have successfully completed my 2nd game (Moss for the PSVR). You control the character Quill; however, you yourself are a player in the game as well as a separate entity, so this would count for the 2nd game requirement. Definitely a high recommend from me for the game, especially if you got it for free during the Stay at Home event. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poptartboy54 Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 I recently completed Celeste and I’m not gonna say to much since it’s been talked about a ton but basically you play as this girl who deals with anxiety and depression and you try to reach the top of a mountain, I just really liked how realistic it was when she tried to say to her depression that she didn’t need it anymore and that it was stronger than it but it got very aggressive and showed that even when you feel like you’ve beaten it’s still there rather than trying to have this perfect ending with a perfect girl, it was just a really fun platformer that I highly recommend! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im2Fast_4U Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) In terms of my bonus game, I think both Spyro 2 and 3 would count for the companion aspect (which I completed earlier this month), as the entire game is played with your trusty dragonfly companion, Sparx. Thinking back on my time with the entire trilogy, I was always worried about my friend's well-being, as he served as the health indicator in the game. After my pal had helped me take some damage, I was always immediately worried about caring for him and getting him back to full strength. That may say something about my endlessly giving character (for better or worse haha), wanting to make sure those around me are always at their best and do anything I can for them, but I always appreciated knowing Sparx was by my side, which I think is a very sneaky way to emphasize the importance of our friends around us! Not only is this event an amazing way to promote awareness for some very important causes, but it also has gotten me to think a lot more about the games I am playing/have played. Too often I find myself playing a game to simply experience the A-Z of a story, but not often do I stop and think about the content and what it was trying to convey or the thematic story it truly told. Thank you for such an amazing event, and my first to participate in here on the site! Edited May 23, 2021 by Im2Fast_4U clarifying Spyro 2/3 already completed 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beyondthegrave07 Posted May 21, 2021 Author Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Im2Fast_4U said: In terms of my bonus game, I think both Spyro 2 and 3 would count for the companion aspect, as the entire game is played with your trusty dragonfly companion, Sparx. Thinking back on my time with the entire trilogy, I was always worried about my friend's well-being, as he served as the health indicator in the game. After my pal had helped me take some damage, I was always immediately worried about caring for him and getting him back to full strength. That may say something about my endlessly giving character (for better or worse haha), wanting to make sure those around me are always at their best and do anything I can for them, but I always appreciated knowing Sparx was by my side, which I think is a very sneaky way to emphasize the importance of our friends around us! Not only is this event an amazing way to promote awareness for some very important causes, but it also has gotten me to think a lot more about the games I am playing/have played. Too often I find myself playing a game to simply experience the A-Z of a story, but not often do I stop and think about the content and what it was trying to convey or the thematic story it truly told. Thank you for such an amazing event, and my first to participate in here on the site! Yeah, it was designed in mind to try and look at video games in a different perspective... Namely, what are the developers trying to portray here? Or how does this compare to real life? What should I be taking away from this moment? I think a lot of people forget that video games can be a good medium to teach you new things or open your eyes to important subjects such as mental health. It's one of the reasons why I love games like Nier Automata so much. It made me look at video games in a new perspective, and I never realized how powerful of a medium it really can be. And yes, Sparx is a perfect companion! Edited May 21, 2021 by Beyondthegrave07 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s68sc Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 I finished my second game NieR:Automata: Spoiler The two things i wanna say are when someone you loved die your mind start to mess up in search of guilty or worst you mind want to erase everything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MissShake Posted May 22, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 22, 2021 I have completed my bonus badge game! I wasn't planning on getting the plat for Mass Effect as quickly as I did, but I just couldn't tear myself away from it! It definitely fits the theme of #YouAreNotAlone since most of the game revolves around fighting a galactic threat with the help of your rag tag group of cool aliens and not quite as cool humans. It's like a game that's sort of saying that even in a big vast space you still aren't alone. