It has been a long and painful road for the topic of mental health, and for those who suffer from it, to get to where we are now: a place where depression, anxiety, PTSD, grief, and more are openly being discussed. Laws are changing, the discussion is opening up, and art is getting better at reflecting life.

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Video games are a form of art that has, in recent years, gone from reflecting and discussing mental health in a harsh and damaging way to doing so in a positive light with incredible strength and creativity. It has even served as an avenue for helping those who suffer from a mental condition or illness. Even for those who don't — stories exist to increase one's level of empathy. If you wish to understand or get a clearer insight into the mental illnesses that others may suffer, you could do worse than try out some of these incredible video games.

Updated March 4, 2024, by Marco Vito Oddo: While discussing mental health has become less stigmatized over the years, there's still a lot of judgment and misinformation surrounding mental illness. That's why it's so important to find good depictions of characters who struggle with their mental health in different media. Fortunately, when it comes to video games, there have been more titles dedicated to deconstructing taboos regarding mental health while still offering an unforgettable gameplay experience. There are so many titles that we felt the need to add a few more to this list.

22 Martha Is Dead

The fabled young Lady in White as a marionette standing near the lake awaiting her lover at night, with candles and red curtains.

Martha Is Dead is another disturbing and complex horror game dealing with a character's response to trauma and brings attention to an important mental condition known as Dissociative Identity Disorder. DID is when someone creates one or more alternate personalities to avoid feeling the negative impact of unbearable trauma, as the main character does in this case.

Set amid WWII in Italy, you're led to believe that Giulia and Martha are twin sisters, and when the latter passes away, Giulia assumes Martha's identity. In actuality, Martha was horrifically abused at an early age by her addict mother in a Nazi household. And Giulia became an extension of herself in coping with the trauma she's experienced. Marionette puppet theater sequences are used throughout to convey this, as well as other hints.

21 Omori

A selfie-like close-up of Omori and the group of friends in the hazy imaginary purple world of the Head Space.

Omori is all about how a group of friends is individually affected by the profound loss of Mari, who is the titular protagonist's sister. You follow Omori through different worlds that were created as a result of trauma, some whimsical and others creepy, and each done in RPG Maker fashion. However, like with Martha Is Dead, not all is as it seems.

Omori is actually a kid named Sunny in the real world, and the White Space world is a means of escape through an alternate identity. Sunny is anxious, depressed, and consumed by eerie imagery and figures that represent his subconscious and repressed memories, trying to creep back into his reality and get him to confront his inner demons.

20 Actual Sunlight

Evan sitting alone at the bus stop as he waits for the bus to come and take him home, and being prompted to put on his headphones while he waits.

Actual Sunlight is not as obscure as some of these other titles about addressing mental health. The game's themes revolving around suicide, anxiety, and depression couldn't be more overt in hitting the nail on the head. In a combination of 2D illustrations, an RPG Maker world design, and reading text-based screens, this game is pure emotional linear storytelling of a man struggling with living.

It's a raw portrayal of Evan Winters, a Canadian citizen struggling with his weight, waking up to the same dull corporate job, losing interest in many of the hobbies that once gave him joy, dealing with social anxiety, and contemplating suicide. During key parts of the story, you get fed pieces of Evan's troubled past displayed as text on-screen with a typewriter effect.

19 Depression Quest

A screenshot of the narrative game text with the choices highlighted in blue color below the paragraphs and other visuals.

Much like Actual Sunlight, Depression Quest is aimed at taking you through the realistic journey of a character struggling with severe depression in their day-to-day life. However, the gameplay is strictly a branching narrative text adventure with some visuals and is available to play for free online, which is a remarkable aspect.

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This game does exceptionally well in providing the context behind your current personal and professional life, including the current state of all your relationships with social circles and your significant other. It also includes text saying that you're not getting help and that your depression is leading you to be more withdrawn. Certain choices will, therefore, be deliberately crossed out as a result.

18 Aether

The main character in Aether on the octopus creature standing on top of a black and white planet that's smiling.

This unique flash game was designed by Edmund McMillen of Super Meat Boy fame, though the serene experience is a big departure from that grueling affair.

