Trophies for Mental Health III

[Beyondthegrave07]

26 minutes ago, breakingthegreen said:

It's a bank holiday today in the UK so I spent a whole bunch of the day getting the bonus game completed, and I'm now gonna rush my write up because I put garlic bread in the oven, using it as a timer, anyway the first game about mental health:

 

Gris (PS5) - (51.68%)

 

So, Gris is a very aesthetically pretty platformer with a glorious soundtrack that you should absolutely consider playing it just for that. But this event demands that I talk about the mental health aspect of the game, and I have a few things that I want to say given the story.

 

Gris' story is non-verbal and uses symbolism to tell a story of a woman going through the five stages of grief and that's everything I can be 100% certain of. And that's my major problem with it, the story is deliberately designed to be open to interpretation which fuels discussion. But this the add on effect of leaving a story which either means everything and at the same time very little. If I were to guess the game is about depression, but without an interview I cannot be 100% sure. But even with a guess like that, it seems like the it can't fit because the resolution seemed to come to easily. Unless the shooting stars symbolised antidepressants, I couldn't tell you how they helped.

 

It's a matter of trying to symbolise to a lot of different mental health issues, which makes the story feel impersonal, there's no story of how the grief has ruined this persons life other than her feeling sad. I personally like stories that feel like someone had something profound to say.

Celeste's story was very personal, it taught breathing techniques and  it's symbolism told the story the character was going through. Gris only has the final part in my opinion.

 

So just as a final word on this games depiction of mental health, it's not that Gris says anything wrong or badly, the issue is that the game isn't brave enough to say much of anything at all. But at least it does it beautifully

 

 

Second game now for out door activities:

 

Sayonara Wild Hearts (EU) - (24.44%)

 

This one could also be used for the first game if I'm honest; Sayonara Wild Hearts is a rhythm runner game like Road 96 Mile 0 (which didn't cause me to buy this, but it did remind me that I hadn't bought Sayonara yet.)

 

Sayonara is about a heart broken woman who gains symbolic powers that leads her to travel and never stop, she skateboards, she boats, she drives a convertible in the desert, but she mostly uses the objectively coolest way to escape your problem: Motorbike. 

I'm gonna put some spoilers in this tab now:

  Reveal hidden contents

The non-violence may not be evident by the trophy card, but in the end it's revealed that the bosses that you have been combating, were actually the protaganist's ex-girlfriends, and the protagnist must return their hearts to let them go so she can heal. No more battling, you win by kissing your opponents goodbye. 

 

Going out on the open road has always been very therapeutic for me, even though I can't drive. 

 

It is a lovely game with killer soundtrack, do play it.

 

 

Everyone buy it now, it's 20% off until Wednesday and I love this game with all my heart (and watching the views on my guide go up makes my ego swell)

It's an interesting take on Gris saying that it wasn't concrete enough. When I played it, I was able to figure out what was the crux of her grief by the end and it tied together pretty nicely to me. I do agree that it was a bit vague early on, but becomes clearer towards the end imo. Though, with a game with no words, I can definitely see how people could miss it.

 

I can drop it in a spoilers tag later if you want me to explain it. The trophies actually help understand it better too as it highlights the story and forces you to see the hidden ending. 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Beyondthegrave07

[Breakingthegreen]

9 minutes ago, Beyondthegrave07 said:

It's an interesting take on Gris saying that it wasn't concrete enough. When I played it, I was able to figure out what was the crux of her grief by the end and it tied together pretty nicely to me. I do agree that it was a bit vague early on, but becomes clearer towards the end imo. Though, with a game with no words, I can definitely see how people could miss it.

 

I can drop it in a spoilers tag later if you want me to explain it. The trophies actually help understand it better too as it highlights the story and forces you to see the hidden ending. 

 When you mentioned the hidden ending, that did cause me to piece together the cause of the grief may be (Something happening to her mother), it's still a bit vague from what  can tell.

Only being able to understand the game after the fact is also one of my least preferred story telling techniques, there's a reason I've not played a single FNAF game.