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Last-_-Judgment Posted May 22, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 22, 2021 (edited) I chose to play Child of Light for this event as I've had it for years thanks to PS Plus but never got round to playing it. Maybe it's because I was meant to save it for this event or at least that's what I like to think and I'm so glad that I did. I've been dealing with depression for most of my teen and adult years so I couldn't not participate. @Beyondthegrave07 deserves massive credit for doing this event because while it may not seem it, mental health awareness is such an important matter which should never become less so. Last week I went to a funeral but not for any of my relatives, this funeral was for my girlfriend's uncle. I didn't know him that well, we met maybe twice. However, being at that funeral and witnessing the sorrow of those who were close to him not only hurts to see but really opens your eyes. I truly empathise for his wife and kids, just seeing his son try to keep it together as he gave his beautiful words about his father, it's so painful to watch, I cannot imagine how they are feeling. We all dread when this will happen to us, losing someone we love but we also cannot dwell on what will inevitably happen and try to make the most of what we have in the present. The reason I'm saying all this is because while fictional, Child of Light (and other titles about dealing with the loss of loved ones), has you embark on another person's story as they share their agony. Similarly, it makes you open your eyes on what loss is and how it's not so easily dealt with, if at all. Spoiler While Child of Light is all visually beautiful, it masks the darkness which lies beneath with saddening music, subtle undertone and emotional dialogue. Aurora, the protagonist of this story, starts off having woken up in this stunningly visual land of Lemuria which she believes to be a dream. In late 19th century Austria, we learn early on that this is because Aurora sadly passed away from a physical ailment and this inevitably crushes her father's will to go on with their powerful bond severed. While all seems lost, there is a way back for Aurora but she has to save Lemuria from the evil Black Queen. Aurora is told that Lemuria is not a dream nor a mythical land but is linked to her own world by a mirror in the Black Queen's possession. Throughout the game, you meet several companions, side characters and entire populations who are also struggling to deal with their own problems that you must help along the way. Not only does this provide meaningful dialogue but makes you feel like you are making a difference for the better. Every so often we hear how Aurora's father's condition is deteriorating under the sickness of depression and it's not until close to the end that the Black Queen gives an ultimatum that in order to save him, Aurora can go back to Austria immediately which will revive him resulting in Lemuria's destruction or vice versa. With Aurora being so pure, she opts for saving Lemuria resulting in the eventual death of her father who she loved so dearly. In the conclusion of defeating the Black Queen not too long after, we find out that her town in Austria also needs saving after a catastrophic flooding will wipe out the town. In turn the only way to save them was to bring the entire population to Lemuria which Aurora and her companions successfully achieve. The game ends with her and her father's hometown sinking into the water while Lemuria grows to take it's place in the mirrored world. What I learned from this game is that you simply cannot let the darkness consume you. It's ok to mourn and to feel upset about events in your life whether it's loss or something else you are dealing with but you should never surrender yourself to it. I certainly have not fully overcame my own mental health and there will always be something that will trigger that inability to stay strong in all of us and that's complete fine, it's human, but we have to look for the Child of Light inside all of us and use that to push through or even to make a difference like Aurora did. Edited May 22, 2021 by Last-_-Judgment 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiffanniebaby Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 I decided to play Summer in Mara. I just got the platinum now. The game is sort of a mixture of good for mental health and about mental wellness. The protagonist is processing the loss of a loved one while helping people around her. Many of the people she helps are dealing with challenges of their own such as low confidence, family issues, bullying, and more. There is also an aspect of the game where you find lost messages, many of which are about mental health and coping. The protagonist tries to help both with tasks and dealing with these mental health challenges. Meanwhile the protagonist is growing as well. What I learned from playing this game came near the end. I won’t give spoilers but the final “enemy” of the game sort of served as a metaphor, and I took away from it the importance of hope and a support network in the face of your inner critic. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neocarleen Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 I played Memoranda, a point-and-click adventure game with a gorgeous hand-drawn art style. The protagonist is a woman named... well, she can't really remember her name. She also suffers from insomnia and keeps seeing this grizzled old sailor who may or may not be real. The game is about her search to find her name and other long lost memories attached to it. The world is a magical place with talking anthropomorphic animals living alongside humans, and names are a physical thing that can be stolen. There are a few games on PS4 that tackle dark mental issues like depression and grief. And while those games are important and playing them are good experiences to have, they're kinda downers, you know? I picked this game to play for this event because I wanted to play something lighter. This woman has amnesia, but it's a solvable problem just by finding a lost item. With a lot of mental illnesses there is no "cure", per say, just ways to mitigate the symptoms and learning to live fulfilling lives despite it. So it was kind of cathartic to play in this fictional world where its simplified into a problem that can be solved and finished, the end. A nice little escape from the harshness of reality. