Next time someone claims staying in and playing video games is bad for you, direct them to this study that suggests open-world games might actually improve your mental health.
Researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Graz in Austria surveyed over 600 postgraduate students about their experiences with open-world games and the emotional impact of these sessions. Their findings? Games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and even Red Dead Redemption and Minecraft can significantly enhance cognitive escapism (offering a mental break from everyday life), promote relaxation, and improve overall mental well-being.
“Open-world refers to games that provide a large, freely explorable environment, where players can move and interact with the game world with minimal restrictions,” writes the team in their paper, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. “They offer large, detailed worlds to explore. Specifically, the games may feature an expansive world filled with diverse landscapes, towns, and hidden secrets.”
Unlike fast-paced action games, open-world titles encourage players to slow down. Famed video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto shared that his main inspiration when creating the Zelda games series was to capture the feeling of being a young child exploring outdoors, just as he did in the countryside of his hometown throughout his childhood. Activities like exploring, crafting, or simply enjoying the scenery make these games relaxing in contrast to competitive games structured round set objectives, such as Fortnite or Call of Duty.
The freedom to play at your own pace helps reduce stress and boost mental well-being. Previous studies have also shown that casual gaming can be a powerful way to unwind and relax. Open-world games take that to the next level. Players interviewed and surveyed for the study reported feeling “inner peace,” the ability to “forget my daily worries,” and an ability to “switch off” from the chaos of life. One even described open-world gaming as “my form of meditation.”
Such games may also offer a much-needed antidote to the negative effects of other digital habits, like endlessly scrolling through social media—a behavior often linked to worsening mental health. With rising rates of stress, anxiety, and sadness among young people today, these games could end up playing a key role in reducing stress and enhancing mental health, with potential therapeutic applications in the future.
Login to add comment
Other posts in this group
Maybe I should begin this article by arguing that nothing spices up a mundane meeting like a creative, beautiful, or hilarious background for your Zoom calls. But the reality is that most of us ju
The move to electric vehicles is the auto industry’s biggest transformation since cars replaced horses early last century. Just about every traditional automaker is going through its own reckoning
Ever since DeepSeek burst onto the scene last month, there’s been no short
Nowadays, when you hear someone talk about faxing, there’s a decent chance it’s the punchline to a groan-inducing dad joke. (Not that I would ever be guilty of such silliness, of course.
Amazon has agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle charges that the e-commerce company subsidized its labor costs by taking tips its 
It’s game time for Meta’s wearables: The tech giant has bought two ad spots for its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses during Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcast, including one that has Chris Hemsworth and Chri
