We all love a good Humble Bundle, don’t we?
A while ago now whilst browsing a bundle that had just come out I noticed the charity “Child’s Play”, as I had noticed many times before, on the list of beneficiaries of the proceeds gained by the bundle. It gave you a short snippet of what the charity does, but for some reason this time I was compelled to go and have a look at what it actually meant to “improve the lives of children in hospitals and healthcare facilities around the world”.
I ended up on their website, and as someone who is interested in psychology and therapy in general a particular part of their homepage intrigued me. A “Therapeutic Game Guide”, with a download link, aimed to present “Game recommendations for staff and parents based on factors such as pain or mood.”

“What the hell are you waffling about?” I hear you holler. Well, I may be talking pure unrelated bullsh*t right now but this is loosely going somewhere.

The guide presents symptoms, and then game recommendations for said symptoms.
Abzu is listed under both “Anxiety / Hyperactivity” which works by “Relieving discomfort and stress and promoting a peaceful mood” and “Cognitive Impairment” by “Offering low-impact entertainment for medicated or cognitively inhibited patients.”

Before stumbling onto this I never really considered that video games could be genuinely therapeutic, it’s something which is quite obvious when you think about it, and games like this are often tagged “relaxing” and that kind of thing but I found that to think that there are lists of recommended games for real therapy for children was actually quite interesting.

Abzu is a beautiful, calming, and soul-cleansing game which introduced me to a genre of games which prove that video games can be beneficial in a certain way. We play games for good stories, to simulate, to learn, for sport, to compete, to strategize. There are many outlets gaming is popular for, and good for, but right now especially, one of these outlets that I think is particularly beneficial is just to escape.
Escapism can help us recharge.

This sounds a bit sad, but for instance: if you are living in a city during lockdown, in a sh*tty area, where there is nowhere particularly nice to go for your government issued 30 minute walk, you may grow tired of being trapped inside a concrete jungle, in a little apartment, with the looming fears at the back of your head as to when things will go back to normal. I know people in the likes of London who were in this exact situation.

I strongly believe that nature is healing. If you’re so wrapped up in life, completely tangled with our societal construct, our higher life-form way of existing, completely detached from nature, how could you remain in that state of mind whilst coming face to face with some of nature’s most effortlessly flawless, grand, and incredibly unique things?
Ask yourself, would you be eye-balling the aurora borealis whilst worrying about your tax return? I doubt it. Would you be standing atop Mount Everest thinking about some petty work drama? No.
Sure, those are pretty extreme examples, I imagine there are a lot of us which may never get to actually see examples of that extent, but beauty can be found in nature anywhere. A sunset on a hill, the smell of freshly cut grass on a country path, the fractured sun beams cast down within a forest. All of these things let your mind rest and appreciate for a moment. Nature reminds us there are bigger and better things out there, and this genre of game helps simulate this mind-set. We all struggle in our own ways, but I do feel like games like this will help, even if just for the short while it takes to complete.

Abzu explores the beauty of the ocean, and of the creatures that live in it.
Everything in this game is soothing. The graphics are bright, but easy on the eyes, which can create very mesmerizing scenes. The environments vary in colour palette which keeps you engrossed in the game, and the use of colour in some parts help to portray very different moods. This game has a very powerful way of using colour/light to portray the human interference with nature as something which taints the beauty you strive off of for most of the game.
It’s fun to explore and interact with the wildlife, in a way that I personally didn’t really expect to be a part of this game. The music is very well done, and definitely contributes a lot to creating an atmosphere which further extends the subduing nature of the game.

When it comes to the exploration aspect of this game, there aren’t really any restraints to this game, the game is linear, but you are free to explore each environment at your own pace. There are a few puzzles, but nothing that I think you could consider a set-back in any way.

It is a very casual game, and although there is no big story here, what you could consider the story to be is maybe more so a general moral than a story. What is nice about this game is that it tries to educate you gently, and guide you into provoking thought for yourself around the relationship humans have with marine life, and the oceans ecosystem.

I personally really enjoyed this game, and loved the concept of a game set entirely underwater. New environments are always fun, and I think this will definitely be the kind of game that I will come back to. I can’t see any reason as to why I wouldn’t want to re-experience the good vibe this game was carefully shaped into having.
I will definitely be on the look-out for games similar to this genre as well. Exploration games with a focus on the visuals and set in nature are games I have a new appreciation for. Journey came out not long ago, so I am sure that is where I will be heading next in terms of this genre.

For more reviews of games with psychological, philosophical or thought-provoking themes, check out my curator page Psychology, Philosophy & Thought, where we review games that explore the mind, get you thinking or make you question.

