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Psychologists define resilience as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress — such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. As much as resilience involves "bouncing back" from these difficult experiences, it can also involve profound personal growth.

Games, by design, present players with adversity and much of the joy of gaming comes from taking on and overcoming unnecessary obstacles. Whether you’re saving the universe from an alien invasion or tending crops in your animal community, playing games mimics the process of resilience.

This list of games that can help foster various forms of psychological resilience is compiled with the expert help of Take This. They aim to decrease the stigma, and increase the support for, mental health in the game enthusiast community and inside the game industry. They encourage a game community that welcomes and supports people experiencing mental health challenges, and that recognizes the humanity and mental health of game creators.

The Portal series tell a narrative that you are going to fail. You’re told to give up, but if you ignore this barrage of discouragement you can use it as a way to strengthen your resolve and complete the puzzles even if you have failed twenty times in the process. The Stanley Parable is all about trying again. You can try and re-try your decision making, reaching a variety of different endings.

Dark Souls is a hallmark for a punishing challenge that require resilience. You journey through elaborate lands to adventure, explore, and take heed lest they encounter a battle with a boss or enemy. Celeste is the story of Madeline and the enemies she overcomes while climbing Celeste Mountain. The game specifically calls out that Madeline has anxiety, and the challenges she faces in the environment reflect her own internal struggles and triumphs. Cuphead challenges players to battle relentless bosses in combat-heavy play. Cartoonish and playful, it balances challenging players to grow in skill and offers plenty of entertaining environments and aesthetics to keep you playing.

In Kingdom Hearts you meet many characters that need help - and many boss battles feel almost insurmountable. With help from friends like Donald and Goofy, the player character Sora overcomes the darkness to save his friends and bring hope back to the world. Death Squared is a co-op puzzle game where one player’s mistake makes everyone else lose. You learn cooperative resilience in trying again admits humorous judgments from the unseen “hosts” of the game.

In Animal Crossing you get help from the animal neighbours. You learn to lean on this social and environmental resilience to persevere at building social connections with computer villagers and friends online. Stardew Valley’s farming is about growing and maintaining a homestead. Interweaving the busy work are relationships with the other villagers, many of whom are social models for resilience in their storylines.
 
This list includes 310 games from the last 29 years, with 3,612 likes. They come from a range of different genres and play-styles and are all good games if you want to build resilience.

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fighting-adventure game and a sequel to 2019's Jedi: Fallen Order.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fighting-adventure game and a sequel to 2019's Jedi: Fallen Order. As in that game, you explore and fight enemies with your lightsaber and force powers, but here you also have a blaster and new lightsaber fighting styles.

Minecraft Legends is an action-strategy game where you lead troops into battle to defend the Minecraft over-world.

Minecraft Legends is an action-strategy game where you lead troops into battle to defend the Minecraft over-world. You unite the characters of Minecraft to defend their land by constructing forts, fighting enemies with swords and bows and ordering your troops to tactical locations.

Metroid Dread, the latest Metroid game, is a running, jumping, exploring and fighting game where you progress through levels, fight challenging bosses and uncover secrets.

Metroid Dread, the latest Metroid game, is a running, jumping, exploring and fighting game where you progress through levels, fight challenging bosses and uncover secrets. It returns the franchise to the 2D side-scrolling style of platforming, and features challenging puzzles that require both skill and perseverance to beat.

Earthblade is a running, jumping and fighting game from the creators of Celeste and Towerfall where you explore a ruined earth and discover its hidden past.

Earthblade is a running, jumping and fighting game from the creators of Celeste and Towerfall where you explore a ruined earth and discover its hidden past. You gymnastically traverse through the levels, fighting monsters with fast-paced attacks, and uncovering secrets and hidden areas as you go.

Diablo IV, the latest game in the Diablo series, is an action role-playing game where you fight against an ancient evil.

Diablo IV, the latest game in the Diablo series, is an action role-playing game where you fight against an ancient evil. You explore dungeons and ruins, fight off enemies, grow in strength, and collect different items to power up your character.

Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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