A study conducted in Germany revealed that playing the 3D video game “Super Mario Odyssey” resulted in a more significant reduction in depression symptoms compared to participants who used a cognitive training computer program (“CogPack”) or underwent standard treatments for these symptoms. The study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, also found that participants in the 3D video game group exhibited higher levels of training motivation.
I remember getting home from walking into town on a freezing day in Scotland when I was about ~14 with a brand new copy of Mario Galaxy that had just released. I was soaked because a car had splashed me driving by and it was near the winter solstice so the sun had been barely present for a few weeks.
I put the game into my Wii and had a strong sensation of my negative emotions washing away.
It gets pretty dreich here in the winter! What better way to counter it than the colours and fun of Mario Galaxy
Videogames keep me alive during winter here! Mario Wonder has been a godsend this year.
Maybe more controversially I find the old style Resident Evil games to be comfy winter games too. Something about the interconnected levels being a big puzzle box offsets the horror elements.
Switch.