 

I do welcome an explainer though  

[Fenrirfeather]

I went back and forth and I don't think I'll have something to play this month to be participating but I figured that I at least want to show some appreciation for Grave's initiative here by suggesting a few games to play - possibly even after this month ends? I will mention the themes include that personally stood out to me but try not to spoil too much about the games in general. They also all happen to be developed by smol teams and don’t generally have a lot of players which I know are two things some people like for the extra incentive, so I included those details.

 

None of these games ever outright state that they include or focus on the topic of mental health/that they focus on a disorder and I find that manner of a more implicit presentation compelling. Although a less pathological portrayal might come with the risk that there will be players who walk away from a game without having had the realisation of the message what the game was trying to convey, that same approach might also be more accessible to a greater portion of players who struggle with very explicit mentions of mental health issues. 

 

If I find the time to really get immersed into a fitting game, I'll swing by and sign up. I got all of May up to the last day to complete the game then, if I understood it right?

 

Yuoni (by a 7 persons Japanese business, 645 owners registered on PSNP, the price is <20 EUR but slightly more in USD)

Yuoni is a Japanese adventure game/VN hybrid about the strange supernatural occurrences that befall a group of Japanese elementary school students whose circle of friendship is not what seems. The writing is light novel-esque simple, the gameplay clearly wasn't the focus of the game. It's a folklore horror themed game in which between the novel segments you play short games of hide and seek with a malevolent boy ghost named Tsun in a labyrinth of corridors and hallways. And while it's never explained or stated what it is that keeps main character Ai from speaking her mind in school as naturally as she can at home or in other situations, the inward narrative of Ai's struggles sounds much like the experience of those with selective mutism. 

 

There are a lot of other themes relating to the topic mental health that surround the central group of Ai's "friends" and that are presented through text and a few graphically minimalistic, Japanese voice-acted scenes (and I mention this to give a volume warning for these and a mild flash warning as the screen goes all white abruptly). Besides rabid school bullying, those other themes include familial disputes and abuse, dealing with forced gender stereotypes, loss of parents and growing up in a foster situation, neglect, mentions of wishing death upon another, mutilation (that is described and the result is pictured in one background artwork), a sibling struggle that involves gender based violence, gaslighting/social manipulative friendships, feelings of self doubt and low self worth. 

 

As an extra word of warning: many of the children characters in this story are on the receiving end of mistreatment but the image of the enduring victim withstanding their abuse with kindness is not quite to be found here. Depending on your expectations of how victims should act and behave in order to be acknowledged and aided by society, it's possible that you won't find it easy to sympathise with the short tales presented here.

 

Oneshot (group effort of maybe 3 persons, 344 owners on PSNP, <15 EUR) 

You're not a character in the game but you are playing the game together with Niko who has been whisked away to the strange and eerily dark plane where the two of you meet, without explanation or much guidance. Niko needs you, counts on your insight and troubleshooting but Niko is not without thoughts or opinions. There, it is quickly explained to the two of you that together, Niko and you are meant to save the world but reinstalling the light bulb which is this world's "sun".  

 

Oneshot is a puzzle exploration game with a unique cast of characters whose (for trophy progression insignificant dialogue) paints a bright and, despite the darkness, alive world of fleshed out personalities in a dying world. Which is surprising if you are aware of OneShot's origin as a free RPGMaker game. 

Oneshot, and by extension the developer(s), never outright point out the themes presented in the game but a few are more obvious than others. A loss of homeland, survival with reduced resources, the loss of family and friends during childhood, the monotony or loneliness of daily life, the effects and emotional despair of abandonment, familial troubles and loss of trust are some themes that you may be able to spot. 

 

And there's Niko who, separated from their family but bravely working alongside you, might have to bear a heavy burden. 

 

A Street Cat's Tale (tiny Korean indie dev who's just announced that they've disbanded, 281 owners, 5-10 EUR)

If you remember that this colourful pixel game represents the fate of many street cats, this game, despite its happy endings, is a sad portrayal of reality. Me the kitten (who is you) is stranded alone after Me's mother was involved in traffic accident and taken away. You must help Me survive on the streets but going from mere survival to living a life demands a lot more than just a full belly. It's a simulation game at heart but the mechanics are very easy to master and there's a full guide on steam. 

