Trophies for Mental Health (Event)

[GuitaristZag]

13 minutes ago, Dr_Mayus said:

@GuitaristZag the little eyeball is the spoiler tag (next to the emoji icon)

Fixed it, thank you!

[Beyondthegrave07]

1 hour ago, GuitaristZag said:

So, for my game, I completed Gris. 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

The overarching narrative deals with grief, specifically, as we later learn in the secret ending, the main character is trying to overcome the loss of her mother. 

 

Throughout the game, you are unable to die, which I interpret as a both positive and negative metaphor. While you are unable to easily escape grief, you are able to withstand as much as you believe you can. 

 

For much of the game, there's an incredible sense of atmosphere and solitude, until the forest chapter, where a small creature helps you, as in real life, it gets to a point where you can't do it alone.

 

I also see the birds as a manifestation of the main characters thoughts. The neutral ones are red, and do no harm, simply continue the story. The black are negative, hampering progress, while the gold are positive, lighting the way. 

 

The heavy ability serves as a manifestation of anger, as well as an ability to withstand anything and keep moving forward.

 

I feel the gravity chapter revolves around the idea of turning your world upside down for a new look at life.

 

Through it all, the score is soaring and powerful, conveying all the emotions intended, without a need for dialogue. 

 

Overall, the game deals with loss, the grief that follows it, and the journey to overcome said grief and rise above it all.

 

On a more personal note, I was diagnosed with OCD a couple weeks prior, making the concept of mental health ever more present in my life. 

 

I know this is a more interpretative response, but hopefully it counts, looking forward to completing Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for the second challenge

 

 

Love this interpretation of the game! I'll mark you down.

 

Everyone who's responded for badge 1 has been marked down. You're all good. Like I said, not looking for a whole lot. Just an acknowledgement of actually thinking about the mental health aspects in the game of choice.

[s68sc]

I finally completed NieR Replicant.

Spoiler

In this game i learned a lot more about Discrimination, Separation and Abuse (both mentally and physical) for all Characters but in particular for Kainé and Emil.

 

Kainé was a different than a normal female because she Intersex and all the children in the village didn't care about her, so she received a lot of harassment in her childhood, she has grown accustomed to being alone and very shy for the village she was an outcast, fortunately she wasn't really alone, his Grandmother love her more than anything and treat Kainé as a woman and not a strange monster as she was called by the villager but unfortunately her Grandmother die in a incident

and Kainé was left mutilated, It was then that the Shade Tyrann fused with her, allowing her to live and causing Kainé's deep hatred of Shades, because of this Separation Kainé became violent and irrational because of this, also by becoming possessed, Kainé suffered even more persecution and lived only to exact her revenge even if it meant using the powers of a Shade.

 

Thank to Nier a lot of things change but i will not spoiler.

 

Emil and Halua were twins without parents because of this both were placed in an orphanage due to the two of them speaking a different language other than japanese, they were treated like outcasts, they were always together and they loved each other but unfortunately they were experiment for the Project Snow white, but after excessive experimenting, the researchers selected Emil to be their ideal candidate for Number 6, a skeletal monster and the ultimate weapon armed with powerful magic. Halua wanted to protect her brother from the painful remodelling process and volunteered to go in his place. She kept her human heart after the remodeling, which unfortunately caused her to go berserk in her inherent desire to keep Emil safe. Halua could not be controlled by the researchers, which led to her bolted-and-chained containment. Against her wishes, Emil was remodelled into No. 7 to be her countermeasure, because of this Emil hate is life and is power.

 

Thank to Kainé and Nier this change for the better and the worst...

 

All Characters in Nier are in my opinion hopeless and with a lot of mental problem causing to see and think a lot of dark things, nobody is cured from this but at least they found love and a little bit of hope.

 

I try to write this without spoiling too many things but it hard..

 

[Dead Weight]

On 4/23/2021 at 10:25 PM, Dead Weight said:

didn't read, I'm in

 

I'm back, and I read what I got to do. Anyways I completed Final Fantasy VII Remake. 

 

Spoiler

How does it relate to Mental Health?

