The Proper Portrayal of Mental Illness in Videogames

Writer: Abida Kajoshaj

Edit by Sebastian Escobar

   People who are mentally ill face discrimination and prejudice for their sufferings, and this has been reinforced through the media countless times. From people with chronic depression to being viewed as merely lazy and uncaring, to dissociative identity disorder to being villainized and dangerous, or even spreading misinformation and romanticization of obsessive-compulsive disorder, those who deal with these disorders end up even more misunderstood, hurt, and isolated by others. However, in recent years, with more awareness of the importance of mental health, certain media, most notably video games, have begun to take action and give a more accurate portrayal of those with mental illness. 

     Video games are a unique form of art, being able to learn about the characters not by watching them like TV or a movie, but by directly playing as them, like a simulator into another world and life. By being a direct influence on a game’s story, players can connect and empathize with the characters, which is especially beneficial if the protagonists face mental struggles or suffering. In the last decade, a surge of games, from platformers to rhythm games, were created with characters who accurately represent their mental disorders and personal experiences. 

     Celeste is a platformer game where you play as Madeline, who is determined to climb the famous Mount Celeste, which is noted to be a very difficult climb. Her motivation for such a journey is to commit herself to a task and finish it, as Madeline is described to give up often, which goes along with a depressive experience. In the mountain, she faces a reflection of herself, referred to as Badeline, who challenges Madeline both physically and mentally, chasing and attacking her in levels and trying to discourage her in her journey.  Early on, she meets Theo who is also climbing Mount Celeste, and in later levels, Madeline opens up to him about her depression. Some time later, on a rickety gondola, Madeline has a panic attack and Theo stays with her and guides her with grounding techniques, helping to manage her hyperventilation and stress. The game itself is a very difficult platformer, and its difficulty is meant to be reflected in Madeline’s difficulty in overcoming depression, more specifically its root in self-hate and self-discouragement. Along with relying on others who understand and care for her, Madeline learns to be more self-reflective rather than self-deprecating. Madeline learns to accept all parts of herself, even Badeline, the two trying to cooperate and understand each other rather than antagonizing each other.  

    Omori is a role-playing game featuring Sunny, a teenager coping with the loss of his older sister Mari and trying to reconcile with his old friends, all of whom were a close-knit friend group. Sunny is noted to have several mental illnesses like chronic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with dissociative symptoms, and phobias (specifically acrophobia, arachnophobia, thalassophobia, and agoraphobia). All of his phobias affect him, but his agoraphobia (fear/ feeling of being trapped) affects him most, leading Sunny to be unable to leave his own home. With both agoraphobia and PTSD, his triggers can set him off easily, being reminded of his haunting loss, and Sunny can only escape that intense stress through escapism using imagination and dissociation. Sunny can choose to worsen his mental state by remaining home and ignoring the real world, indulging himself in his mind’s eye, or he can answer the door to his old friend Kel and begin to travel around town with him. The game has a few routes, but the good ending takes place if the player guides Sunny to reconcile with his old friends, trying to understand and see how they also changed and struggled with the loss of Mari. By connecting with his old friend group once again, Sunny motivates himself to move forward and finally process the loss of his sister. 

     Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage, more commonly known as Project Sekai, is a rhythm game featuring stories of many three-dimensional characters, one of which being Mafuyu Asahina. Mafuyu is very academically successful and popular, always listening to her mother and helping out others in any way she can. But soon it is revealed that she is a people pleaser, masking everyday and having no true self because of always doing what others expect of her, fearing disappointing everyone. She works extremely hard, even doing things she does not want to do or care for, showing that depression is not always just physical/ mental exhaustion like how it is often depicted in other media. The commonly viewed manifestation of depression, being exhaustion to the point of staying home, is something that can be experienced, but this constant depiction keeps up the notion that only people who are agoraphobic have severe depression. It is shown that Mafuyu is still very active and successful, yet has extremely poor mental health, still feeling helpless and experiencing severe chronic depression, even to the point of being suicidal. But Mafuyu’s story does bring hope for recovery little by little, healing with her friend’s company and care for her and engaging in a real interest of hers (music), rather than keeping up a mask and only working on academics. Not only does Project Sekai accurately depict a masked form of depression, but shows the healing process to be long-term rather than something that can be healed instantly. By having a realistic character like Mafuyu, players feel understood and can begin to heal and hope for their own future. 

     Pocket Mirror (and its remaster, Pocket Mirror GoldenerTraum) explores dissociative identity disorder (D.I.D.) through its protagonist, Goldia. From enduring an intensely stressful family situation when she was young, Goldia developed a system consisting of three alters to protect her, each having a specific role to follow. Goldia herself is very polite but submissive, never truly standing up for herself, but her alters are very different in traits. Fleta is meant to relieve Goldia of her loneliness, giving her company but also acting immature and spoiled towards others, meanwhile Harpae is meant to serve as a protector to Goldia, acting as a caregiver as well as being very proper and well-mannered. Her third alter, Lisette, is a scapegoat, taking blame for things out of her control so Goldia would not feel punished. Though Fleta is mean and Lisette takes part in self-harm, none of the three alters were ever actually violent to others, very opposite to what most D.I.D characters display in other media where they are just depicted as dangerous, unpredictable, and out-of-control. In following the good route, Goldia accepts her alters and learns to love them rather than just using them as an escapism. Often it is assumed that those with an alter system would heal if they combined with their alters, becoming a single individual, but Pocket Mirror shows that in order to heal, a traumatic past should be confronted and that alters need to be shown acceptance and love, rather than viewing them as less than or viewing a system to be maladaptive. The game’s story shows that alters are not evil and are actually just trying to protect the original self, and that they deserve to be treated like real people as well, also deserving of love and acceptance. 

The common theme in these games and more is that self-reflection and healthy connections can help us overcome the challenges mental illness can bring, and that despite these characters struggling with mental illness, the focus of the games is to heal from their traumas and pains rather than being defined or succumbing to them. No matter if it is a role-playing game or platformer, video games utilize their connection with the player to gain a greater connection to the characters and their mindsets, teaching us to be more empathetic of those who mentally suffer. By learning empathy through these simulators, we can learn to understand and care for the real people who struggle like the characters we learn to love.