 

Both cat characters and humans have differing personalities and backgrounds, all presented in a simplified manner. The game has an explicit pet injury scene, neglect and animal death, denying the loss of (cat) parents, struggling to go on after loss at an old age, substance abuse (alcohol), bullying, a dog struggling having been abandoned and feeling unwanted, human characters who try to cope with loneliness. If you focus on the clearly very human presentation of the themes within not just the human characters but also within the cats, you might be able to appreciate what the indie developer tried to portray here. 


Both Lost Ember which tries to provide a narrative with a focus on severe dissociation after a row of emotionally and physically difficult experiences packed into a spiritual and animal packed plot and Ikai which is a pretty walking simulator that touches upon the themes of violence against women, forced marriage, murder and suicide (and arguably dissociation) also treat their respective topics with some subtly so that they would fit the "show but don't tell" narrative of hinting at mental illness rather than ever outright explaining what's going (to the point of possibly leaving the player confused).

 

[Beyondthegrave07]

1 hour ago, Fenrirfeather said:

I went back and forth and I don't think I'll have something to play this month to be participating but I figured that I at least want to show some appreciation for Grave's initiative here by suggesting a few games to play - possibly even after this month ends? I will mention the themes include that personally stood out to me but try not to spoil too much about the games in general. They also all happen to be developed by smol teams and don’t generally have a lot of players which I know are two things some people like for the extra incentive, so I included those details.

 

None of these games ever outright state that they include or focus on the topic of mental health/that they focus on a disorder and I find that manner of a more implicit presentation compelling. Although a less pathological portrayal might come with the risk that there will be players who walk away from a game without having had the realisation of the message what the game was trying to convey, that same approach might also be more accessible to a greater portion of players who struggle with very explicit mentions of mental health issues. 

 

If I find the time to really get immersed into a fitting game, I'll swing by and sign up. I got all of May up to the last day to complete the game then, if I understood it right?

 

Yuoni (by a 7 persons Japanese business, 645 owners registered on PSNP, the price is <20 EUR but slightly more in USD)

Yuoni is a Japanese adventure game/VN hybrid about the strange supernatural occurrences that befall a group of Japanese elementary school students whose circle of friendship is not what seems. The writing is light novel-esque simple, the gameplay clearly wasn't the focus of the game. It's a folklore horror themed game in which between the novel segments you play short games of hide and seek with a malevolent boy ghost named Tsun in a labyrinth of corridors and hallways. And while it's never explained or stated what it is that keeps main character Ai from speaking her mind in school as naturally as she can at home or in other situations, the inward narrative of Ai's struggles sounds much like the experience of those with selective mutism. 

 

There are a lot of other themes relating to the topic mental health that surround the central group of Ai's "friends" and that are presented through text and a few graphically minimalistic, Japanese voice-acted scenes (and I mention this to give a volume warning for these and a mild flash warning as the screen goes all white abruptly). Besides rabid school bullying, those other themes include familial disputes and abuse, dealing with forced gender stereotypes, loss of parents and growing up in a foster situation, neglect, mentions of wishing death upon another, mutilation (that is described and the result is pictured in one background artwork), a sibling struggle that involves gender based violence, gaslighting/social manipulative friendships, feelings of self doubt and low self worth. 

 

As an extra word of warning: many of the children characters in this story are on the receiving end of mistreatment but the image of the enduring victim withstanding their abuse with kindness is not quite to be found here. Depending on your expectations of how victims should act and behave in order to be acknowledged and aided by society, it's possible that you won't find it easy to sympathise with the short tales presented here.

 

Oneshot (group effort of maybe 3 persons, 344 owners on PSNP, <15 EUR) 

You're not a character in the game but you are playing the game together with Niko who has been whisked away to the strange and eerily dark plane where the two of you meet, without explanation or much guidance. Niko needs you, counts on your insight and troubleshooting but Niko is not without thoughts or opinions. There, it is quickly explained to the two of you that together, Niko and you are meant to save the world but reinstalling the light bulb which is this world's "sun".  

