Hello Legion Gamers,

The world is seeped in uncertainty, and we all may probably be mindful of taking care of ourselves. Games can benefit mental well-being. We even had a thread about that more than a year ago, but it's been a while since we had a thread about this. So, on the last day of 2024, I thought I would remedy that with this little post.

Or, more specifically, I wanted to let you know of two upcoming games and the difference in how they approach well-being. Indeed, taking care of oneself may be different for different people, and it is good to know that game developers look for more and diverse ways to make us gamers feel better.

I'll start with a game called Surfpunk:


This game is being made by Double Stallion, a studio know for Convergence metroidivania in the LoL universe ( @halonfire maybe you played that?), and it was a good thought short game. Their approach is simple and straightforward: give the gamers something bright that you can (and, by design, should) play with friends. A welcome break in a sunlit flooded jungle with friends and surfing.

And then there is Wanderstop, a game that decided on a different approach:


From Ivy Road, a studio made of veterans who made The Stanley Parable and Gone Home, this game takes a more complex but perhaps more relatable approach and deals with such issues as burnout, hopelessness and healing. Themes that may, perhaps, resonate with many people.

Wanderstop already has a release date on the 11th of March, all going well, while Surfpunk is yet to share their release plans. And both games have one of their goals to help people feel better, but they go about it in different, if not even somewhat opposite, ways. Maybe you'll be tempted to try them when they come up and see which approach works better for you.

@ZaidH there are two more possible indie games for the pile, and @j7schultz maybe they would be of interest? And @GoLLuM13 may also be after some wellness games after the movie about Gollum comes out, depending on how that does 😅 In any case, it is always good to have a game in the list that was designed and created with mental wellness in mind.
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