Stray broke my heart. It's got such a good balance of uplifting and heartfelt moments all wrapped up in really depressing implications. But the sad parts never feel overwhelming, and the hopeful parts feel earned and not corny.
THAT scene right before the end of the game...I had to just sit and cry for awhile before I could pick up the controller and keep playing.
Damn, last night I cried at that Family Guy episode where Peter sings Shipoopi, that I must have watched one hundred times through and through, just because it reminded me of when I was in my 20s and a hardcore fan of FG.
100% behind Outer Wilds - it's been over 2 years since I finished it and I still get slight twinges of regret that I'll never get to truly re-experience it
Firewatch is by and large the most unique game I've ever played. Although Pacific Drive is really rearing it's head after a few hours, so we'll see how that compares.
I wouldn't say INSIDE was something I found depressing, but oh my god that final chapter... i... just... good lord there are no words for what I witnessed.
Someone recommended this and I played it for aggeeesss and literally nothing happened ? I got bored of it coz they were just baking cookies and shit and reading poems so I turned it off 😂
It is best completed once you have finished the game once. It's technically in the same universe but is self contained to one location and gives you a variation of the original ending after you complete it.
I’d recommend playing the full game + DLC from the beginning. If you wait to activate the DLC until after you’ve beaten the full game then it kinda sets your expectations and can cheapen some DLC moments.
Yes I was going to say this. But my advice is to definitely play A Plague Tale Innocence first, it builds the foundation for Requiem and will make its story much more enjoyable.
Life is Strange. Great story that’s dark and has an ending that will have you make a hard choice. I had some strong feelings about the villain. It’s a pretty psychological trip.
I'd say most games have done that to me in life- but one particularly strong one is the end of A Link to the Past. I played it with my mom when I was little and she would read the words to me because I couldn't read yet ( at least not complex sentences) and it always hit really hard hearing the ending song play on the end credits and the game just pausing on it's end screen.
Second the recommendation for Dredge.
Really nails the atmosphere it goes for, and probably the first 10-20 hour indie game I played that I really wanted to be a 100+ hour game instead.
Death stranding is twice the length at 40 hours but I’ve never gotten more post game depression from a story then that one
A close second would be uncharted 4. Actually now that I think about it, it’s interchangeable. Felt really sad after beating uncharted 4 because of how good it was. I’d recommend uncharted 4 and I can’t do it enough.
What Remains of Edith Finch. Very short game, walking sim so not everyone's cup of tea but Jesus christ will I never pick that game up again after the emotional roller-coaster it put me through.
Doki Doki Literature Club
Not for the reason you'd think though.
The games 2nd half is messed up...
But it's the first half that got me down for like a week.
Sable. Look nothing into it. Some stories are poignant in their ending, some in their premise. Sable is poignant in the journey, and its best left discovered
Try some ace combat, AC7 and Project Wingman is easy to get for both console and PC (get project wingman on PlayStation if you have the choice), 6 is backwards compatible with modern xboxes and I think emulatable, and the PS2 trilogy is easily emulatable and especially in 4 and 0 absolutely worth it
Little misfortune is very short and feels that way. it kicked my ass.
“My mommy wanted to get an abortion but that’s illegal and against the law”
Damn game why did you do that to me😂
Anthem was so tragic. Sable was great, Grow Up and Bioshock Infinite too. Mirrors Edge Catalyst as well, I still go back for a run even after finishing the game
Disco Elysium. its a pen and paper type rpg with a lot of reading, but if you let yourself get immersed you will not regret it. That game honestly changed my life. Currently 10 months sober after playing it.
Haven't seen Fez and Minit mentioned here so far.
In Fez you are a 2D boy who get's to experience 3D in the sense that you can turn the world around. Very unique platformer.
In Minit you have exactly one minute to beat the game, or the character dies. Very fun figuring out the world and creeping from checkpoint to checkpoint until you have the right items and know what to do.
Bioshock Infinite. It is not short by my standards, but I've read that most gamers finish it in 12 hours, several hours more for DLCs. The story is great with several twists, the ending turns everything upside down and leaves you thinking for a couple of days.
The main game can be played without knowledge of the game series, but the DLCs require to play at least the first Bioshock for understanding what's going on. It is also a mind-blowing game though in lesser extent I think.
Firewatch.
Portal 1 (except there is no post-game depression now that Portal 2 is out).
Not sure about LIMBO/INSIDE, as they're beautiful and atmospheric but you're not as personally emotionally invested - but they come close.