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Pieroluc Posted May 23, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 23, 2021 The game I chose to play was Heavy Rain, I had heard so many good things about this game, and this challenge made me look at my backlog and saw this game staring right at me in my library after never having played it since I got is as a PS Plus game (Either July 2018 or 2019, not sure which time I took it). I think this game is very powerful, and the effects of mental health are very prevalent in the main protagonist of the story (Ethan Mars). One thing I am slightly disappointed about, is the fact I feel the game never directly tells the audience what the character is suffering from, I feel from an educational perspective, this could have been done, but even if the game does not directly hint it, you can tell. Ethan seemingly suffers from PTSD, This comes after his 10 year old son Jason dies in the games Prologue. He loses track of where he is in the mall, and eventually sees Jason as he has crossed the street, once they meet eyes, Jason tries to come back to the other side but gets run over as Ethan tries to jump and save him but is unsuccessful (goes in a coma). He feels responsible for his sons death. He also seemingly suffers from panic attacks agoraphobia, as every time he sees he is about to enter a large crowd of people, he starts to panic and weaken, this is likely caused from the effects of his son Jason's death, as he lost track of Jason in the mall through the large crowd of people, and afterwards could not save him, this likely is what causes this fear of large groups of people, reminds him of loss (Agoraphobia is also a name of a trophy, hinting at its presence in the game). The character also has various blackouts which cause him to be unaware of his surroundings and he has no memory of the time periods, he also mentions feeling detached from his own body, almost like he is not himself. He feels suicidal and this is hinted after Jason's death during the "The Shrink" Chapter as Ethan meets with his psychologist who tells him he should feel lucky to have survived the accident, Ethan responds with "I don't exactly feel lucky". This would be my summary of some of the mental health effects that Ethan seemingly suffers from, again I feel this game could have had more educational potential but oh well. Also I made sure not to discuss much after the Prologue as to not ruin the story for those yet to play it, I certainly can recommend people to play it, even though the controls can be very finicky and frustrating at times, I enjoyed the experience of getting this Platinum. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofbattle8174 Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 My entry was Into a Dream. On the surface, it is very apparent what this game is about. You are put into the head of a man who has clinical depression and it is your job to find to the real root for his problems. This is a dream world though, so what is real, what is fantasy and what does he wish had happened. If you want to boil this game to one thing it is being open and able to communicate. Through out the game all the NPC’s want to help and listen, if only he would open himself enough to let them in. He judges himself so hard and he believes that is how everyone else would view him too if they knew the truth. Is the truth easy, no but it is better out than in. A greta game for this event and I wish everyone the best. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Mayus Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 Good to see so many people have finished (a lot of wallets are going to be lighter soon). I am doing my best in Persona 5 Royal. I have 3 dungeons left so hoping i have enough time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ddracarys Posted May 23, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 23, 2021 As the month of May approaches its final few moments, and in kind, the conclusion of this event/Mental Health Awareness Month, it becomes more evident to me that I will not be successful in finishing my selected game. This is a mixture of lack of time, lack of energy, and a growing lack of interest as the month went on. While my selected game of Resident Evil 8 was an incredible experience to be had - and my most anticipated game of the year - it doesn't seem like the right time in my life to give this experience my full attention. Resident Evil is my favourite series of all time, and I will certainly return to claim not only Resident Evil 8's platinum trophy, but complete all of the in-game challenges too. That being said, this month has tested my resolve in more ways than one, and quite frankly, gaming is the last thing on my mind right now. Despite my imminent failure of completing this event, I couldn't be happier to have partaken in such an incredible event as my first ever on PSNP. I would like to, once again, thank my good friend @Beyondthegrave07 for successfully bringing more awareness to this topic among the community. Let's face it, mental health simply isn't talked about enough, and I'm proud of you for accomplishing this feat, bud. I know you were quite happy with the turnout too, as you had expressed to me, which was sweet to see. For those interested, I did actually write up my extensive thoughts following my first playthrough of Resident Evil 8, which I am welcome to share with anybody who