Video games have come a long way from the days of simple arcade shooters and Tetris in terms of complexity and nuance. Sure, we still shoot the bad guys and do our best to collect all the treasures, but sometimes developers take the time first to tell us why—and perhaps even question whether it’s the right thing to do.
Games today take on all sorts of difficult themes, albeit with varying degrees of success. Among these are video games about mental illness, of which more and more are made every year. Not all of them are good, and not all of them handle the issue with appropriate care, but masterful titles like Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and Gris have helped to tip the scales in favor of more positive experiences at last.
Disclaimer: I am not a licensed mental health professional. I am just your friendly neighborhood writer who happens to write about mental health (from a personal perspective) from time to time.
Good Video Games About Mental Illness: The Necessities
First, let’s talk about what I mean by a “good” video game about mental illness. My standards are high here—I’m not just looking for well-made games that happen to discuss mental health, and I won’t settle for games whose messages are good but poorly delivered.
I want both—games that have something worthwhile to say and provide a quality gaming experience.
But what makes the difference? I’ve noticed a few elements that I think are not only ideal but necessary to any game that hopes to fall under this umbrella:
- Empathy—not merely sympathy
- Accuracy—within reason
- Dimensionality—characters with mental illness should not be solely defined by their illness
It’s a difficult balance to strike, as this excellent video essay points out, but it’s an absolutely worthwhile target to aim for.
How Empathy Changes a Game’s Mental Health Narrative
Outlast is a well-made horror game, but it’s not a stellar example of a video game about mental illness. Why? In the world of the game, mental illness is unapologetically equated with criminal violence.
It’s that classic outdated setup of the murderous maniacs loose in the loony bin—spooky, yes, but also highly stigmatized. (It’s also grossly inaccurate—nonviolent cases vastly outnumber the violent ones in real life… not that anyone thought Outlast was trying to tell a particularly realistic story.)
Our psychotic heroine of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is violent, too—and yet, it’s one of the best video games about mental illness ever made. The difference is that, in Senua, it is the monsters living in Senua’s head that are terrifying, while in Outlast, it’s the patients of Mount Massive Asylum themselves who are meant to frighten us, in part because they are “insane.”
Why Accurate Depictions of Mental Health in Games Matters
I don’t think the person (or people) making a game necessarily have to struggle with a particular mental illness in order to make a game about it. However, I do think it’s imperative that they put in the research necessary to truly understand it to the best of their abilities—and represent it as honestly as possible.
A good video game about mental illness honors the real struggles that people with that diagnosis face—not only for the sake of those who live with it every day, but also for the education of those who don’t. Accurate representation can be cathartic in and of itself, but games also open the door for players to actively work through certain issues in a relatively safe setting. And of course, “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes” is never easier than in the interactive, immersive world of video gaming.
Gris is an excellent example of a game that accurately depicts real issues without bludgeoning us with its accuracy. The game never explicitly tells us in words what our protagonist is coping with, but subtle environmental changes and gameplay clues hint at things like grief and depression. At the beginning of the game, when Gris is at her lowest point, she is—quite literally—powerless, and her listless movements reflect a sense of utter despair. As she begins to heal, however, she begins to move more freely and joyfully, regaining more of her powers with each level the player completes.
Multidimensional Characters in Psychological Video Games
Real-life people should never be solely defined by things that happen to them, such as mental illness. Likewise, if a game features a character struggling with mental illness, their illness should never be the only thing, or even necessarily the most important thing, we come to know about them.
Senua isn’t merely a psychotic Pict—she is a warrior, someone who loved deeply and suffered a cruel loss, someone who possesses a dogged determination and incredible inner strength.
Gris isn’t just someone who’s depressed—the world of the game tells us that she is creative, talented, with a beautiful singing voice she hopes to regain at the end of her journey.
Even side characters, like Kate Marsh in Life is Strange, deserve to be defined by more than a medical label. Kate’s most memorable moment may be her suicide attempt on the roof, but we also learn that she is shy, religious, kind, and a talented violinist.
These characters aren’t merely walking diagnoses—they are people. That’s what makes them empathetic, that’s what makes the experiences depicted accurate, and most importantly, that’s what makes us care—about them, and by extension, about the issues they are dealing with.
Why We Need Games About Mental Health
Good video games about mental illness (like the ones on this list) can potentially serve a number of purposes:
- Help those of us struggling with issues of our own to work through them in a safe, easily accessible environment
- Help us better understand struggles we do not face personally, which can make us better family members, friends, caretakers, advocates, and just better human beings in general
- Help us to question our realities in important ways and imagine the possibility of positive change
- Offer catharsis for situations in ways we may not be able to pursue in real life
- Raise awareness of underrepresented issues and support for the people who live with them
Video games—certain ones, anyway—may be among the most powerful healing tools we have at our disposal. Video games alone are no replacement for actual therapy or medical services, of course, and not all video games are created equal. But good video games about mental health make the world a better place, and I’m grateful to live in a world with so many of these to choose from.
What’s your favorite video game about mental health? Are there any issues you wish would get more, or better, representation in the gaming industry? Let me know in the comments!
Kim Berkley is a fantasy author, narrative designer, and the creator of chiaroscuro, an interactive fantasy novella about art and mental health set in modern-day Rome. Play it for free today!