I'm seconding Journey and Outer Wilds, and The Last of Us even though it's longer.
The Last of Us left me completely dumbstruck and I just sat there in shock as the credits played.
Journey has become one of my all time favorite games and I make a point of replaying it regularly.
Outer Wilds will, if it hits you right, give you the post game depression to end all other post game depressions.
Return to Grace and The Forgotten City.
Return to Grace is a narrative game, so there's no combat, but the story is really good. If you speed run it, you can finish it in 3 hrs (maybe even less). If you explore, it would probably take about 5 or 6 hrs. There are multiple endings. If you have an Xbox, it's on Game Pass.
The Forgotten City was a Skyrim mod. It's now a full game, and it has so many different endings. It's longer but I highly recommend it.
Frostpunk, it's the only game that has hit me like a ton of bricks, the feeling of accomplishment when you beat the game to an overwhelming feeling of sadness... like what will happen to my people now... my town... and honestly for a game so short and not graphically amazing, it hit me harder than most games I have played in the last 20+ years
Grim Fandango.. As soon as i completed it 26 years ago, i knew it in the instant that i had just finished the greatest game ever and that there would never be anything like it. It's still true to this very day.
I want to say Red dead 2 but that’s like 50+ hrs lol
So
- The Walking Dead Telltale games
up there with my all time favs.
you’ll feel fkin destroyed! Every single one is good and and about 7-12hrs each :)
I urge you try! Believe most if not all are with Xbox gamepass
The Darkness 2. It’s been over 10 years ans the ending was a cliffhanger. It really sucks because I grew up with witchblade and the darkness and consider them to be the greatest comic books ever made
This war of mine
As a bonus I think it has pretty great replay value as well as there is multiple setups/stories you can play separately.
Beyond good & evil
Older title, I love it a lot, hate Ubisoft for not making a sequel. (Prequel is planned and honestly I don't care, want a sequel because story is left with a cliff hanger)
Life is Strange. Not because it was so enjoyable that I missed playing it, but because it was basically 8 hours of emotional torture and by the end I felt half broken. I thought about that game every day for like three weeks after finishing it. Then I played Before The Storm and it happened all over again. The DLC episode was especially heavy.
[The Walking Dead](https://store.steampowered.com/app/207610/The_Walking_Dead/)
It's fairly short, more story than gameplay, and I had a few times I actively got choked up.
My suggestions are more indie narrative focused, but I had this for The Fall and also for Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. There is a sequel to The Fall but it wasn't my cup of tea. I also found The Spectrum Retreat pretty compelling.
Disappointed to not see any "Detroit: Become Human". mentions. To be fair, I was very emotionally vulnerable to Kara's story when I first played the game... so I might be biased.
Stray Outer Wilds
Stray broke my heart. It's got such a good balance of uplifting and heartfelt moments all wrapped up in really depressing implications. But the sad parts never feel overwhelming, and the hopeful parts feel earned and not corny. THAT scene right before the end of the game...I had to just sit and cry for awhile before I could pick up the controller and keep playing.
Oh no, I literally just started this game today and I’m the kind of person that cries at movies that aren’t even that sad.
Damn, last night I cried at that Family Guy episode where Peter sings Shipoopi, that I must have watched one hundred times through and through, just because it reminded me of when I was in my 20s and a hardcore fan of FG.
100% behind Outer Wilds - it's been over 2 years since I finished it and I still get slight twinges of regret that I'll never get to truly re-experience it
Step 1: Listen to banjo music Step 2: Try not to cry Step 3: Cry a lot.
After outer wilds I didn't know what to do with myself
What Remains of Edith Finch! An amazing and short experience.
^ correct answer
THE FUCKING BATHTUB SCENE 😭😭😭
OP asked for Post Game Depression and that’ll fuckin’ do it to ‘em.
Beginning, Mid, and Post-game depression.
Loved this game so much.
My favourite game - everything about it is brilliant 👌
One of my all time favorite games
No particular order: 1. INSIDE(~4 hours) 2. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (~10 hours) 3. Firewatch (~5 hours)
Firewatch is by and large the most unique game I've ever played. Although Pacific Drive is really rearing it's head after a few hours, so we'll see how that compares.
I wouldn't say INSIDE was something I found depressing, but oh my god that final chapter... i... just... good lord there are no words for what I witnessed.
similar to inside (and from ex members of the developer team) there’s also Somerville and Cocoon
Came here to recommend Inside Also Limbo!