 

Throughout the game, and even the original, Cloud appears to be this cool badass ex-SOLDIER who used to work for Shinra. In actuality he isn't, its shown in greater detail in the original FF7 and in Crisis Core that Cloud was never in SOLDIER. He worked for Shinra as a trooper and met Zack Fair, an actual SOLDIER, during that time and became friends. After the Nibelheim Incident, both Cloud and Zack were put into containers and injected with JENOVA cells for about 4 years. Zack was able to get out of the container since he already had mako treatment since he was in SOLDIER, Cloud however was just a regular Joe so he was very lucid and pretty much comatose after Zack gets him out. Zack tries to get him and Cloud back to Midgar and in the original game, Zack gets shot down by a massive group of Shinra troops and dies. Cloud watches Zack die while still being in his lucid state and accepts the Buster sword from him. These events greatly affect Cloud's mind and psyche in 2 ways.

 

1. Cloud believes he was in SOLDIER, also parts of Zack's personality and memories are imprinted on him ( this is more apparent in the original, in Remake he doesn't seem to have Zack's personality or memories as much)

2. Because of the JENOVA cells, Cloud has attacks where he sees illusions of Sephiroth ( though sometimes it's actually Sephiroth since other characters can see him)

So throughout FF7 and FF7R, Cloud experiences attacks where either he remembers pieces of his past such as childhood with Tifa or the Nibelheim Incident or he sees illusions of Sephiroth and tries to fight him even though he isn't there. Also whenever he's asked about his SOLDIER past, he usually dismisses the question or answer ambiguously or isn't able to recall the memories. This is because in actuality he doesn't have memories of being in SOLDIER since that was imprinted on him during his lucid state when Zack died. 

 

So in the original game, Cloud has some form of Dissociative identity disorder where he believes he was in SOLDIER and has the personality and memories of Zack Fair.

 

In remake, It's revealed that the game doesn't follow the original too closely and is an alternate reality. One where Zack Fair is still alive. It does raise the question as to why Cloud still thinks he was in SOLDIER but we probably won't get answers to that until later in the FF7 Remake project.

 

Also it seems that the Cloud experiences PTSD related attacks which causes him to recall traumatic things like the Nibelheim Incident and even see illusions of Sephiroth ( all prior to ch17, Sephiroth in Hojo's lab and all appearances afterwards seems to have been by everyone so he was real.)

 

But again, a lot of what is stated is inferred from FF7 and Crisis Core. FF7R takes place in an alternate reality so its interesting to see Cloud still experience the same attacks when in retrospect he probably shouldn't ( well the ones relating to his "past" with SOLDIER and Zack, the JENOVA cells still connects him to Sephiroth whether he likes it or not)

 

 

[MissShake]

Alright, I got my trophy for the event. I just completed Gris, and it definitely was a good call for this particular event.

 

Spoiler

The game follows a girl, Gris, who has lost her singing voice and has to go on a journey of what feels like self-discovery to gain it back. The game is clearly meant to represent the grieving process, which can heavily take a toll on your daily life. In this case it takes away her singing voice, which we can assume is something she loves to do. When one is going through any form of depression, be it from grief or otherwise, it's often hard to do things that make them happy, and it's a full-on journey like Gris goes through to feel up to it again. What I found really interesting is how Gris will still have problems with the shadow thing that chases her even in later stages of the game, which I interpret as meaning that even if you do go through it all you may still have days that are bad, the pain may still come back no matter what. But all you can do is take it one day at a time.

 

I've never lost someone I was close with like Gris lost her mother, but I have been through breakups that put me into a grieving process, and I can say from firsthand experience that it's really difficult to deal with. Even when you're feeling well, even when you're with people you love and you're suitably distracted, you can still find yourself feeling it all over again. You wish you can have that person back, but it just can't happen, and it hits like bricks. But even if you never forget them, you still keep them with you. (Sort of like how Gris still keeps the stars close to her because they remind her of her mother.)

 

I'm keeping everyone who is dealing with loss or depression in my thoughts, especially the ones participating in this event. You're all so brave and you don't even know it.

Edited May 12, 2021 by MissShake

[DeadlyPerfume]

Neverending Nightmares is the game I chose to complete for this event. It features a very lovely hand-drawn art style in black and white with splashes of violent red, that brings to mind the illustrations of the author Edward Gorey. The game is inspired by its developer Matt Gilgenbach's personal struggles with depression, OCD and intrusive thoughts of self harm. The protagonist of the game, Thomas, is trapped in an endless series of looping nightmares you must attempt to wake up from as you traverse the hallways of his home as well as a forest, asylum and cemetery. These locations begin to intermingle and blur together as the game progresses, and there are branching paths and multiple endings which are open to interpretation, much like real dreams. 

