And then, how is your exit from the pandemic going?
If you’re like many of us, including me, it’s more difficult than you expected.
I don’t want to let myself down on my moods, especially since it’s not my habit on this site, but between the end of a long relationship and rusty social skills in a reopened world (but not really) , I spent this summer taking care of my Mental Health.
And oddly enough, video games have helped me in this process. Yes, it is possible to use video games to make avoidance, a way to deaden the pain and to cut yourself off from the world.
But video games represent a medium that is maturing. Two games in particular, through their sensitive writing, have helped me in this quest for better mental health.
And interestingly, these two games are poles apart: on the one hand, Boyfriend Dungeon, a little indie game with a very nested concept, and on the other, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, an AAA mega-production especially created to impress visually thanks to the capacities of the new consoles.
Boyfriend Dungeon: The Terrifying World of Seduction
Boyfriend Dungeon was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I came across this game from the Montreal studio Kitfox Games in every event I’ve attended since writing about video games, from small local events to (fire) E3.
For those who are not familiar with the title, this is an amazing mix of dungeon-crawler and of dating sim. You disembark at Verona Beach, where several people (and a cat) have the ability to transform into bladed weapons. You must seduce these people-weapons, unlocking new skills for your exploration of the dungeons.
I knew enough about gambling to know that it would have sensitivities about mental health and LGBTQIA2S + issues. But I didn’t expect Boyfriend Dungeon to join me so much, especially since the game targets straight women before gay and queer people, and I’m a cisgender, straight man.
But it seems he landed at the right time.
The game of seduction
It must be the emotion, but I’m going to tell you about things that I don’t tell my mother about.
After seven years of dating the same person, I found myself single in the midst of the pandemic. A little scary new world, on the one hand because I’m shy and not necessarily a born flirt, but also because the last time I was single, Tinder didn’t exist.
A paradigm shift, therefore.
So I identified with the main character of Boyfriend Dungeon (I’m going to use the pronoun “he” because I chose to play a man, but you choose your character’s gender identity). He has just arrived at Verona Beach, hosted by his cousin who intends to introduce him to new people.
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Indeed, your character does not have much experience of dating, and he doesn’t really know how to do it. But quickly, the meetings follow one another, and you gain confidence.
Unlike many games of this genre, where your character is mysteriously irresistible, not everything is straightforward.
Sometimes you go on a date, and the current just does not flow. And you realize it’s no worse than that.
Warning: the following paragraph contains a small spoiler, highlight if you don’t mind: There is even has a character you hang out with for a while, only to realize that your relationship won’t work out, and you decide to stay friends.
And each of the people you hang out with has their own anxieties, issues, and you realize that everyone is vulnerable when the time comes to go. date, not just you.
These are obviously things I already knew, but it feels good to experience them in a safe environment, at a time when I am re-facing celibacy.
But that’s not the only way Boyfriend Dungeon made me feel good.
Face your fears
The famous dungeons that you explore with your weapons are in fact a physical representation of your fears.
I will not reveal to you what are the fears thus illustrated, question of leaving you the pleasure of discovering the game for yourself, but the fact remains that once again, the game made me think: do I share the same fears as my character? What are the fears that I dare not admit to myself?
We are a long way from the games of my childhood, which asked me above all to choose between keeping Yoshi or reaching this otherwise inaccessible platform (even if I love Mario, let’s understand each other!)
Boyfriend Dungeon made me look inside myself, in a way that would have made my psychologist very proud.
But the difference is that a shrink costs $ 100 an hour, while Boyfriend Dungeon is included with Game Pass.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, anxious little beasts
Where I didn’t expect to find a reflection on mental health, on the other hand, is in Ratchet and Clank.
Sixth main episode of this flagship series, Ratchet and Clank is apparently a platform game for children. And it is not wrong. It feels like you’re watching a Pixar movie playing this magnificent title.
But the authors added an amazing psychological dimension to their characters. Everyone has to deal with some form of anxiety or psychological issues.
In it, Clank prepares a surprise for his best friend: he repairs the Dimensionator, a rifle that has the power to breach dimensions. The goal? Allow Ratchet to find the Lombax, his people.
However, Ratchet is afraid of falling short. He may be a hero overwhelmed by accomplishments, but he has the impostor syndrome. He is afraid of disappointing.
Clank, meanwhile, envies Ratchet his sense of action. Clank is brilliant. But this intelligence comes at the cost of greater anxiety; he always imagines the worst, rather than just acting like his best friend. Over the course of his adventure, he learns to trust himself more, but also to accept his anxiety as a part of himself.
Rivet, a Lombax from another dimension, has difficulty trusting and letting go of the anger that inhabits her.
She eventually meets Kit, a guilt-ridden little robot who’s afraid of being a bad person deep inside.
I would like to tell you which character I identified with the most, but the truth is that the journey of each of them inspired me. Having struggled with anxiety disorders for many years, I felt every single thing this quartet of protagonists experienced (except that instead of being afraid of being rejected by the Lombaxes, I was afraid of being rejected by new colleagues, or new groups of friends).
In addition, the writing of Ratchet and Clank is brilliant. The messages are there, but they are not presented in a subtle way; we don’t get in the way of morals through your throat.
In a universe where anthropomorphic animals are friends with robots endowed with a conscience, the trials that our protagonists face are realistic and we identify with them easily.
More mature games
It’s reassuring to see more and more games daring to address these issues that concern us all, including mental health. We can see that video games are an art that is maturing, and it’s beautiful to see.
We have long asked ourselves the question: can video games be works of art? Well, if art is defined by the capacity of a work to move us and make us think about the human condition, it would seem that they pass the test with flying colors.
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