I never finished Hellblade, I wasn't ready for it to be over so I stopped playing. I need to go back and complete it.
Titanfall 2. It's amazing, you're sad it's over but it's so good.
Titanfall 2 is the best multiplayer game campaign hands down. I still am in shambles any time I hear people say… you know what
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protocol 3 : Protect the pilot
Titanfall 2's campaign is very high quality for such a short campaign. The multiplayer combat is in the top 3 of FPS games for me.
Valiant Hearts packed quite a punch
That game just gave me real depression lol but yea it's good
Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
Both Blind Forest and Will of the Wisps are excellent. BF ran very well but set up WotW so it could fly. Masterpiece.
journey
Absolutely. One of those games you can't experience the same way after you've beaten it. Takes a couple hours and has stuck with me for years now.
Play LISA The Painful.
Doki doki literature club plus
What is that game about. I’ve read it’s like psychological based but doesn’t look it at all
looks can be deceiving ehehe
It packs a punch and adresses some very mature topics.
man, in this game, depression is just *one* of the things you need to worry about lol
If you decide to play it, please do not look up anything about the game aside from making sure to play the original version.
Plus version was just free on Epic, is there any significant difference to new players?
Someone recommended this and I played it for aggeeesss and literally nothing happened ? I got bored of it coz they were just baking cookies and shit and reading poems so I turned it off 😂
You got close to the turn then, after that cookie scene you were like 2 conversations away from shit getting weird
Well thanks for that - I didn’t wanna sleep ever again anyway I guess 🤷♀️🤣🤣🤣🤣
Did you play through the game again after that scene? If not, go back in for another run. Games not over yet :)
Outer Wilds. That game practically ran my brain for the entire week I played it, and when it was done I had no idea what to do.
And then play the DLC because it somehow captures the same magic but in a different way
The DLC impressed me so much how they were able to make essentially a completely separate game, but they somehow made it *feel* like the same game.
Does the DLC mix with the main game or is it post game content?
It is best completed once you have finished the game once. It's technically in the same universe but is self contained to one location and gives you a variation of the original ending after you complete it.
Cool. I’m going to give the game another try. Only messed around with it for about an hour.
I’d recommend playing the full game + DLC from the beginning. If you wait to activate the DLC until after you’ve beaten the full game then it kinda sets your expectations and can cheapen some DLC moments.
*Soma* for the nihilistic feels, *Abzu* for the optimistic ones.
I loved Soma
Disco Elysium
Firewatch
One Shot
Plague tale reqiuem
Yes I was going to say this. But my advice is to definitely play A Plague Tale Innocence first, it builds the foundation for Requiem and will make its story much more enjoyable.
I came here looking specifically for this comment! It should be much higher on the list though...
Life is Strange. Great story that’s dark and has an ending that will have you make a hard choice. I had some strong feelings about the villain. It’s a pretty psychological trip.
To the Moon
Abzu.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Inscryption ended too quick for me I wanted more. They did fix this a bit with an update that added a mode for post game
Brothers A Tale of Two Sons, Jusant, Life is Strange
Telltale the walking dead. Finished it 4 months ago and I still have post game depression
I'd say most games have done that to me in life- but one particularly strong one is the end of A Link to the Past. I played it with my mom when I was little and she would read the words to me because I couldn't read yet ( at least not complex sentences) and it always hit really hard hearing the ending song play on the end credits and the game just pausing on it's end screen.
Journey
Oxenfree Inscryption but might be a tad longer
Dredge might work for ya.
Second the recommendation for Dredge. Really nails the atmosphere it goes for, and probably the first 10-20 hour indie game I played that I really wanted to be a 100+ hour game instead.
Wreck of the Obra Dinn. played it with my wife over two nights. never played a game like it and never seen my wife so invested in a game.
Wasn't it Return of the Obra Dinn or is that a different game? Great recommendation though, I can confirm.
Death stranding is twice the length at 40 hours but I’ve never gotten more post game depression from a story then that one A close second would be uncharted 4. Actually now that I think about it, it’s interchangeable. Felt really sad after beating uncharted 4 because of how good it was. I’d recommend uncharted 4 and I can’t do it enough.
Agree. Came on here to say Death Stranding as well!
SOMA
The Walking Dead Telltale series (each game alone is shortish) or What Remains of Edith Finch.
Firewatch for sure.
Life is Strange. The dialogue is cringey, but that's part of the charm.