 

Spoiler

 

The game creates an oppressive and bleak atmosphere with its musical score and menacing background details, and Thomas has a very slow and limited ability to run from threats, which is both a commonly reported feature of nightmares (endless hallways in which one is unable to run away from a pursuer) and also symbolic of the way someone with depression may feel stuck and powerless, unable to progress in life. Periodically there are sudden scenes of grotesque violence, such as Thomas feeding his own hand through a meat grinder or tearing out an artery in his forearm. Gilgenbach has stated these are intrusive thoughts he himself experienced during depressive episodes, and he wanted to use the genre of horror to express the disturbing and terrible nature of suffering from mental illness. I commend him on this, because I dislike the way depression is often romanticized in popular culture or made into a beautiful tragedy in films and other entertainment media. 

 

By far my favorite of the levels in the game is one of the potential final 3 nightmares, called "Destroyed Dreams," in which Thomas descends deeper and deeper through a labyrinth of hallways while pursued by an incredibly creepy doppelgänger of himself brandishing an axe. I interpreted this as a representation of the depressive downward spiral, and the way people suffering from mental illness can be their own worst enemy, sabotaging recovery and success with constant thoughts of not being good enough, of being worthless and to blame for everything that goes wrong in life. If you successfully evade the murderous other you, Thomas will awaken in a hospital bed with bandages on his arms, and a female character beside him who expresses relief, implying that he had attempted suicide. The harrowing ordeal of surviving the monsters in his dreams can be viewed as a metaphor for surviving the struggle within his own mind. 

 

 

[SpaceCoresDad]

This game might be low hanging fruit for this event, but it finally got me around to playing it and I adored it. I thought I might as well share my thoughts because I thought it was really interesting! This is badge #1 for me but I plan on going for the other. 

 

Concrete Genie

So you probably already know this game is about a kid getting bullied, but I really thought it was interesting seeing how he realizes that despite his kind of crappy situation regarding these shithead kids, he still has a far better life than any of them. Sure, he gets his frustrations out through art, and making up his own monstrous friends, but at the end of the day he gets to go home to a mentally well mom and dad that both love him dearly. The bullies don't have that, and while Ash (the main character in question) says himself that doesn't excuse their actions, he does begin to understand them.

 

One thing I really enjoyed was the paintbrush. With the ability to give art life, in the hands of a mostly well put together kid like Ash, he's able to make all these fun creations and bring life to the city around him. He's optimistic and determined despite his problems, which allows the genies to have a playful and happy nature. However, what I think is interesting is the end of the game, when the dark genies start coming out to play. It's easy to read it as Ash getting frustrated, and that leads to the genies turning evil, but it's important to note that it only happens when the bullies get their hands on the paintbrush. The dark genies are their frustrations coming out through art, and I adore all the implications that brings.

Darkness begets darkness. While art can be a wonderful tool for coping with stress, it's also important to not let it consume you either. Creating more and more depressing, angry art can just lead you down a deeper hole yourself, and that hole can be difficult to climb back out of. Ash ends up making friends with his bullies and pulls them out of this dark space before it goes too far, but the blackness surrounding them when tied up by the dark genies shows how easy it is to get tied up in your own emotions. It's a really unique take that I've never seen before, and I enjoyed seeing it in a game as charming as this.

Anyway without spoilers: it's a good game! I even got the VR trophies and hooked all that back up again. Even if not for this event, definitely give it a shot. It's a lot of fun, and has a good message!

[SupergiantStarr]

On 4/28/2021 at 1:55 PM, SupergiantStarr said:

What an amazing event, thank you. I'd like to partake.

 

I'm going to pick The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories. I know very little about this game except that it deals with mental health issues while also centering around a trans queer protagonist. As a trans queer with mental health conditions, I figure it's finally time to dig this out of my backlog and it seems perfect for this event.

 

As for the #YouAreNotAlone bonus badge, I may finally go back to finish the cooperative trophies for The Forest. Not as deeply meaningful as The Missing, but cooperative trophies (sometimes moreso than competitive trophies) always pull me out of my comfort zone and it'll be nice to have that platinum.

 

I've been disabled with mental illnesses for some time now. Severe depressive psychosis, GAD, panic disorder, PTSD, and ADHD. They're one hell of a hurdle to get through on a day to day basis and I've struggled to adapt new routines to combat them. However, just like any other illness, I don't let them define me. It's okay to talk about it, it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay to reach out to those closest to you who might be struggling too. I've dealt with the stigma for years and it can be exhausting. I think the most important thing anyone can take from this event is that, yes, you are not alone.

