Depression Quest: An Interactive (non)fiction game where you play as someone suffering from depression

While the name itself seems like it trivializes the whole idea of depression, I can say that it doesn't. I think that this game is a much needed tool to help people understand this stigmatized and misunderstood condition that affects all people, rich, poor and healthy. There is no telling who it may affect, but it is important to try to understand what is happening to the person suffering from it.

This game, Depression Quest, was just recently released on steam, and is currently free for everyone to play and download on the steam client. It takes on the form of of someone living with depression in their daily lives. You are given a series of every day life events and you have to attempt to manage your illness, relationships, job, and possible treatment. It aims to show other people that suffer form depression that they are not alone in their feelings, and showing other people who may not truly understand what depression is, how much weight it burdens a person suffering from it with.

From the title itself, it is definitely not a happy game, and according to the first review by Randomosity, it really hits home for the people suffering from depression. I booted up the game, knowing this, and the atmosphere just set everything up for a deep and personal reading with the game. After each reading, we were presented with questions that all have some sort of consequence in regards to your player's health, along with choices that determine your mood. In short, it's really an interactive story that aims to immerse you in the subject matter itself.

You can see that indie developer Zoe Quinn really sent out a message that this subject is important to everyone, because anyone can be suffering from it whether we know it or not. Even Robin Williams, a famous comedian who had just recently passed away, suffered from this, and may have taken his own life due to this disease wasn't immune to the monster called depression. The amount of devotion to make this game simulate actual depression may have been painful to look back at, but it may have also provided some comfort that other people will know what they're going through.

Multiple reviews have warned people suffering from depression to not play this game, because it may take you back to a time you would never want to remember again, which is fine, because this game isn't for everyone, but even when I played this game, it really hit close to home. I think that the biggest thing in this game is that it's so human, you almost forget that it is a game.

Warning: There is a lot of text in this game, so be prepared for a lot of reading, and there is no save feature, so you're going to have to finish that game in a single seating. ALSO TRIGGER WARNING ALERT: To those who are suffering from depression, or previously suffered from it, this game depicts very dark moments that you may not want to read.

So, I want all of you to try out this game, in order to really understand what depression is.

Steam link to the game

**Just found out that the game is free and will stay free on steam. Donations to the game will also be forwarded to various agencies.