 

Oneshot is a puzzle exploration game with a unique cast of characters whose (for trophy progression insignificant dialogue) paints a bright and, despite the darkness, alive world of fleshed out personalities in a dying world. Which is surprising if you are aware of OneShot's origin as a free RPGMaker game. 

Oneshot, and by extension the developer(s), never outright point out the themes presented in the game but a few are more obvious than others. A loss of homeland, survival with reduced resources, the loss of family and friends during childhood, the monotony or loneliness of daily life, the effects and emotional despair of abandonment, familial troubles and loss of trust are some themes that you may be able to spot. 

 

And there's Niko who, separated from their family but bravely working alongside you, might have to bear a heavy burden. 

 

A Street Cat's Tale (tiny Korean indie dev who's just announced that they've disbanded, 281 owners, 5-10 EUR)

If you remember that this colourful pixel game represents the fate of many street cats, this game, despite its happy endings, is a sad portrayal of reality. Me the kitten (who is you) is stranded alone after Me's mother was involved in traffic accident and taken away. You must help Me survive on the streets but going from mere survival to living a life demands a lot more than just a full belly. It's a simulation game at heart but the mechanics are very easy to master and there's a full guide on steam. 

 

Both cat characters and humans have differing personalities and backgrounds, all presented in a simplified manner. The game has an explicit pet injury scene, neglect and animal death, denying the loss of (cat) parents, struggling to go on after loss at an old age, substance abuse (alcohol), bullying, a dog struggling having been abandoned and feeling unwanted, human characters who try to cope with loneliness. If you focus on the clearly very human presentation of the themes within not just the human characters but also within the cats, you might be able to appreciate what the indie developer tried to portray here. 


Both Lost Ember which tries to provide a narrative with a focus on severe dissociation after a row of emotionally and physically difficult experiences packed into a spiritual and animal packed plot and Ikai which is a pretty walking simulator that touches upon the themes of violence against women, forced marriage, murder and suicide (and arguably dissociation) also treat their respective topics with some subtly so that they would fit the "show but don't tell" narrative of hinting at mental illness rather than ever outright explaining what's going (to the point of possibly leaving the player confused).

 

No problem at all with just raw suggestions! It still shows interest in the event and draws eyes to the it which I can always get behind. ?

[Starrk_01]

Finished the first game: Death Stranding (14.75%)

 

A game based off delivering goods to people isolated from one another. From here you can make the argument that mental health plays a role since a majority of the places you deliver to are only home to one person hence they have loneliness/away from society. However I feel the characters provided a greater sense of mental health awareness (mostly through different forms of grieving).

 

 

While I could pick characters such as Sam (main character), Die-Hardman (mystery guy), or even Higgs (bad guy) I'll pick a character who story doesn't impact/spoil the main story too much: Heartman. This person had a wife and daughter who lost their lives in two voidouts (think nuclear explosion) while he was having heart surgery. They were away from the hospital that he was having the surgery in, so he wasn't killed by the voidout itself; however, the hospital did lose power so he died for a brief moment. He was able to see his wife and daughter in the afterlife (called Beaches) before becoming resurrected by an AED (defibrillator). This leads to his grief of not being with his family, which leads him to go through a vicious cycle where he purposely goes through cardiac arrest every 21 minutes in order to "die" for three minutes in order to search for his wife and daughter at various beaches before he shocks himself alive after the three minutes. His inability to properly grief and move on after the unfortunate situation from his wife and daughter's death is troubling. 

 

There is an ending to his story that is revealed through emails post game, but I'll leave that off in case someone is playing through the game currently. Onto the 2nd game of the event.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Starrk_01

[MattbluePT]

As Virginia was leaving the PS Plus Extra catalog, i grabbed it. I went blindly to this title, without knowing much about it.

 

Virginia is a game without conversations, where we have to understand the story from the visual cues and situations happening in the game, so my interpretation may vary from others.

Although I didn't play it with the intent to use it for this event, I believe I have found some signs of mental illness.