 

I've finished!

 

The Missing: JJ MacField and the Island of Memories deals with a lot of difficult themes revolving around suicide. The game even starts off with a content warning about these depictions, which I appreciated. Also, a lot of these themes are fairly spoiler-heavy, so I’ll hide my thoughts.

 

Spoiler

 

The game starts off rather peaceful, but right after arriving on the titular “Island of Memories”, JJ finds her own body. She is seemingly killed at the hands of a giant shadow monster with what looks like a massive box cutter as a weapon as her girlfriend runs away from it. Not exactly the most subtle symbolism, but effective nonetheless. Suicide is often a monster that looms, threatening us constantly while also effecting the lives of those closest to us. 

 

There are a few moments where I had to set the controller down and walk away. Perhaps the most striking of these moments was when, much later into the game, the player is forced to make JJ hang herself. Although it’s clear by this point that the world she’s in isn’t exactly real, it’s still extremely troubling.

 

 

I’m not generally a fan of stories that portray trans suffering - for obvious reasons - but the story they’ve told here is a fairly accurate one. The majority of the game’s story is told through text messages that JJ has received in the past. The characters here are very well-realized. Perhaps the most accurate is the traditional mother, who eventually comes across JJ’s diary and sends her a text saying ““I found out about your secret. Please go to the counselor with me, Jackie. I’m sure that your mind is just a little unstable. We’ll get you back to normal in no time.”

 

Ultimately, it’s a story that shows us how swiftly and powerfully mental illnesses can develop in a trans individual while they are going through their transition. Especially with the pressures of school, expectations from friends, and a constant, overbearing presence of family, it can make the process unimaginably stressful on the mind.

 

Bonus Badge! For #YouAreNotAlone I completed the co-op trophies for The Forest and got my platinum. Not much to report here as it was fairly painless!

 

Thank you very much for creating this event and thank you everyone for participating.

[DrBloodmoney]

Finished up my "Game 2" Bonus game -

 

Concrete Genie

 

Stuck a little write up about t in my status updates, but I won't fill this thread with a full review given that this is just the bonus game - I'll just say, It's lovely to look at, pretty mechanically simple and solid, but lacking a bit when it gets to combat sections, and the message of the game is sweet, but maybe a bit naive when it comes to bullying!

 

Enjoyed it quite a bit though overall. ?

[JimboUrbanian]

https://prnt.sc/12w23wn

 

Spoiler

I finished Hellblade, even made the plat my #15,000 trophy as can be seen in the picture. After playing the game I can say I saw how schizophrenia affects people and their battle with darkness and my understanding of it is a bit better. IMO, there was too little of Senuas narrative in the game, probably the same rl people with that illness go through. One word: damn. 

Spoiler

I was a little bummed when Senua lost her life in the end, but that ending song is so fine

 

 

A few good quotes from the game:

 

Quote

Nothing lives here, not even you.

 

Quote

You said your world collapsed? Good. 

 

Quote

There is no such thing as fiction when it comes to the darkness.

 

The italic word in the last quote may not be right. I think they said fictery, but I dunno if that word exist in English.

Edited May 13, 2021 by JimboUrbanian

[Beyondthegrave07]

Finished my bonus badge with Yooka Laylee. Obviously, the chameleon and Bat combo is best combo (Maaaaybe bear and bird were better). #Youarenotalone

[Anxiety]

Until Dawn:

Mental health: Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Depression. 

 

 

Until Dawn is about eight friends who go up to the mountains to visit there friend Josh for a yearly party after his two sisters went missing the year before. But, it turns out that there is a killer among the quests. Which turns out to be Josh himself. Is the murderer but doesn’t kill anyone he just wanted to scare people like they scared his sister, Hannah. He suffered a nervous break following the loss of his sisters causing him to suffer Psychosis and Schizophrenia and Depression.

Difficulty: 2/10 

Enjoyment: 10/10 - I’ve played this game before and loved every second of again. That’s why it’s a 10/10, amazing game. I recommend this game to everyone! 

Time: 10-15 hours. 

Overall:

 

Overall it’s an amazing game with amazing kills, you have Josh playing as the murderer and the Wendigos in the game. I would recommend this game to everyone it’s an amazing game with amazing visuals.