requests it. Of course, these thoughts do include the mention of mental health. In the context of Resident Evil 8, themes of mental health are very subtle and can quite easily be missed by the player if they're not careful enough. Within each defeated piece of dialogue or sigh, however, Ethan Winters is clearly not a stranger to these feelings. In my opinion, this is a perfect game (or more accurately, character) to analyse for this event. If you plan on playing Resident Evil 8, whether it is for this event or not, I hope you enjoy the experience just as much as I did. As for my promised donations of $10.00 per completed badge; it has been a financially demanding month, but I still plan on fulfilling this promise. I can't guarantee that I will be able to fulfil this amount by the end of the month, but when I do have that money available to me, I will make that aware to everybody through this thread. If, by then, this thread has been closed, then I will instead be messaging @Beyondthegrave07 directly with my donation proof. For those who would like donation proof from me as well, you're welcome to reach out to me, and I will happily provide this for you. Whether you're donating or competing one or both of your badges for this event, thank you for bringing more awareness to mental health in the process. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Beyondthegrave07 Posted May 24, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 24, 2021 One week left to finish your games! So far we have roughly 55 badges earned (OP probably shows a couple of less, but it doesn't mark people who only completed badge 2). Hoping we get a final push to $75 before we finish up. I am a little nervous that some people completely forgot about the event and didn't finish part 1 ?. However, it is very noteworthy that we surpassed the $50 mark. Good job and keep it up as we go into this last week! If you need a few extra days to put a post together and get your thoughts about a game in place, I am fine with this as long as the game itself was completed in May, but please reach out to me and let me know or I will assume you were just lazy and not count your efforts. I'd hate for someone who did the work to not get credit for it. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Last-_-Judgment Posted May 24, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 24, 2021 (edited) With the first step complete, I decided to do LEGO The Movie for #YouAreNotAlone. I wanted to pick a much brighter and colourful game because when we are with people we love and with people who care about us, it makes all the difference. There will be those who dont believe they have them people in their lives but I promise there will always be someone that cares about you. LEGO The Movie is a fun little game and while may not be the strongest LEGO title, I'm happy I chose to do it for this event specifically as it has friendship, love, teamwork, hope and of course humour. LEGO The Movie is about a group of master builders who are brought together to save the LEGO worlds from the evil Lord Business. Of course, if you watched the film, you'll also know the plot of this game and it truly follows the film as best as it can. I wont bother putting any spoiler tab or detailed story description in because its nothing you havent seen before regarding story. Its a simple hero who doesnt believe hes a hero beats the villain cliche but its definitely created in the most entertaining wackiest way possible. With all that said, my games are done, good luck to everyone else who is participating. I believe in you! And remember... ? EVERYTHING IS AWESOME ? Edited May 24, 2021 by Last-_-Judgment 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Dzware Posted May 24, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 24, 2021 Yesterday I completed my game for the bonus badge: Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. I felt like even though it's quite light hearted game, it fits the #YouAreNotAlone tag pretty well, as there were a few moments where someone in the party would feel down due to the events happening, but they'd be able to bounce back from it, for a large part due to the support and trust of their friends. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jens Posted May 24, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 24, 2021 Well, I just finished N.E.R.O. for this event and I thought for a while how I want to set up this post. It's a bit of a dangerous thing talking too much about the contents of the game because it is 100% narrative and barely anything else, just some simple puzzles. So talking too much about it kind of ruins it. Therefore I decided to do something else. I'll just go ahead and drop the story it reminded me of, something I vividly remember 8 years later. I tryharded a rhythm game pretty hard about 10 years ago (most people won't know it, so I'll leave it at that), I was actually ranked quite high for that time. And when I got home from drinking adventures with my friends I joined some multiplayer lobbies for fun, just to amuse myself with my failings. And apparently I was an entertaining drunkard because I usually ended up with 4+ new mutual friendships on that game per night One of those people was a Canadian girl. We talked a fair bit to each other because she was real damn good at another mode in that game. She turned out to be quite the charismatic character and it was one of the better things to do between playing some songs myself. After a few months one of her friends (and another drunk friendship I made) reached out to me and said that he's worried sick about her. He told me that she had serious depression because of something really awful happening to her in the past (I'm still not willing to mention it...) and that