 

During the game, there are some events where the distinction from reality and imagination aren't very clear, with the main character having some hallucinations and delusions, which may be a sign of schizophrenia or psychosis. There is also some images where the character  take some pills that could be an indicator of a treatment for some kind of mental illness.

 

Also,

Spoiler

the main character is dealing with the death of her father, she is in grief. Adding to that, it appears he asked her to get rid of a box, which she doesn't know the contents, and it appears she reflects about how someone could have disappeared with the evidence from the case she is working on just as she disappeared with the contents from that box. This is one of the main themes that appear in her hallucinations.

 

If anyone played this game I would like to hear your opinion about this, as my interpretation may vary a lot.

[Beyondthegrave07]

 

The game I completed for the event was 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

 

The game on the surface is about 13 protagonists who travel through time with mechs to fight off robotic aliens called kaiju.

 

The game is split up into two parts: Remembrance and Destruction. The Remembrance section is a side scrolling VN/interactive drama while Destruction is a real-time strategy game. Both are pretty fun, but the most interesting part is the Remembrance portion of it.

 

Mental Health Aspect (HUGE SPOILERS):

 

All of the characters go through their own struggles, but there were two characters that really stuck out in terms of mental health. 

 

Probably the most obvious character is Ryoko Shinonome. After her initial fights with the kaiju, she damages her nervous system and is slowly losing her memories and becoming a husk. In order for her to slow down the debilitation, she takes pills given to her by the nurse which she takes to also alleviate the headaches.

 

Ironically, these pills also gives her temporary memory loss which plays a huge role in her story. She starts off taking these pills to alleviate the pain,  but it's pretty obvious by the end of her story that she takes these pills and abusing them because she doesn't want to remember how she shot and killed the person she adored. But in the end is forced to endure the headaches and remember.

 

Drug abuse is a vicious cycle and a common, self-destructive way to deal with traumatic events. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't in a position to seek help in the f*d up world she was stuck in and instead had to deal with it herself.

 

There was a whole lot more to this, but I really don't want to spoil everything and decided it was best to not dig too deep into the trauma of all the characters and specifically Shinonome as she deals with the largest baggage in the game imo. Juro was also a very interesting character going through an identity crisis, but I'll let others enjoy it for themselves.

 

[Sylvanticore]

Hello everyone,

 

Here is my game for the first part of the event! However this one I wasn't sure if it would be good for the event or not but I didn't want to go with the suggestions everyone was saying since it seemed like everyone was mentioning the same games over and over (Panda means no offense to those people) and I wanted to go with something a little different and newer, so here is my game for the event.

 

 

In Dredge you play as a lone captain who has set sail for a fishing village looking to hire a new fisherman, as you begin fishing you begin to find out that not everything is as it seems as aberrations can be found in the sea which soon brings the attention of the mysterious collector who asks you to help him find lost relics, along your journey you come across many people who require assistance, merchants, people lost at sea among others.

 

If you are reading this and are thinking "Okay Sylvanticore... what does any of this have to do with mental health? Boo this panda!", I would first say that you shouldn't boo pandas! we're cute and silly! but because also Dredge is still a newish game and I didn't want to spoil it. I would also like to say that down below I will be putting spoilers about the people you meet and notes I have written down during my time playing the game (because quite frankly my own mind isn't great at remembering things)

 

 

Spoiler

A main mechanic of the game is Panic, when you are out fishing during the night you will begin to fill the panic meter, this causes a few things to happen such as rocks appearing where there wasn’t any to begin with, causing into these imaginary rocks will cause damage to your boat, other things that will raise your panic meter is clouds of red miasma that will follow you if you go into them and will increase the panic meter, this causes a number of things to happen as it will cause random enemies to appear out of no were, such as a ghostly shark to crash into you, ravenous birds start to steal your fish and even cause a kraken to attack you out of no where. The only way to clear this panic is by shopping your boat at either a village or any of the many docks scattered around and take time to rest, because you won’t be able to do that out on the open sea.

 

During the early game people around the first town you sail to and from will make note on how you appear to them, if you have been out for a long time without sleep they will make note that your character does not appear of sound mind and should get some rest as soon as possible, in one instance with the mayor this is show by him talking to you but you're only able to make out a couple of words at a time.