 

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

Mental Health: Psychosis, Physical Challenges. 

Senua’s Sacrifice is about a girl who goes into Helheim to get her lover back. She hears voices called “furies” and a curse called “The Darkness”. 

Difficulty: 1.5/10

Enjoyment: 9/10 - Amazing game with amazing visuals. If you play with headphones it has 3D Audio, so when you hear the voices they sound different from different angles. 

Time: 5-10 hours.

Overall: Its an amazing game, the 3D audio does it absolute justice. The lorestones aren’t hard to get without a guide but I used a guide to get them. The fights were easy enough I think I died once or twice, the rot does something and can end your game pretty quick. Some of the puzzles are a bit confusing like the bridge near the end of the game but once you’ve done it once you can do it again.

It’s a great game to know about psychosis, hearing the voices that Schizophrenia people knowing what they go through interesting story and great game!

 

Thanks for the Mental Health Event it has been a blast. I can’t wait to get my badge and put it in my signature. Thanks @Beyondthegrave07

 

#YouAreNotAlone

Edited May 14, 2021 by Anxiety
Added more.

[Dr_Mayus]

1 hour ago, Beyondthegrave07 said:

Finished my bonus badge with Yooka Laylee. Obviously, the chameleon and Bat combo is best combo (Maaaaybe bear and bird were better). #Youarenotalone

And i am listed in the credits for that game ? kind of wished i did dr_mayus instead of my real name.

[ArchaeanHorizon]

I completed Gris the other day and finally got the time and mindset to write a little bit about the game. 

 

Personally, I found the game very difficult to interpret and I don't really know what the devs were trying to tell me through this game. One thing I did observe, though, is how the colors slowly came back only to be "devoured by darkness" again every now and then. 

For me personally that's exactly how my own therapy is. I make steps forward, feel better, see the colors around me, only to make a step backwards again and feel like the dark is once again devouring everything that is good and bright and makes life more bearable. 

 

I don't know if that makes sense. I feel like I can't really put my thoughts about the game into words. Perhaps because English is not my first language and I struggle a little bit to express myself in this language. 

 

I hope this bit is enough to earn me the badge. If not, I can try to write a little bit more. But for now, I'd leave it at that. 

[ExistentialSolid]

I recently completed Steins;Gate for the event! ?
For the first badge, I've written a short, spoiler-free (mostly) reflection piece on the game's depiction of someone with social anxiety.

Let's start off with a little background! In Steins;Gate, you play as Rintaro Okabe in a desperate struggle against time to save the lives of those you love. You travel across different worldlines experiencing the same nightmarish set of events again and again as you try to create a brighter future. One character that Okabe stumbles across in his journey across time, Moeka Kiryu, stood out to me because...well, she's a lot like me.
 

Moeka struggles with a severe case of social anxiety. She spends most of her time in public with her eyes locked to the dimly-lit display on her phone. She has trouble speaking, can't keep a conversation going, is often perceived as "clingy," and gets anxious if she doesn't receive a reply right away. Instead of talking with someone face-to-face, she prefers to convey her thoughts over text (even if the person she is texting is standing right beside her). Despite her reluctance to speak, it's clear she has a lot on her mind; compared to the rest of the cast, Moeka's texts are often rich with detail, full of emotion, and show off her curious, intellectual side. Because she can be difficult to approach, Moeka has trouble making friends, but something happens early on that acts as a catalyst for change: Moeka gets brought in to the lab (where Okabe and his friends basically hang out). Each of Okabe's friends warmly greet her, she becomes "lab member 005", and she quickly makes friends as though she were a perfectly "normal" girl. She still prefers to text instead of speak, but her behavior isn't really questioned. They accept Moeka for who she is.  
 

Something I think is important to take away from Moeka's experience in Steins;Gate is this: there will always be a place for you out there. The right people will accept you even if you don't "fit in"—even if you're like Moeka and have difficulty expressing yourself. Mental illness doesn't have to define you as a person. You have worth. You have value. If the people around you don't see that, move on and find the people that do. I promise you they're out there and they'll be more than happy to be your friend. Have the courage to seek them out!

Edited May 16, 2021 by ExistentialSolid

[Beyondthegrave07]

3 hours ago, ArchaeanHorizon said:

I completed Gris the other day and finally got the time and mindset to write a little bit about the game. 

