We aren't including games with strong narrative if the main way you interact with the game is through Puzzles, Role-Playing, Adventuring or the other common genres. We also include games that other sites might lump in with Adventures, although for us these game are more about what is said and revealed on the way that the journey itself. We are including games that would elsewhere be called Walking Simulators, although for us these are narratives told through exploration. Their monthly newsletter is a great way to stay up to date about all things narrative gaming. We've worked with The Narrative Outlook newsletter ( subscribe here) to create a list of games that focus first on the narrative genre. Whether you are exploring a living breathing world, making choices that impact the story or even just deciding how things are said, narrative is the thing you are working with. However, some games use narrative as the way you interact with the game. We often talk about video games not only being entertainment because they are a new way to tell stories. Playing these games with young people, and answering questions they might have along the way, can be a useful starting point for important conversations about grief." They can help show the player that they are not alone in what they are going through. "The games we have selected don't necessarily offer an ideal way to cope with death but tackle the topic of death openly and with a positive attitude. With these games, players may find valuable space in which to acknowledge grief as a completely normal reaction to bereavement."
"To help children cope with loss, it is important that they receive honest explanations about death, appropriate to their level of understanding. "We express grief in different ways depending on our age," they said.
By focusing on the intersection between gaming and mental health, they want to raise awareness of mental health challenges and reduce the stigma surrounding these issues. I've come up with some games that explore this topic, along with help and suggestions from Gaming The Mind ( Twitter), an organisation of UK-based mental health professionals who aim to promote positive mental health within the gaming community. But also, games can provide a helpful space in which to process, consider and understand death and loss. This means that some care is necessary if players are sensitive to losing significant people. Games include interactions, narratives and characters dealing with all aspects of life (and death). We might not always agree with the reasons or ethics, but we have a chance to revisit our values as we play. Playing them, we face the messiness of real-world justice and consider the power of withholding the truth. The games in this list challenge our neat conceptions of right and wrong. Whether it's not telling Ellie the truth about her unique response to the infection so she can have a "normal" life in The Last Of Us, lying about who's drugs they are to save a friend in Life Is Strange, deciding not to be honest with friends to save their feelings and avoid confrontation in Oxenfree or rearranging an old man's memory so he thinks he's made it to his dream in To The Moon, telling lies is sometimes the right thing to do. There are many games where you are challenged to make difficult decisions and some of those put you in situations without power, where the kindest thing to do is to lie. Of course, real life isn't neat and tidy like that.
Video games often place you in positions of power, saving the world, righting the wrongs and bringing justice.
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