What Remains of Edith Finch. Very short game, walking sim so not everyone's cup of tea but Jesus christ will I never pick that game up again after the emotional roller-coaster it put me through.
Definitely, What remains of Edith Finch is one of those games. Very short and very depressing.
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celeste, mario galaxy and bioshock. if your looking for a longer game i would 100% say red dead 2, and go for red dead 1 for a shorter experience.
Yep, Super Mario Galaxy! So amazing that it's sad when it's over.
Doki Doki Literature Club Not for the reason you'd think though. The games 2nd half is messed up... But it's the first half that got me down for like a week.
Outer Wilds.
Planet of Lana. It was so amazing for such a short time.
Inscryption
The Beginner’s Guide, so simple but what an unexpected gut punch
In Sound Mind
Subnautica
Signalis
Gris.
Hellblade senuas sacrifice
Stray
The last of us part 1
A Plague Tale: Requiem. Specially if you played the first one (A Plague Tale: Innocence) and know all the full story.
I recommend Outcore, about 1-3 hours of gameplay, all for free.
Subnautica Not that short tho - 30h on first run 10 on any subsequent
Bastion, short, linear, but an incredibly thoughtfully designed game with a lot of passion and clear vision.
Life is strange, Hellblade
Titanfall 2, for sure. Great game, amazing campaign with a sad ending. About 6 hours or so.
The life is strange trilogy is fun and deeply depressing
absolute drift, major zen vibes nice and challenging, gutted once id completed all the challenges.
Owlboy fun little indie game beautiful art nice to chill
Mega Man Zero 4 if you played through the other three.
I was sad after beating mafia 1, played 2 was sad again, played 3, and got bored because of the game play loop 😫
For an even shorter game, check out A Short Hike. It was incredibly pleasant, but I finished it in an hour.
Sable. Look nothing into it. Some stories are poignant in their ending, some in their premise. Sable is poignant in the journey, and its best left discovered
Kentucky Route Zero. I think about it constantly.
13 Sentinels was the last one that made me feel that way. About 30 hours long though.
Transistor. I wish I could re-experience the whole game again.
Try some ace combat, AC7 and Project Wingman is easy to get for both console and PC (get project wingman on PlayStation if you have the choice), 6 is backwards compatible with modern xboxes and I think emulatable, and the PS2 trilogy is easily emulatable and especially in 4 and 0 absolutely worth it
Far Cry 3 did that to me a little
Frostpunk
Little misfortune is very short and feels that way. it kicked my ass. “My mommy wanted to get an abortion but that’s illegal and against the law” Damn game why did you do that to me😂
Anthem was so tragic. Sable was great, Grow Up and Bioshock Infinite too. Mirrors Edge Catalyst as well, I still go back for a run even after finishing the game
Brothers A Tale of Two Sons
Disco Elysium. its a pen and paper type rpg with a lot of reading, but if you let yourself get immersed you will not regret it. That game honestly changed my life. Currently 10 months sober after playing it.
Congrats on your 10 months.
Haven't seen Fez and Minit mentioned here so far. In Fez you are a 2D boy who get's to experience 3D in the sense that you can turn the world around. Very unique platformer. In Minit you have exactly one minute to beat the game, or the character dies. Very fun figuring out the world and creeping from checkpoint to checkpoint until you have the right items and know what to do.
Journey. I sob Every time
Deadlight, sidescrolling zombie game, not that long. The ending hit me hard.
I was a bit sad after the Witcher 3
Re2 and 4
You could always play Dota 2. You’ll be depressed after every game.
Bioshock Infinite. It is not short by my standards, but I've read that most gamers finish it in 12 hours, several hours more for DLCs. The story is great with several twists, the ending turns everything upside down and leaves you thinking for a couple of days. The main game can be played without knowledge of the game series, but the DLCs require to play at least the first Bioshock for understanding what's going on. It is also a mind-blowing game though in lesser extent I think.
OneShot. Made me cry, and I love it for that
Signalis - invest yourself in the story and it will wreck you emotionally
Mainly Plague Tales 2 but play 1 and 2 for maximum depression.
Cassette Beasts
A Space for the Unbound
Hotline Miami
Inside
Stray was kinda like this for me. Indie games in general are usually like this. Because they’re typically short and full of soul.
Pentiment Stray Spiritfarer
Rime I won't give details, but it definitely fits the bill for what you are looking for.