 

Personally, I found the game very difficult to interpret and I don't really know what the devs were trying to tell me through this game. One thing I did observe, though, is how the colors slowly came back only to be "devoured by darkness" again every now and then. 

For me personally that's exactly how my own therapy is. I make steps forward, feel better, see the colors around me, only to make a step backwards again and feel like the dark is once again devouring everything that is good and bright and makes life more bearable. 

 

I don't know if that makes sense. I feel like I can't really put my thoughts about the game into words. Perhaps because English is not my first language and I struggle a little bit to express myself in this language. 

 

I hope this bit is enough to earn me the badge. If not, I can try to write a little bit more. But for now, I'd leave it at that. 

That's definitely good enough.

 

I never thought about the colors coming back and being devoured again. I think you interpretation of that was spot on. That's a really good catch! I'll mark you down, no worries!

 

@Anxiety I'll go ahead and mark you for both badges. Technically, Until Dawn could work as the bonus badge.

Edited May 14, 2021 by Beyondthegrave07

[Poptartboy54]

Sounds like fun and can help plenty of people, I got a few games I could choose but probably just gonna do Celeste, still excited to do it! Thanks for making this event tho!

[Dr_Mayus]

2nd Palace done but also want Persona 5 Royal to be my 325th milestone so will need one more plat before i finish it.

[Cassylvania]

So, I played Gris, which...what do you mean I finished it in April?

 

So, I played Ikenfell, which has several characters going through some inner turmoils. This is actually best represented by one of the optional bosses of the game, which I don't think is much of a spoiler, where the main characters have to face dark versions of themselves. Each dark version states the struggle that character is facing, but beating them shows a more optimistic way of looking at the situation. It's actually a technique I learned early on that is similar to a pro/con list, except instead of listing pros, you list cons and then state why you shouldn't worry about them. For example, when I had to buy a house, I was worried about having to purchase flood insurance. I wasn't sure I could afford it, so I wanted to back out. But then I told myself that having flood insurance would allow me to have peace of mind, which would offset the overall cost of flood insurance. I like this more than a simple pro/con list because you're not just trying to bury the negative aspects of something by coming up with advantages. You're acknowledging that negative things exist, but finding ways to cope with them.

 

I didn't end up buying the house for other reasons, but that's beside the point.

 

I strongly encourage people with OCD to try that. As someone who struggled with it for years, I found that I was always zeroing in on the negative aspects of something, no matter how good everything else was. My mind would always linger on the one thing I said wrong in a conversation or the one person who was mean to me that day. It wasn't until I got much older that I realized I could turn negative emotions into positive feelings. Ignoring it never made it go away. Finding a way to accept it has been a life changer.

[You]

Hello, ok so I am back with a third game for my bonus tier. Was only planning on doing two games, however not reading the rules properly I accidentally did the requirements for first badge twice.

 

So my third game is "Brothers", a few other people have covered this game already, so I will keep my description brief.

 

So the story is basically Jimmy and Billy Lee from the Double Dragon games get whisked back in time to medieval times and they go on a quest to find a special potion or cure from a tree far far away, and you have to travel a long way to get there.

 

Well of course I am joking about the Double Dragon bit, however the color scheme of the characters is just like Double Dragon on the Gameboy Advance and I kept thinking about Double Dragon while playing.

 

One unusual thing to note, this game is like Undertale, in that you can get to 100% trophies without even finishing the game, but you're quite near the end and it's definitely recommended to stick till the end (I wonder how many trophy hunters just abandon the game at 90% of the story completed)

 

 

Controlling big brother with your left hand and little brother with your right hand is a really cool idea, kind of like twin stick shooters but with exploration. Kept getting one of the boys stuck due to getting myself a bit mixed up.  So tragically in the story you get the potion to cure your father but big brother tragically dies in the queen spider boss fight. Big brother helps little brother all the way through the game to swim and help him up to high places but when big brother dies little brother has to cope on his own. So normally you "use" button is L2 or R2 for each character, but I like the way when big brother dies, using R2 little brother fails, but if you use L2 for the dead brother, there is a spooky ghost of encouragement from big brother which helps little brother to accomplish the puzzle by himself. Honestly something that would only click and make sense in a game environment.

 

I thought that was really clever.

 

Game is sad all around though, a flying gryphon dies helping you get to a certain place and one of the trophies is to steal a ball off a little girl and throw it down a well, which I felt a bit bad about doing. Anyway it's a good game. Would definitely recommend it!