In this atmospheric ride, you control a lonely boy along with an octopus-esque creature that he encounters. He swings, soars, and strolls across clouds and asteroids using the monster's elongated tongue. He travels to various monochrome planets, which he must restore to glorious color by solving puzzles. The game plays with feelings of isolation, worry, and anxiety — acting as a visual representation of these emotions in the boy's head.

17 Lost Words: Beyond The Page

The pages of the character's journal appearing on-screen in the game world in Lost Words: Beyond The Page.

Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be tough, and even more so for the delicate mind of a child. This game creatively deals with the crucial coping mechanism of a grief-stricken little girl who yearns to escape to her fantasy world.

This inventive platformer shifts between her imaginative land of Estoria and her literal diary pages. The latter is full of sketches and phrases that document her life events and convey her whirlwind of emotions as she deals with the prospect of losing her bedridden grandmother. Beyond the Page is a majestic ride rife with clever puzzles, vibrant locales, and tear-jerking emotional moments.

16 We Happy Few

A police officer wearing a gas mask charging at a character with a baton in a street with parked cars in We Happy Few.
We Happy Few

Platform(s)
PS4 , Xbox One , PC
Developer(s)
Compulsion Games
Genre(s)
Adventure , Stealth

Take a survival horror with hostile foes and fuse it with a drug-fueled dystopia, a la Brave New World, and We Happy Few might be the result. This one takes a unique approach, not just from a gameplay standpoint but with regard to mental health. It hones in on mental instability and delirium through the warped filter of mind-altering drugs.

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The kicker? These drugs are actually mandated by the new oppressive government of England, which forces its citizens to take the feel-good opiates to blind them to the dark, gritty truth of a war-torn land. While the actual gameplay is pretty rough around the edges, the atmosphere and plot are delightfully twisted and compelling enough to keep you fighting through this 22-hour trip.

15 Change: A Homeless Survival Experience

Change: A Homeless Survival Experience Gameplay walking through street saying a miss family blurb.

While many survival romps thrive on thrilling gamers with loads of action or ample gore, this emotional journey from Delve Interactive shines by doing the opposite. In fact, it's the gritty realism of this homeless simulator that makes it so captivating and intense.

Just like in real life, you are given one chance in this roguelike to emerge from the depths of homelessness and earn a degree of success and stability. And you'll do this by begging for cash, sifting through trash, searching for a job, and generally doing anything possible to scrape by and literally survive. What's key here is that both your physical and mental state must be tended to. Change is both a somber and educational journey, all in one measure.

14 Life Is Strange: Before The Storm

Chloe and Rachel standing closely next to each other in the junk yard and staring off into the distance in deep thought.

Fans may recall this title from the 2015 graphic adventure featuring a unique heroine that can rewind time. Unfortunately for her friend Chloe, however, she is absent of this convenient tool — and deprived of much else to boot. Instead, this troubled lead is equipped with little more than her own wits and an artistic sensibility. The latter is conveyed through her frequent bouts of marking the walls with graffiti.

This prequel features a choose-your-own narrative that hones in on a rebellious protagonist. She is bogged down by depression, fueled by her brushes with abandonment, loss, isolation, and betrayal. Unlike its quasi-sci-fi predecessor, Before the Storm stresses a more emotional core for its depth and intrigue. Combined with some clever puzzles and solid writing, this makes for a truly gripping tale.

13 Gris

A screenshot showing Gris' stylized graphics of female character in woodland setting.
GRIS

Platform(s)
Switch , PC
Developer(s)
Nomada Studio
Genre(s)
Platformer , Adventure , Indie Games , Puzzle

Gris, meaning gray in Spanish, is about a girl going through a personal loss. She journeys through the five well-known stages of grief as she attempts to find her voice (literally). The world of Gris is drop-dead gorgeous and is comprised of stages and moments that represent the grief that our protagonist is moving through.

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As she journeys, she is pursued by a black, amorphous, inky creature that takes several monstrous forms throughout the game, a metaphor for grief and depression’s ability to appear as anyone or anything, unexpectedly and at any moment. She must survive this thing, lest it devours her and drowns us in inky blackness. This metaphor is very on-the-nose, but the way it is presented through the game’s art is staggering – and that staggering effect is what makes the game so perfect.

