Nintendo

Study finds playing Super Mario Odyssey cuts depression symptoms by nearly 50%



Study finds playing Super Mario Odyssey cuts depression symptoms by nearly 50%

by LinkWink

35 Comments

  1. I’d argue the same can be said with most of Nintendo’s lineup of games.

    I do love Odyssey though, I need to grab the physical copy one of these days, I beat it using a friend’s copy.

  2. artmudala

    Kirby Forgotten Land and Yoshi’s Wooly World do it for me.

  3. WEEGEMAN

    The music alone is cheerful enough to pull me out of a funk

  4. JasonRBNY

    That’s not what this study finds. It cuts symptoms by 50% *compared to another form of treatment*

  5. kazoodac

    The swell of emotion I felt as I entered fossil falls for the first time and the music started playing is something I hope everyone can experience.

  6. EarthPuma120

    Jump Up superstar song is partly the reason it cheers up players

  7. witwebolte41

    It’s pretty well documented that doing happy/positive/productive things is helpful to reduce symptoms of depression.

  8. Boomshockalocka007

    Super Mario Odyssey saved my marriage and Im not even joking!

  9. 2mock2turtle

    Wasn’t there a study that found the same thing but with Animal Crossing?

    It’s almost like playing games you enjoy is good for your mental health.

  10. Archergarw

    Kirby and the forgotten land had this effect on me, it’s just so happy and delightful

  11. MiyamotoKnows

    Playing through Super Mario Wonder felt like I had therapy and a 2 week vacation on an island somewhere.

  12. AgentSkidMarks

    The New Donk City Festival alone had me riding high for a few days.

  13. the_loz3r

    I can say from first hand experience that it is true. In late 2019 I was going through one of the worst periods of my life and so many things were changing and knew things in my life would never be the same again and I basically was a hollow shell for the rest of 2019 to mid 2020

    But one of the last things I bought before my life went to shit was SMO and that game got through that depression, mainly because it was the only thing I had to entertain me during that time. But I would just come home from a school and immediately start playing and boom 8 hours would pass in what seemed to me like 10 minutes because the game was so damn fun. So thank you Nintendo for saving my life.

  14. TheBeatlesDude420

    The study also shows that getting all the blue coins in Mario sunshine will make you 50% more likely to cut.

  15. IAmThePonch

    Yeah it’s that Nintendo charm on full display. It’s difficult to feel mad while playing it because of how creative and fun to look at it is

  16. tartacus

    The study must have omitted the stupid fucking jump rope challenge

  17. AlternativeQuality2

    Fuck, I gotta take another spin at Odyssey at some point. Only took about three days to beat with help from online guides, but still fun AF.

    The CHARM of this game, man!

  18. jackapotamus89

    Super Mario Galaxy helped out my panic attacks/anxiety/depression back in 2007. The music is so calming, and floating around in low gravity just makes you feel happy.

  19. Not_The_Elf

    honestly I get it and I’d love to see the differences in symptoms between Odyssey and something competitive too

  20. fffan9391

    Mario games are definitely my comfort games.

  21. ---Blix---

    “What did the doctor give you?”

    “They gave me a copy of Mario Odyssey.”

  22. Mysterions

    Interesting… I have to say, that game made me feel weirdly anxious for whatever reason. But maybe I should give it another go, because I have been extremely depressed lately.

  23. The run-up to Darker Side, when every character in the game is standing on the sidelines cheering you on and saying nice things, damn near brought tears of joy to eyes.

  24. So what you’re saying is it’ll bring me back to baseline after some Dark Souls?

  25. Reddit-DungeonMaster

    Study finds masturbation improves depression symptoms.

  26. Lost-Web-7944

    Just so we’re all clear, the sample size is 46 people. Not all of whom are even diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

    So please children, do not take this entertainment article, about an entertainment article, about an academic article as gospel.

    Results are promising, but no definitive conclusions the way this comment section seems to think, could ever be made by this study.

  27. felipeshaman

    /r/tomorrow is going to have a field day with this one

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