this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2025
233 points (98.3% liked)

Games

39345 readers
978 users here now

Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.

Rules

1. Submissions have to be related to games

Video games, tabletop, or otherwise. Posts not related to games will be deleted.

This community is focused on games, of all kinds. Any news item or discussion should be related to gaming in some way.

2. No bigotry or harassment, be civil

No bigotry, hardline stance. Try not to get too heated when entering into a discussion or debate.

We are here to talk and discuss about one of our passions, not fight or be exposed to hate. Posts or responses that are hateful will be deleted to keep the atmosphere good. If repeatedly violated, not only will the comment be deleted but a ban will be handed out as well. We judge each case individually.

3. No excessive self-promotion

Try to keep it to 10% self-promotion / 90% other stuff in your post history.

This is to prevent people from posting for the sole purpose of promoting their own website or social media account.

4. Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts

This community is mostly for discussion and news. Remember to search for the thing you're submitting before posting to see if it's already been posted.

We want to keep the quality of posts high. Therefore, memes, funny videos, low-effort posts and reposts are not allowed. We prohibit giveaways because we cannot be sure that the person holding the giveaway will actually do what they promise.

5. Mark Spoilers and NSFW

Make sure to mark your stuff or it may be removed.

No one wants to be spoiled. Therefore, always mark spoilers. Similarly mark NSFW, in case anyone is browsing in a public space or at work.

6. No linking to piracy

Don't share it here, there are other places to find it. Discussion of piracy is fine.

We don't want us moderators or the admins of lemmy.world to get in trouble for linking to piracy. Therefore, any link to piracy will be removed. Discussion of it is of course allowed.

Authorized Regular Threads

Related communities

PM a mod to add your own

Video games

Generic

Help and suggestions

By platform

By type

By games

Language specific

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

This article is a bit broken on Firefox so I highly recommend playing this on anything Chromium, but it's really cool - they essentially turned the article into a webgame to showcase the mental health benefits of a cozy video game.

top 18 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world 50 points 4 months ago (2 children)

As a lifelong gamer and and an almost lifelong enjoyer of the despair of watching humanity defile our one and only home... duh.

Video games are weapons grade copium for smart people.

[–] SteveNashFan@lemmy.world 15 points 4 months ago

It's not just about dopamine/cope either. Knowing that people saw the state of the world they lived in, and came together to make good art anyway, is good for the soul. It reminds us that there is still good in the world worth fighting for.

It's easy to forget that when algorithms show us the worst and stupidest of humanity every day for peak engagement.

[–] simple@lemm.ee 12 points 4 months ago

Video games are weapons grade copium

Using this from now on.

I agree it's really obvious to anyone who plays games, but it's always nice to be backed up with proper research.

[–] impudentmortal@lemmy.world 32 points 4 months ago

Unless you play competitive online team games. Then your stress and anxiety go up even higher.

[–] tourist@lemmy.world 22 points 4 months ago

There's a lot of things that are like "duh", but it's good that someone writes it down so someone else later down the line will have a harder time saying "um acktually video games cause stress and anxiety, not the lower wages and hotter summers" and get a fat cheque from the Heritage Foundation.

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 19 points 4 months ago

Wait, fun can be an antidote to stress and anxiety?! Since when?

[–] Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca 15 points 4 months ago

I mean, isn't "winding down" and having fun a main reason a lot of people play video games to start with?

There's few things more satisfying than a well tossed stick of dynamite landing in a KKK meeting in RDR2, then cleaning up the leftovers with a shotgun.

[–] donuts@lemmy.world 10 points 4 months ago

That's so cool! On Firefox mobile I recommend putting it into desktop mode, but you're right, it's a bit broken on Firefox.

[–] rimjob_rainer@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Woah, I couldn't tell that my relaxing daily singleplayer gaming sessions in the evening are a stress relief without this research.

[–] OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It's still important to do the research though. That way you can show your boss when he pulls you in his office for gaming all morning.

And why you need to spend an extra 2 hours this afternoon to recover now.

[–] GooberEar@lemmy.wtf 7 points 4 months ago (5 children)

To be honest, most of the games I've played in the past 5+ years since I've started to get back into the hobby are stressful in various ways. That doesn't mean they aren't "quelling" stress and anxiety for me, just that when I'm playing them, they stress me out and give me anxiety.

Take for instance my current game du jour: Doom 2016. When battles are going, I'm for sure sweating and amped up, stressed, anxious, and what have you. It's anything but relaxing while playing. But still quite enjoyable.

So, perhaps the "quelling" comes after? A bit like a workout, where you're hyped up and exerting yourself, but after the fact you mellow out and relax?

[–] SparrowRanjitScaur@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Nothing calms me down like the adrenaline rush of cutting demons in half with a chainsaw in Doom Eternal

[–] CH3DD4R_G0BL1N@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 months ago

If you like the stress of combat, and as much as you say “quelling”, I must recommend Warhammer 40k Darktide. Since the last big content patch in ~October that pretty much finally brought it to 1.0, it has essentially been the roguelite, frenetic FPS I’ve been searching for. High skill ceiling, skill-based movement system, target prioritization is paramount, tons of play styles with builds and classes. Give it a shot. Do some ripping and tearing for the emperor.

[–] icecreamtaco@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Most FPSs give me the same feeling. Whenever I play one I keep a second relaxing game going as well because some days it's not the right call

[–] RobotZap10000@feddit.nl 2 points 4 months ago

If you are a fan of extremely fast-paced and frantic combat, you should try ULTRAKILL.

[–] Naz@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 months ago

I go into a meditative, Zen-like Trance playing the Doom titles.

For reference, I've been playing Doom since it came out in 1993, arguably, I've played it for more hours than possibly anyone alive on the Internet at the present moment. Maybe over a solid 128,000 hours between D1/D2/D3/D2016/D:Eternal.

I still play it, various MegaWADS featured in the CacoAwards, and whatnot, but I digress.

My feeling with this is, as they'd say:

"Your judgement for the sin of wrath is an eternity in Hell".

"Why are you smiling? It's supposed to be a punishment."

"No, adjudicator, I heard you perfectly. An eternity in paradise."

[–] DrSleepless@lemmy.world 0 points 4 months ago