 

I've made notes about characters in game which feel like they are suffering with their mental health or make references to subjects of the sorts.

 

First up is the Fishmonger you meet in the first town, while there isn't much for me to say about him however sometimes when you go to see him to sell the fish he might make a comment about the lousy weather almost making him not want to get out bed but has to because if he didn't then people would go hungry (Doesn't really say much but some people with mental health issues don't ever want to get out of bed even if the weather was nice...)

 

Next there is a man called Grieving Father, with a name like this you're easy to see where I may be going with this, when you talk to him he tells you that he lost his son some time ago, while explaining this to you it stated that he is trying his hardest to remain composted by visible tremors of grief rack his body and also mentioned that since then he barely leaves his house anymore. You do find an item of his son's not too far off on a wrecked ship and return something of his to the father, he becomes grateful you returned it but not much else is said since this was a side quest. (12 years on and I am still grieving... doesn't get easier some times)

 

During your travels you will come across a lone Researcher who is stationed all by herself, as you talk to her she mentions when she was studing that there were no other female students in that department or the years before which made her feel like an outsider, once she had graduated she positioned all by herself at an outpost in the middle of no where. Recently she states that she started to find many different letters all from her sister who passed away many years ago however she doesn't remembering packing them with her before coming to the outpost, she also brings up the fact that she started to find even more messages from her sister however they were talking about things that had taken part years after her death which she can't explain how they could have even happened. While speaking with a friend about this we both came to the conculsion that it's possible that she may be writing these letters to herself as some sort of coping mechanic but she always forgets she did it, her being alone for so long might have effected her mentally since there is no other real answer in game to where the letters came from.

A GOOD NOTE FOR THIS CHARACTER!

Searching the islands close by you find a lost dog, you game gives you two options as it allows you to keep the dog however you may lose it if you crash and your ship is damaged in an area that the dog is located, OR you can bring the dog over to the researcher who will be extremely happy to have some company, both her and the dog instantly bond.

 

and now, the big one...

 

You may recall I mentioned a character called The Collector, well there is a reason I called him mysterious and that was because the collector is actually something that your character made up, some time before the game started you were a married man who one day pulled up a book out of the ocean with your wife on board and after that day things started to go bad. In the game you find notes that were written by the wife first saying how happy she was that she getting married, some time after she begins to think she is feeling needy because her husband didn't take her on board the boat when he was working. The next few notes then go on with her explaining she has been having chills that seemed to fog up her brain which stopped her writing for so long and then it all happens, a crimson book was hauled up and since then her husband was lost to the void, years after she was missing her husband seeming gone away and not returned to her. The final note she had written was from before she threw herself to the sea

 

My Darling

I have found you at last

When you left I was scattered to the winds. But now.. I feel almost whole again

There is just one thing left to do

Throw me back

 

Here is a link to all the notes in game.

 

The Collector is a figment of his own imagination, being an avatar of his own repressed memories and guilt over J.J.'s death.

 

When you picked up the book (Book of the Deep) a thick mist had shrouded lands corrupting the lands and causing the fish to become aberrations as well causing terrors from the unknown to appear and corrupted many peoples minds, the relics you were finding actually belonged to J.J and could be used to bring her back, I bring this up because the game has two endings, the first is to take the book and relics to the place where J.J died, throw them into the sea along with the book to bring her back from the dead however you will damn the entire world.

 

The second ending involves a short questline, after talking to the Old Mayor who was shunned from the village and called crazy for yelling out Throw It Back! refering to the Book of the Deep and then to another NPC who is a light house keeper it is revealed that if you are ready to move on and fix what had been done she will point you into the right direction where once claiming the book back from the Collector you can throw it back into the ocean and return everything back to normal, unfortuantly you and your boat are eaten whole but the mist finally vanishes.

 

 

 

So there is my game for the event, I hope it is okay, I know I went on in places but I wanted to make sure some of it made sense to people.

 

Also this post took me over 2 and a half hours to write and edit as my anxiety is going through the roof today.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Sylvanticore

[gruffiiti]

 

The game I completed for the event was Children of Silentown.

