During the worst of my depression, all I could play was House Flipper. Cleaning virtual homes helped a bit when I didn’t have the energy to clean mine. Also, watching calm videos about nature on YouTube. Taught me that most of my mental issues are due to living in a city and unable to recharge by being in contact with Mother Nature (something about fractals vs the right angles of man-made objects)

The fact that cozy games are all the “rage” these days says a lot about our society and the mental state of our youth.

Though depression has lessened, I don’t have the appetite for big gaming experiences any more. My zen retreat these days is TrackMania and nothing comes close to it to the sense of peace, silence and flow I get while playing that game, even if I suck. Strongly recommended to any squirrel brained, over-stressed knowledge worker.

It's wild how something as simple as cleaning a virtual house or zoning out to nature videos can become lifelines when everything else feels too heavy