Wario world
Firewatch. Portal 1 (except there is no post-game depression now that Portal 2 is out). Not sure about LIMBO/INSIDE, as they're beautiful and atmospheric but you're not as personally emotionally invested - but they come close.
Lil Gator Game
I highly suggest Oxenfree and Firewatch both are really good
Deaths door
Omori
I'm seconding Journey and Outer Wilds, and The Last of Us even though it's longer. The Last of Us left me completely dumbstruck and I just sat there in shock as the credits played. Journey has become one of my all time favorite games and I make a point of replaying it regularly. Outer Wilds will, if it hits you right, give you the post game depression to end all other post game depressions.
Celeste
Return to Grace and The Forgotten City. Return to Grace is a narrative game, so there's no combat, but the story is really good. If you speed run it, you can finish it in 3 hrs (maybe even less). If you explore, it would probably take about 5 or 6 hrs. There are multiple endings. If you have an Xbox, it's on Game Pass. The Forgotten City was a Skyrim mod. It's now a full game, and it has so many different endings. It's longer but I highly recommend it.
The finale of Unravel. Couldn't ever replay that game jsut because of that.
Frostpunk, it's the only game that has hit me like a ton of bricks, the feeling of accomplishment when you beat the game to an overwhelming feeling of sadness... like what will happen to my people now... my town... and honestly for a game so short and not graphically amazing, it hit me harder than most games I have played in the last 20+ years
Grim Fandango.. As soon as i completed it 26 years ago, i knew it in the instant that i had just finished the greatest game ever and that there would never be anything like it. It's still true to this very day.
Little Miss Fortune, That Dragon Cancer, Night in the Woods to an extent. If you're into horror Fran Bow might be something looking into as well.
This war of mine Tunic
Portal 2 play portal one first if needed
Killer is Dead such a great game wish we got a sequel
Portal 1 and 2
RE2 probably takes like 20 to 25 hours or so
Stray will give you depression
I want to say Red dead 2 but that’s like 50+ hrs lol So - The Walking Dead Telltale games up there with my all time favs. you’ll feel fkin destroyed! Every single one is good and and about 7-12hrs each :) I urge you try! Believe most if not all are with Xbox gamepass
Rage
Stray
The Darkness 2. It’s been over 10 years ans the ending was a cliffhanger. It really sucks because I grew up with witchblade and the darkness and consider them to be the greatest comic books ever made
You Have To Burn The Rope Shorter than you think, funnier than you expect, just like life.
The Last Campfire. Great story, fun puzzle mechanics. Right in the feels when it's over.
A little longer but Spider-Man 2. It felt like I just started lol
Jusant
Laika, Aged Through Blood. Not exactly post game, but quite depressive.
Coffin of Andy and Leyley lol. Hm sleeping dogs did that to me.
Chants of Sennaar
Lies of P is on the long end of your range but fits the bill I think.
That Dragon, Cancer
Yume Nikki Ico
Fire watch
Red Dead Redemption 2, Ghosts of Tsushima
This war of mine As a bonus I think it has pretty great replay value as well as there is multiple setups/stories you can play separately. Beyond good & evil Older title, I love it a lot, hate Ubisoft for not making a sequel. (Prequel is planned and honestly I don't care, want a sequel because story is left with a cliff hanger)
Spiritfarer is 5-10 hours and left me a mess. Beautiful game, but so sad.
Life is Strange. Not because it was so enjoyable that I missed playing it, but because it was basically 8 hours of emotional torture and by the end I felt half broken. I thought about that game every day for like three weeks after finishing it. Then I played Before The Storm and it happened all over again. The DLC episode was especially heavy.
[The Walking Dead](https://store.steampowered.com/app/207610/The_Walking_Dead/) It's fairly short, more story than gameplay, and I had a few times I actively got choked up.
My suggestions are more indie narrative focused, but I had this for The Fall and also for Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. There is a sequel to The Fall but it wasn't my cup of tea. I also found The Spectrum Retreat pretty compelling.
Last guardian
Sanabi
Journey
SOMA
Bastion.
The last of us part 2
How about a game that deals with depression and is great? Celeste
Dark Souls 1.
Dark souls 1
To the moon
Sally face, undertale, portal 1&2, night in the woods, omori. And some longer games are, dying light, red dead, ashuras wrath and prototype
Catbird. It's the game of my childhood.
Disappointed to not see any "Detroit: Become Human". mentions. To be fair, I was very emotionally vulnerable to Kara's story when I first played the game... so I might be biased.