I have had major depression for the last 6 or so years, and let me tell you, it’s a ride. Some days I’m so mentally and emotionally exhausted I might as well be a vegetable, and it’s times like that I turn to my ‘depression games’. These are games I find comforting, that are easily engrossing and engaging without being particularly challenging. They’re games that I can return to whenever I’m feeling low and know I’m not going to get frustrated or bored or upset. They’re cozy, they’re safe. It’s taken me a while to work out exactly what makes a game a good ‘depression game’ for me, so while I’m sure you might have different criteria for what makes a game comforting to you, here’s a list of games I’ve found helpful, and maybe they’ll give you some ideas too.
Stranded in Space: How ‘Lifeline’ Stole My Heart
Before now, the only app games I’ve played have been Angry Birds and Temple Run, so I’m not exactly well-versed in the art of playing games on my phone. That being said, I might just be sold on the idea. Lifeline is an app for iOS and Android (price ranging from totally free to around $1), and it is one of the most engaging and satisfying games I’ve played in a long time. Developed by 3 Minute Games, Lifeline is a genre-bending sci-fi RPG survival horror story mashup … thing. And it’s really, really good.
Pick Your Poison: Character Creation & The Gender Binary
Any game that allows me to customize eye color, hairstyle, and nose size is the game for me. There’s a reason why I lost literally years of my life playing The Sims 2, and it’s the same reason why I have ten different Inquisitors but only one completed game of Dragon Age: Inquisition. I just love making a wide range of characters, all complete with painstakingly imagined backstories and carefully styled cheekbones. But every time I open up a game with character creation, be it Skyrim or Fallout 3, I’m faced with a horrible choice: man or woman? What I pick here will affect clothing, hairstyles, voice, body shape, and pronouns. That is an awful lot to have riding on this question considering that, for me, there is no right answer.
5 Great Games With Local Co-Op on Next-Gen
Nothing quite beats the giddy hilarity that is playing games with someone right next to you. You laugh, you cry, you want to strangle them—it’s great. The last generation of consoles gave us a really fab spread of couch co-op games, from the riotous Castle Crashers to the infuriating Cloudberry Kingdom. But now, two years after the release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, it’s time for the old favorites to move over: a new generation of local multiplayer games is finally here.
2016: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Well, this is it folks: it’s officially 2017. So hey, congrats! You made it through 2016, a year pretty much universally agreed to have been garbage. But how did it do for games? We’ve seen some pretty big releases in the last 12 months, from the long-awaited Final Fantasy XV, to the latest in eSports with Overwatch, to the game that became a joke only days after release – No Man’s Sky, of course. So taken all together, what did 2016 look like for gaming?
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