Gone are the days when mental illness was a stigma. Modern society doesn’t place shame on people living with a mental illness. Instead, they are looking for methods to promote healthy psychological growth.
Video games are one such domain, helping people achieve their well-being and stay positive on the worst of days. A study from Oxford University suggests that video games are good for mental health.
The Research Director at the Oxford Internet Institute and the lead study author stated that their findings show video games are not necessarily bad for your health. Other psychological factors have a significant effect on a person’s well-being.
Games are not merely a leisure activity anymore. Psychologists are recommending particular games to their patients that will help them overcome depression and other negative feelings.
To support this notion, the University of Michigan came up with another evidence. Their study discovered that adults who play a mentally challenging brain game every day for several weeks could dramatically improve their memory.
If you are willing to explore more on the subject and wondering what games could improve your mental state, you are on the right page. Below, we have listed five games that can make a striking difference in the mental health of the players:
-
Gris
Gris stands for “grey” in Spanish. It revolves around a girl who is going through personal loss and a severe emotional crisis. She treads through five stages of grief as she strives to find her voice. The game has a stellar animation, and it shows moments of helplessness that the protagonist has to face.
As she moves forth, she comes across a black amorphous inky entity that symbolizes grief and depression. Everyone facing depression or grief has darkness engulfing them, leaving no way to wiggle out of it.
The survival mode put on by our protagonist inspires the player to keep a brave face amidst the staggering life crisis. They learn how to fight and not allow depression to devour or drown them. Nomada Studio, the developer of this game, has brought forth unique gameplay with roughly three hours altogether. It stands out from other skill-based video games.
-
Lumosity
Lumosity is one of the well-recognized mental fitness programs. It offers an interactive way to learn how your brain works and how to strengthen the brain muscles. So far, it has been used by more than 100 million people worldwide.
If you sign up for a free account, you can play three cognitive training games each day. Or you can also opt for a subscription to play more games. Either way, it allows you to keep track of your performance and improvement stages.
The app is filled with mental fitness and brain training games, activities, and tests. These are backed by scientific research to demonstrate how players can nurture their flexibility, attention, speed, and problem-solving.
-
Night in the Woods
Night in the Woods comprises a story that revolves around Mae – a cartoon cat girl is a college drop-out who moves back to her hometown of Possum Springs. It is a quiet game, interwoven with small scenes where friends hang out together, hurting each other, and then reconciling the differences to move forward.
The characters of this game and the cute dialogues they speak make a perfect combo. Each anthropomorphized animal has more depth, heart, and decency than most games demonstrate in their human characters.
It is a complicated story where nothing substantial happens, except it shows how each character struggles with anxiety and bolds those negative feelings. The player eventually learns how to deal with setbacks in real life and combat depression or anxiety.
-
Crosswords with Friends
Crosswords is a puzzle game offering a complete setup for puzzle freaks. It is a classic brain trainer that reaches to verbal development and many other components of knowledge. There are different variations of this game, allowing players to enjoy online as well as offline.
The name implies it to be a multi-player game, but you can also choose for a single-player game. The most useful feature of this game is the assistant who hints you whether you are following the right approach or wrong. The faster you get done with the puzzle, the more stars you get.
These puzzles are in association with People Magazine. They are not challenging, but they help the player focus their minds elsewhere and give their brains a much-needed reboot. It has a tremendous backlog of additional challenges for people who want to binge on these crosswords.
Of course, if you do get stuck on a clue, it’s a good idea to find crossword solutions with a tool like Crossword Solver. This is a good way to build your skills and better understand the logic behind more complex clues, as this can often be an obstacle for new players.
-
BlackJack
BlackJack by Unlimited Gamez Mo is yet another incredible game aimed at building the players’ brain function. It is a strategy-based game where the player must figure out a technique to beat their opponent’s move.
It is a classic card game where you must score 21 using your cards. Apart from the entertainment value, this game also hones brain skills like mathematical skills, memory capacity, mental agility, and speed. At some levels, this game could be quite complex as it will require the player to remember odds, card suits, and the action taken from the opponents’ side.
You can learn how to stay mentally sharp by engaging in the tactics learned from the BlackJack. Moreover, this game also helps you earn an extra edge in problem-solving or dealing with a midlife crisis.
For some players, this game may be quite dull as it does not offer exciting animations. However, it is far more fruitful for the brain than the games listed above because it strengthens the players’ strategic construct.
Final Word
A growing body of evidence reveals a solid link between brain training and playing video games. People who are fed up with monotony can give their brains a recharge by playing challenging video games. On top of everything, it serves as a distraction from the suppressive elements in the surroundings.
We hope you will give a shot to the games listed above. Let us know which one helped you the most!
Author Bio
Audrey Throne has an ongoing affair with words that capture readers’ attention. Her passion for writing dates back to her pre-blogging days. She loves to share her thoughts related to business, technology, health, and fashion.
Find her on Twitter: @audrey_throne
Interesting Related Article: “It Is Time to Take Mental Health Seriously“