she had failed multiple attempts at suicide already. He tried calling her but she wouldn't respond to anything which was unusual, so he thought that she might have tried doing something to herself again. That literally made me feel sick, my stomach turned. Being among one of the last people someone talked to before... potentially trying to commit suicide... was one of the most unpleasant things I've ever felt. I had to turn off my PC because I was completely done for the day afterwards. Later in the same evening I checked our chatlog and I noticed some things... I saw her trying to talk about some more serious topics and / or problems with me and I didn't give a shit. I always tried shifting the topic, "Go back to being fun dude, let's talk about ranks and new songs you downer!". And not gonna lie, that was devastating... I felt like a piece of trash. The regrets were overwhelming on this one. On the next evening the guy invited me to a multiplayer game right after I logged in and... well, there she was! It really was like someone lifted a gigantic rock off of my chest. And that's when I noticed that I got a second chance! I never ever dropped my focus on her as a person ever again, not even for a second. Later I told her about everything I know because I kind of had to. And not gonna lie... that was a serious change of behavior for me. Once I started thinking about the actual person behind the other keyboard my friendships on the internet got WAY more real and way more precious ever since. That's a lesson I took to heart and will definitely never forget about ever again. But to get back to the topic at hand, of course I tried cheering her up and talking her out of some sad thoughts later on... and I had to realize that I had no chance. No matter what I tried it didn't seem to help. Talking her out of those thoughts didn't work because she considered herself "too broken". I had a really hard time accepting that at first, but yeah, and some point I just had to. So I just had to accept the fact that all I could do was... well, try to be as much of a positive factor in her life as I could. Even if it doesn't reach that "ultimate goal" of clearing those clouds in her head, that's all I could do and so I did it with 100% motivation and compassion. Later on she moved to her boyfriend in the UK and we both stopped playing the game, and therefore our contact started dwindling. She's in more capable hands now, hands that can actually do something. And therefore I was OK with letting her go. Yeah, this game deals with something similar like this, but in a way more serious and closer way. If my experience already rocked me so hard I can't even imagine what it's like if you feel like failing in something like that towards a loved one. So yeah, long story short: Just listen to people if you even remotely care about them. We all are living, breathing human beings. The dude you sometimes talk about games with, the guy that annoys you with his posts, someone who asks the same question thirteen times, whatever. So if someone just feels like venting out some negative air... listen! Because that can make a gigantic difference at the right time and that's what every single person deserves, period. Because who knows, we all can end up on the side of people actively needing that kind of help. I did, even if it was with a somewhat stupid problem. But I got that help and I don't think I'll ever stop treasuring it. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Quixotesque Posted May 25, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 25, 2021 So, I´ve just finished Hellblade: Senua´s Sacrifice as my commitment for the Mental Health Month Event. Here are some ideas that I would like to share from this experience. HellBlade: Senua's Sacrifice is one of those games that do not leave you the same: it provokes, impresses and generates totally opposite opinions, in some cases the player will find it exciting and captivating, while others will find it boring. I surely did at first. Senua's journey is an "imperfect" experience, no doubt, but one that tells us something differently than everyone else does and while we like to feel comfortable understanding the stories of that comfortable world that we can assimilate without a problem, sometimes it's important to look at it differently. It is at that delicate point between mythology and medicine where Senua and her illness are debated in a tale of anguish and confusion that make Hellblade something different. Senua suffers from psychosis, combining visual and auditory hallucinations. On the other hand, delusions are shown in the distorted thinking of our protagonist. Dealing with feelings of guilt over the death of her partner, Senua sets herself a mission to reach Hel to retrieve the soul of her beloved that the goddess has captured. She also has beliefs about her mental state being a curse, something instilled in her by her father since she was a little girl. I think there are many games that use madness simply as a punch, as something gratuitous, but few really bothered to document what people who suffer episodes of psychosis or schizophrenia feel, and this is where this project differs from the rest. In Hellblade, the approach is very different, it puts us in the shoes of a protagonist who lives with symptoms of psychosis, which makes us empathize and understand how it can be the experience of a real person suffering from such disorders. In addition, the game gives the perspective that these symptoms are simply another characteristic of the person, something that is part of them and, although it can be limiting at times, it does not make the person worse or less valid for having them. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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