Generally, when a video game is made, it’s trying to send a message. Usually.
Sometimes that message is as simple as “love the creatures of this fantastic world”, or “don’t trust hook-nosed redheads with their own ominous leitmotif or they’ll cast the world into darkness.” That last one might be a bit esoteric.
Fractured Minds is an immersive puzzle game about the struggles of living with (often misunderstood) mental health issues. Congrats Emily! ✨ pic.twitter.com/rJAcAxo72P
— BAFTA Games (@BAFTAGames) July 8, 2017
Fractured Minds, however, has a much different tale to tell. Designed and created by Emily Mitchell, it is her opus, a game exploring the struggles of living with mental health.
The game is by no means a long one, with a price to match. But as seen with other indie titles (and even some AAA ones), price doesn’t necessarily correlate to quality. And if the rave reviews of the game don’t showcase that, the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television) Young Designers Game Award Mitchell’s won certainly has.
Fractured Minds was created with the intent of aiding understanding and awareness of mental illness. Already a sensitive subject without video games being a factor, Fractured Minds explores the world of mental illness in a way that, at times, makes you forget you’re even playing a game, rather, watching scenes from your own life unfold. The game features six chapters, each dealing with a different aspect associated with mental health, such as isolation, depression, or anxiety, and showing how life can be perceived when dealing with such things.
Taking place in first-person, Fractured Minds has the player interact with their environment, solving challenges and puzzles inspired by real-life obstacles.
In addition to springboarding what’s sure to be a great career for Mitchell, Fractured Minds publisher Wired Productions, has offered support to Safe In Our World, a Game industry charity that funds mental health awareness. 80% of the proceeds will fund Mitchell’s career, as well as other initiatives from Safe In Our World.
Mitchell states her own debilitating anxiety as a factor in designing Fractured Minds, with her wanting to create a game that shared her experiences and provokes honest and open discussion about the topic.
With mental health issues becoming more and more prominent as the years go on, it’s quite a shock to see a game where such a topic is the main focus, let ahold handled in a way that isn’t for shock value and is actually tasteful.
Fractured Minds sees a Nintendo Switch release November 14th, 2019.