We all love a good Humble Bundle, don’t we? A while ago now whilst browsing a bundle that had just come out I noticed the charity “Child’s Play”, as I had noticed many times before, on the list of beneficiaries of the proceeds gained by the bundle. It gave you a short snippet of what the charity does, but for some reason this time I was compelled to go and have a look at what it actually meant to “improve the lives of children in hospitals and healthcare facilities around the world”. I ended up on their website, and as someone who is interested in psychology and therapy in general a particular part of their homepage intrigued me. A “Therapeutic Game Guide”, with a download link, aimed to present “Game recommendations for staff and parents based on factors such as pain or mood.” “What the hell are you waffling about?” I hear you holler. Well, I may be talking pure unrelated bullsh*t right now but this is loosely going somewhere. The guide presents symptoms, and then game recommendations for said symptoms. Abzu is listed under both “Anxiety / Hyperactivity” which works by “Relieving discomfort and stress and promoting a peaceful mood” and “Cognitive Impairment” by “Offering low-impact entertainment for medicated or cognitively inhibited patients.” Before stumbling onto this I never really considered that video games could be genuinely therapeutic, it’s something which is quite obvious when you think about it, and games like this are often tagged “relaxing” and that kind of thing but I found that to think that there are lists of recommended games for real therapy for children was actually quite interesting. Abzu is a beautiful, calming, and soul-cleansing game which introduced me to a genre of games which prove that video games can be beneficial in a certain way. We play games for good stories, to simulate, to learn, for sport, to compete, to strategize. There are many outlets gaming is popular for, and good for, but right now especially, one of these outlets that I think is particularly beneficial is just to escape. Escapism can help us recharge. This sounds a bit sad, but for instance: if you are living in a city during lockdown, in a sh*tty area, where there is nowhere particularly nice to go for your government issued 30 minute walk, you may grow tired of being trapped inside a concrete jungle, in a little apartment, with the looming fears at the back of your head as to when things will go back to normal. I know people in the likes of London who were in this exact situation. I strongly believe that nature is healing. If you’re so wrapped up in life, completely tangled with our societal construct, our higher life-form way of existing, completely detached from nature, how could you remain in that state of mind whilst coming face to face with some of nature’s most effortlessly flawless, grand, and incredibly unique things? Ask yourself, would you be eye-balling the aurora borealis whilst worrying about your tax return? I doubt it. Would you be standing atop Mount Everest thinking about some petty work drama? No. Sure, those are pretty extreme examples, I imagine there are a lot of us which may never get to actually see examples of that extent, but beauty can be found in nature anywhere. A sunset on a hill, the smell of freshly cut grass on a country path, the fractured sun beams cast down within a forest. All of these things let your mind rest and appreciate for a moment. Nature reminds us there are bigger and better things out there, and this genre of game helps simulate this mind-set. We all struggle in our own ways, but I do feel like games like this will help, even if just for the short while it takes to complete. Abzu explores the beauty of the ocean, and of the creatures that live in it. Everything in this game is soothing. The graphics are bright, but easy on the eyes, which can create very mesmerizing scenes. The environments vary in colour palette which keeps you engrossed in the game, and the use of colour in some parts help to portray very different moods. [spoiler] This game has a very powerful way of using colour/light to portray the human interference with nature as something which taints the beauty you strive off of for most of the game.[/spoiler] It’s fun to explore and interact with the wildlife, in a way that I personally didn’t really expect to be a part of this game. The music is very well done, and definitely contributes a lot to creating an atmosphere which further extends the subduing nature of the game. When it comes to the exploration aspect of this game, there aren’t really any restraints to this game, the game is linear, but you are free to explore each environment at your own pace. There are a few puzzles, but nothing that I think you could consider a set-back in any way. It is a very casual game, and although there is no big story here, what you could consider the story to be is maybe more so a general moral than a story. What is nice about this game is that it tries to educate you gently, and guide you into provoking thought for yourself around the relationship humans have with marine life, and the oceans ecosystem. I personally really enjoyed this game, and loved the concept of a game set entirely underwater. New environments are always fun, and I think this will definitely be the kind of game that I will come back to. I can’t see any reason as to why I wouldn’t want to re-experience the good vibe this game was carefully shaped into having. I will definitely be on the look-out for games similar to this genre as well. Exploration games with a focus on the visuals and set in nature are games I have a new appreciation for. Journey came out not long ago, so I am sure that is where I will be heading next in terms of this genre. [quote]For more reviews of games with psychological, philosophical or thought-provoking themes, check out my curator page [url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38795895/] Psychology, Philosophy & Thought, [/url] where we review games that explore the mind, get you thinking or make you question. [/quote]