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by enaysoft

[WDB_Chaotic]

Finished my game a while ago but have been too busy to write my piece on it.

 

I played Drowning (Ps4)

 

TLDR; I think the game isn't the greatest by any stretch of imagination however its discussion on depression is quite a thought provoking one, both for people who have/previously suffered from mental health issues and those who haven't.

 

Spoiler

I haven't suffered from a mental illness and I count myself lucky for that fact. I found drowning so interesting because I got to see the mentality of the main character as they progresses through each year, and some of the signs and symptoms that they suffer. One year discusses how they are 'drowning' feeling like they can't find the air to breathe. I think this is a good game for younger people who may suffer from a mental illness to play because it shows how other people may be feeling the same things that you might, and to help ease the stigma that is mental health. I have one major gripe with the game as there is only 4 said endings. I find this rather counter intuitive, as mental health isn't something that is so easily fixed. suicide, or basically "getting over it" is not the message that should be put out, considering how difficult some find it to overcome. There are some that continue to live with it so I found this part of the game very ordinary. All in all i'm grateful for the chance to play this and to properly digest the story being told, and get insight from someone who clearly has suffered from mental health issues and what that actually entailed>

 

 

[Last-_-Judgment]

This sounds beautiful. I would like to help out but im not overly sure on what games I have that target mental illness of a character. 

 

EDIT: I hear Child of Light centre around the character's mental illness of dealing with the loss of a parent. I'll definitely be doing this sometime soon. Just been exploring Death Stranding last few days. 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Last-_-Judgment

[Pieroluc]

count me in. 

[Violino]

Rainswept

Complete

 

First game down for Challenge #1. I agree with what I read up about Rainswept beforehand, it isn't the best at what it's doing, but it hit me with it's story and subject and I'm still trying to process it so apologises if my summary is pants or not what is needed!

 

Spoiler

Both stories got to me. Especially the flashbacks of Chris and Diane. Take away that moment of violence towards the end and I saw me in Chris at moments and understood where he was coming from in regards to dealing with Diane. Dealing with someone with that much going on in their head due to the past events and someone who carries that much depression is exhausting. For both parties. Although there were also times it was frustrating. The way the developers made Chris rush or push some of his questions or wants onto Diane just annoyed me. You don't do that with someone who has depression or any other similar type of illness. I don't. I struggle with things (when it comes to social interaction) and picking up on details or hidden meanings behind things, but I've done good with my girlfriend, which is why it frustrated me. Patience is key! Chris had hints too that certain things were going to be a struggle to get out in the open, but it was pushed anyway. I didn't like that. Also the autopsy hit a little too close to home when they mentioned scars that were quite old. I could be wrong but I took this as self harming, which is all too familiar.

 

The detectives story however, I was merely rushing to the next flashback. It didn't resonate as much as the rest of game did. At times his issues got to me. Once his situation with his wife got explained it got a little better. I get the guilt of thinking that you caused something. Or having the realisation that you can't change what has already happened. I guess you could say that, due to a certain situation in my personal life not too long ago, the guilt aspect was maybe a "too soon, bro" moment.

 

Overall though, I liked it. It was a good little game that I have actually taken something from. I think my favourite parts were the flashbacks. They hit home. They included some familiar situations. Maybe not everything was how I see it or would do it but people are different. The developers have did it their way, I have mine. Plus I shouldn't forget that it was a small game, which comes with it's own limitations. 

 

 

TLDR: It was a good game. The depression and anxiety at times hit a little too close to home. Could have done more/been better handled. But overall I liked it. I took something away from it at least.

 

(Sidenote - For some reason this game has made me want to make sure that I treasure every moment I get with my partner. Good AND bad! Regardless of how her brain works)

Edited May 16, 2021 by Violino

[brosephstalin3fm]

The Game i chose was Fractured Minds

The game itself is obviously not much to write home about and it is not very long, but the message is the star of the show here. I played the game with my brother, we both suffer from depression and anxiety. I didn’t tell him the theme of the game but he picked it up very quickly. The themes and messages in this game were all to familiar. One of the ones that stood out the most was the birthday party the feeling that even though you are meant to be happy and everyone around you is happy but the feeling of being alone consumes you. If you do not suffer from depression and anxiety this is a good message for you to try and understand. i would ask you to play this game and try to understand. If you are reading this and you do suffer from any form of mental illness i want you to know you are never alone and that i love you.