12 Child Of Light

The protagonist fighting monsters on stone platforms in Child of Light near a blue orb.
Child of Light

Platform(s)
PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , Xbox 360 , Wii U , Nintendo Switch , PC
Developer(s)
Ubisoft Montreal
Genre(s)
Platformer , RPG

In this darling little 2D indie RPG, Aurora, a princess, falls into a cold sleep after the death of her mother and the re-marriage of her father. In this state – an allegory for depression and grief – she arrives in a dreamlike fairy-tale world where she must learn, love, grow, and battle grief. The game is a great exercise using storybook style, mood, tone, and atmosphere to deliver a unique experience that blends real-life fairy tales with video game mechanics.

The world is pastel bright and charming, and its animation is gorgeous, but its tone is dark, and its metaphors convey deep adult themes. This is the kind of game that can be enjoyed and appreciated by all ages. Yet, it particularly holds a message for kids and grown-ups alike on the power of depression and grief and how people can cope with it.

11 Celeste

Celeste dashing through sidescrolling platform-filled cavern with various blue and green flags and a sunset background.
Celeste

Platform(s)
PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch , PC
Genre
Platformer
Developer
Maddy Makes Games, Extremely OK Games, Ltd.

Celeste is about a trans girl called Madeline. Why is she trying to climb a mountain (which bears the name of the game's title)? Because Madeline suffers from anxiety and has reached a crisis point in her young adult life where she doesn’t know what path she should be taking. She seeks a sense of challenge and accomplishment and so has come to conquer Celeste.

As the game progresses, you're introduced to Madeline’s self-doubt and anxiety in the form of a sardonic, cruel version of herself who mocks her and knocks her confidence. Her anxiety manifests as panic attacks, and there are moments when you must help her reach an inner calm by balancing an on-screen feather. Many fans have pointed to this memorable moment — among others — as resonating with them.

10 Night In The Woods

Mae running down a street in the bustling town with angled ground and houses in  Night in the Woods.
Night In The Woods

Platform(s)
Nintendo Switch , PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One
Genre(s)
Adventure
Developer
Infinite Fall

Mae, 20 years old, drops out of college and returns to her quaint, dull hometown. Her loss of place in the world is clear from the beginning, as she feels dislocated, lost, and wandering through life without purpose. You attempt to figure her out as she eludes us, even though we are in control of her. She avoids questions, and her parents welcome her with open arms without making much fuss at first. As the story progresses and things get weirder, you learn just how deep Mae’s dissociation goes, internally and externally.

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It’s a complicated story in which nothing much seems to be happening, much like the life of a person dealing with depression or anxiety. These people can be reclusive, avoidant, disillusioned, and somber. They need help but don’t reach out. Mae is all of these things. Night in the Woods is a smart game at its core and has much to teach about the many forms depression and anxiety can take.

9 The Last Of Us / The Last Of Us 2

Ellie pointing a gun at someone in The Last of Us Part 2
The Last of Us

Platform(s)
PS3 , PS4 , PS5 , PC
Developer(s)
Naughty Dog
Genre(s)
Action , Adventure

The Last Of Us is a survival game about zombies based on real-life spores that burrow into the brains of ants and take control of their motor functions. It’s also an incredibly poignant and intimate story of grief. In the game’s opening prologue, protagonist Joel loses his teenage daughter in an event that ruins the modern world.

He has existed since then as a survivor, and the game makes it very clear through his tone, dialogue, and body language that he is surviving in the same way that any instinct-driven animal does. When Ellie, a girl who reminds him of his daughter, enters his life and gives him a renewed purpose, his grief begins to subside. The darkness that's been growing inside him for all these years has turned him into a complex character far from altruistic — leading to a truly memorable ending. This works to point out that grief cannot simply be fixed, but it can be treated.

8 Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

BJ shooting a heavy assault rifle at a Nazi enemy in a courthouse level in Wolfenstein 2.

This may seem an odd choice at first, but Wolfenstein 2, the game about killing Nazis in an alternate timeline where the Allies lost World War II and are fighting to take back the US and Europe, has much to say about PTSD. In the early moments of the game, you're given some powerful background information on protagonist BJ Blazkowicz: growing up as a half-Jewish boy to an abusive father and a poor immigrant mother, BJ suffered through a childhood filled with fear and domestic abuse.

