LogFAQs > #884830112

i think the baseline for portrayal of mental illness in games, at least in the "mainstream space", has already been understood to be very bad with, as you said, stuff like sanity meters from eternal darkness to amnesia to fahrenheit, and just straight-up cartoonish violence in the legion of bad fmv games in the 90's that make out mental illness as something to be just feared and sometimes even "cured". maybe hellblade's not the most nuanced take on mental illness, but at least it elevates the depiction to, as you say, pre-101 levels of understanding instead of the outright negative portrayals that's been rife in the industry.

maybe that there seems to be a lot of people who are only just now realizing how hard and how unavoidable it is to deal with mental illness through this game makes it deserving of some praise. it's kind of an aha moment every time i see someone who is playing the game say how annoying the voices are and that they'd wish they'd shut up! and not to get too real right now, but... i've avoided confronting stuff with my immediate family that touches on something akin to this, and i just learned some things literally today after i visited them. having just beat hellblade yesterday and its story still sticking with me, it's moved me in its own small way to do something more about what my family's going through.

agreed that we should always be demanding more complex takes on sensitive subject matters with video games, that stories tackling them don't stop at "raising awareness". i think hellblade moves a little past that point with where its story goes, but yes, games have to do more. but with how barren the space is past the indie scene in regards to handling these topics, the baby steps hellblade takes is still important in pushing the conversation forward, especially for ignorant babies like me!

i understand if you're at the point where all this is just basic info for you, then yeah, you don't need to play hellblade.

(oh and just to be clear, i'm not a total ignoramus that took mental health issues lightly before hellblade showed me the way i'm just a dude with my own issues, avoiding confrontation to the detriment of my relationships sometimes)
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all you need