 

I recently completed this game and while I didn’t specifically choose it as a game to play for this event, I feel it fits rather well for a few of the themes that permeate throughout.

 

Much of the game is set in Silentown, a small town deep in the middle of a forest. This forest is inhabited by monsters whose terrifying roars and howls are heard every night. The town has rules that no one is allowed out after dark and loud noises during the day are also banned. If these rules are broken, people seem to vanish, and everyone believes they have been taken by the monsters.

 

Fear is a big theme in this game as everyone in town knows someone who has gone missing and are afraid of been taken next. Some characters are so afraid you can sense the severe anxiety coming from them as well and many even have recurring nightmares.

 

You play as Lucy who is a 12yr old girl as she struggles to come to grips with what is happening in the town and her increasing frustration towards the adult’s secrecy around the disappearances. Her curiosity is constantly at odds with her fear, but can she muster the courage to get to the bottom of the mystery in Silentown?

 

The Tim Burton inspired art-style, an excellent soundtrack and compelling character development are all on point here. It is for the most part a traditional point and click game but has some puzzles and musical elements added, which I thought worked out rather well overall. If you enjoy point and click style games this one is worthy of a play.

 

 

 

 

[I tried to write this as spoiler-free as possible and being that writing is not my strong suit hopefully it makes sense overall and fills the requirement]

[MissShake]

Hey guys, I'm thinking of playing Tchia for my bonus game. There isn't really combat in it, is there?

[Breakingthegreen]

19 minutes ago, MissShake said:

Hey guys, I'm thinking of playing Tchia for my bonus game. There isn't really combat in it, is there?

There is combat, but there's a tonne of non-violent activities like playing music and wood carving.

[MissShake]

47 minutes ago, breakingthegreen said:

There is combat, but there's a tonne of non-violent activities like playing music and wood carving.

 

Damn, not sure if it'd work for the event then. Thanks for replying

[Breakingthegreen]

10 minutes ago, MissShake said:

 

Damn, not sure if it'd work for the event then. Thanks for replying

If Red Dead Redemption is allowed for the horseback riding, I'd assume this is too.

[MissShake]

Just now, breakingthegreen said:

If Red Dead Redemption is allowed for the horseback riding, I'd assume this is too.

 

Fair and valid lol!

[Beyondthegrave07]

30 minutes ago, MissShake said:

 

Damn, not sure if it'd work for the event then. Thanks for replying

Yeah, the nonviolence rule applies to something like DMC or GoW trilogy or something like that. Where there is no side content and the time you spend outside is pretty much just violence or killing.

 

I'm looking for activities that improve mental health done outside in the game. Horseback riding is definitely included in that.

[gruffiiti]

46 minutes ago, MissShake said:

 

Damn, not sure if it'd work for the event then. Thanks for replying

 

35 minutes ago, breakingthegreen said:

If Red Dead Redemption is allowed for the horseback riding, I'd assume this is too.

 

In Tchia you can spend a fair bit of time just sailing your raft around the various islands. Its pretty chill.

Edited May 9, 2023 by gruffiiti

[Beyondthegrave07]

I think the OP is caught up now. Let me know if I missed anyone. 

[BeesTrophies]

On 5/7/2023 at 4:06 PM, BeesTrophies said:

Sign me up ?

 

I've been a busy beaver and forgot to post my recommended games. 

 

Games I've played that I'd recommend based on the event:

• Detroit: Become Human
• Erica
• Gris
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice 
• In Sound Mind
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• Sea of Solitude
• The Last of Us Part I/II
• The Park
• What Remains of Edith Finch

(I know I was suppose to do 3-5 but just wanted to give a good list in case someone is browsing for ideas)

 

I also want to thank @Beyondthegrave07 for once again hosting this. I know he is a constant advocate for mental health and charity work in general. As someone who struggles with anxiety and bipolar its comforting to know there are people out there continuing the conversation and awareness surrounding mental health.

 

Can't wait to see what everyone plays! 

 

[Landertjuuh]

Would love to sign up!

 

I might only be able to complete one or two games this month because i'm quite busy but i'll try my best! 