He's thus been traumatized, which has long fueled him and spurred him to become a soldier in the war. The relationship between him, his mother, and his father is explored more as the game goes on, and the intensity with which the story is told is commendable. It's honest and brutal, and when a campy, gory video game about killing Nazis puts out such a powerful message about toxic masculinity, that is a wonderful thing.

7 Limbo

The boy standing at cliff with boxes with birds dangling from trees as part of the many puzzles seen in Limbo.
Limbo

Platform(s)
PS4 , PS3 , Xbox One , Xbox 360 , PS Vita , Switch , PC , Android , iOS
Developer(s)
Playdead
Genre(s)
Platformer

A sparse, quiet world with no music and no color. A lonely child who is too small and too fragile to thrive in this landscape. A journey across a bleak and dangerous landscape to reach someone he loves. Limbo lays on its themes thick, demonstrating loss and grief with a kind of attack on your senses of sight and sound. The black-and-white world is cruel and violent, and you're alone without a voice or anyone to help.

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This is grief and depression given form. This is how it feels to lose a loved one or to fall into depression and not know how to climb back out, with only one direction to move in. Limbo gives you a jump button, a grab button, and the ability to move right. With only these limited tools, the lead must find his way out of his depression and into the light, all the while stumbling and making lethal mistakes. It’s not subtle, but it certainly resonates.

6 Persona 5

The cover art for Persona 5, showing the main cast on a black and red background
Persona 5

Platform(s)
PS3 , PS4 , PS5
Developer(s)
P-Studio
Genre(s)
RPG , Social Simulation

Most will agree this one doesn’t do everything right. A game about a group of vigilantes who, rather than try to redeem the game’s gallery of villains or address the corrupt capitalist system/toxic masculinity/hierarchical class system that lies at the heart of these villains’ problems, instead opt to literally go into their hearts and change their personalities so to stop committing crimes. It’s not the greatest metaphor.

What is great, however, is the game’s approach to mental illness. There are several characters that could be mentioned, but the focus will be on Futaba: struggling with the belief that she caused the death of her mother, Futaba has lived as an agoraphobic, anxiety-riddled recluse. With the help of the Phantom Thieves, she is able to come to terms with her mother’s death and the truth of how it happened and thus begins to heal and lead a healthier life. Her arc is an absolute pleasure to watch unfold.

5

4 Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Senua readies her sword against a charging demon amid a pitch dark atmosphere.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Platform(s)
PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Switch , PC
Developer(s)
Ninja Theory
Genre(s)
Action , Adventure

If there is one game that goes above and beyond in the representation of mental health – it’s Hellblade. It was designed to be fully true to the experiences and feelings of those who suffer from mental health issues, and this dedication has paid off in spades.

Senua is a girl living in the world of Norse Mythology. She is attempting to reach Helheim and save the soul of her deceased partner. From the game’s outset, she is plagued by voices of doubt, disdain, and threat (an experience enhanced ten-fold with headphones). She fights against demons and creatures that we might frequently doubt are even real.

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She must search for signs and symbols hidden in the trees and the environment – more examples of a paranoid mind searching for meaning when there is none. This game does much to represent a mind being torn asunder by paranoid schizophrenia, bombarded by grief, thoughts of death, and depression.

3 Wandersong

The Bard singing in Wandersong
Wandersong

Platform(s)
Switch , PC
Developer(s)
Greg Lobanov
Genre(s)
2D , Platformer , Adventure , Indie Games , Rhythm

The world is about to end, and a hero chosen by the Goddess must battle terrifying creatures with a magic sword in their hand. However, you are not this hero. In fact, you are just a bard who wants nothing more than to sing your worries away and connect with different people. Wandersong's unique concept already gives you plenty of reason to put it on your wishlist. Still, the game's depiction of mental illness makes it shine the brightest.

While journeying to distant lands, Wandersong forces you to reflect on the classic beats of the Hero's Journey and how ignoring your anger issues is destructive to the world around you. It also deals with low self-esteem and how the feeling you are not important might lead to anxiety and depression. Finally, the feel-good message of the game gives you some hope about the real world, as even a simple Bard can spread happiness wherever they go.