The games i'm going to try and complete:

Claire: deals with family issues and other things

Oxenfree: played it a long time ago and saw it recommended on here

 

Recommendations:

1. What Remains of Edith Finch: escapism, depression,... Very beautiful game with lots of stories to be told. 

2. Life is Strange (Before the Storm): grief, depression, loneliness,..

3.  Alice: Madness Returns:  a girl escaping into a fantasy world from a traumatic experience

[pelagia14]

I've realized I may have been overly ambitious in picking Returnal to complete in less than a month (from when I signed up). A third of the month has gone by now and the more I think on it, the more I realize there is a strong chance I'll need a lot more than 50h to platinum Returnal. A recent life event impacting some of my family means I might need to help them out on short notice a few times this month, and so the uncertainty around how much gaming time I'll have coupled with this month flying by and Returnal being a roguelike is starting to give me mild anxiety. I've not played a roguelike before, and my experience with roguelites is Hades - PSNP guide says 50h, I'm currently over 80h and will probably reach 100h by the time I platinum it. ?

 

Thus, I've decided that I will pick either Spiritfarer or Chicory as my Mental Health game. Though Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is also very tempting, despite already being written about a lot in the past two years here. I just need to agonize over this decision for a few more days and then I'll be fine, lol.

 

For my bonus Outdoors game, I might do Lost Ember instead of Sable.

[Sylvanticore]

I was wondering about the bonus game, could taking photos count as an activity? If so I may get the PS4 version of Bugsnax done since you're a reporter and while the main focus of the game is capturing Bugsnax you also do a lot of photography, I guess if it does then you could in a sense using Spiderman as well since part of that game is taking Photos for a trophy (you photo all different kind of places all around New York)

Edited May 12, 2023 by Sylvanticore

[DrBloodmoney]

Hey y'all!

 

Almost forgot to post this one - finished my bonus game, with the very appropriate:

 

 

 

A game all about going outside - as the "Museum of Humans" is a very outdoors-affair, involving a friendly monster solving some puzzles, rafting, hiking, walking, and generally taking in the scenery...

...without a single enemy or antagonist to be found.... aside, of course, from that most evil of antagonists... STULTIFYINGLY OBTUSE PUZZLES! ??

 

...but seriously, not an ounce of violence, and a nice out-doors game, good for all the family!

[Starrk_01]

On 5/11/2023 at 9:48 PM, Sylvanticore said:

I was wondering about the bonus game, could taking photos count as an activity? If so I may get the PS4 version of Bugsnax done since you're a reporter and while the main focus of the game is capturing Bugsnax you also do a lot of photography, I guess if it does then you could in a sense using Spiderman as well since part of that game is taking Photos for a trophy (you photo all different kind of places all around New York)

I would say either is fine assuming the photography is outside.

[Kristen Danielle]

Mental health awareness isn't offensive, guys. If anything, we need more of it. Keep up the good work and count me in as a donor.

[Han_the_Dragon]

I finished Persona 4 Golden as my entry (and also as part of a personal challenge and for other events...) a bit ago, but I have been terrible at making updates to all events.. 

 

 

Anyway, I decided to use P4G for this since nearly all S.Links have some kind of "psychological challenge" linked to them.

 

I don't really feel like elaborating much, but let's consider grief and the different ways to face it, since several characters do struggle with it and deal with it in different ways, be it someone that loses his sister and then when in pain for that have all the people around (that don't know him) put uncalled pressure on him, be a man who lost his wife and keeps pursuing something forgetting those who stayed with him after that and that feel the same, a woman who lost his husband and in the process lost herself (metaphorically) too, or a woman that because of her line of work it's always "left behind" in her view of things. All those are different yet equal in the type of psychological struggle, and each of them finds a different way to face, deal and accept themselves to move forward.

 

I guess the main conclusion is that even people facing somewhat similar struggles, the reason for the struggle and the way to face them is quite varied, and all equally valid.

 

As for my bonus game, I end up going with Lost Sphear, since there's fishing in it... now let's see if I can finish it in time..

Edited May 15, 2023 by Han_the_Dragon