Depression Quest

 PC
User Score
1.5

Overwhelming dislike- based on 298 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 298
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 298
  3. Negative: 252 out of 298

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  1. CasildaK
    Sep 4, 2014
    10
    Fantastic game--as someone who has dealt with depression, I greatly appreciate the role this game serves in helping sufferers cope and raising public awareness.
  2. thegoatgod_pan
    Nov 2, 2014
    10
    Perfectly good game, but gamergate trolls mobvoted the score down. Because of something, something; women are evil; something, something; ethical journalism! Try it out, you won't regret it (not like it costs you)
  3. samvines
    Nov 3, 2014
    10
    A wonderful free game in the style of the classic MUDs, that also manages to bring awareness to a serious mental health issue that affects many people.
  4. aasmith
    Dec 3, 2014
    10
    This game really shows what it's like to have depression. I've struggled heavily with depression my entire adult life. The text-based choices show the struggle; sometimes options are grayed out because when you're depressed, those positive choices don't feel like options. Depression lies to you. This is a great game.
  5. Hazyshade
    Mar 14, 2015
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I've lived with depression for many years and with severe depression (crying episodes, in and out of hospital, taking powerful antipsychotics) for nearly a year. On my first playthrough I was going "Yep." "Yeah." *nod* "Wow, that's a really good description of how that feels."

    Some games don't max out your graphic and sound cards. Some games set out to induce sadness, frustration and yes, even boredom, as part of the emotional ride that they take you on. Papers, Please did all of the above and was a huge hit. Don't judge a fish by how well it can fly; you should have learnt that in school.

    I could pick holes in the story, perhaps. The only route into therapy that I've found is to have your friend notice that your hands are shaking. There seems an awful lot riding on that one throwaway dialogue choice. Then again... there is a realism in that too. Sometimes the people we rely on to fix everything, don't. Sometimes it takes a random occurrence to change things, because sometimes the people we love the most aren't even magical enough to notice something's wrong.

    This game would be a 9 for me, but it seems some negative reviewers are cross with some positive reviewers because blah blah blah ethics and therefore the game itself must be rated 0. No, I don't follow that logic either, so it gets a 10 to bump its average up.    … Expand
  6. NintendoNerd256
    Nov 23, 2015
    10
    I absolutely love this game. It is amazing, and Zoe Quinn is the best game developer ever. Words cannot describe this masterpiece. Feminists unite! Let us wash this earth of that scum we call "man".
  7. p3ace
    Apr 1, 2016
    10
    As someone who has grown up with depression, I think this game was genuine and creative. No, it's not a typical game, because it was obviously made to allow the user to begin to understand what depression may feel like for many people. I think this game can be eye opening for those willing to actually be open minded about trying it instead of just shutting it down right away for unrelatedAs someone who has grown up with depression, I think this game was genuine and creative. No, it's not a typical game, because it was obviously made to allow the user to begin to understand what depression may feel like for many people. I think this game can be eye opening for those willing to actually be open minded about trying it instead of just shutting it down right away for unrelated reasons to the actual game.… Expand
  8. jakejohnson
    Nov 15, 2014
    9
    Graphics: 10/10
    In an era of bright, flashy, in your face animations, Zoe Quinn has created a refreshing change of pace, with her subtle, understated style. The game actually flows quite well, and the brilliantly-optimized graphics allows even my Windows 98 machine to handle the game with ease. A soft palette of color provides just the right contrast to the daring choice of black text    Graphics: 10/10
    In an era of bright, flashy, in your face animations, Zoe Quinn has created a refreshing change of pace, with her subtle, understated style. The game actually flows quite well, and the brilliantly-optimized graphics allows even my Windows 98 machine to handle the game with ease. A soft palette of color provides just the right contrast to the daring choice of black text lettering. Like the original Star Wars trilogy, these graphics are built to withstand the test of time, and future generations of gamers are sure to appreciate them for years to come.

    Gameplay: 10/10
    This is where the game really shines, with a smart, intuitive interface that almost feel like second nature even for the novice gamer. Quinn's ability to so deftly incorporate a point-and-click style of play into a genre of this magnitude is truly astounding. I found myself getting lost in the gameworld, not even thinking about the UI, able to completely be immersed by the story.

    Music: 10/10
    Although occasionally plodding, Schankler's artfully crafted score more often then not hits the nail on the head, setting the mood and transporting the player into an alternate world. Among his finest works, Schankler really shows his growth as a composer here, with subtle motifs and sweeping crescendos that both intrigue and exhilarate.

    Story: 10/10
    Quinn weaves a delicate and riveting tale about the fascinating irrelevancy of everyday life. While some have questioned Quinn's marketing techniques, there is no debate that her writing is top-notch, and beyond reproach. As one not easily taken in by (non)fiction, I must confess that I was swept off my feet from the first sentence, cascading down a whirlwind path of twists and turns that left me gasping for air. The ending sent chills through me like I have never experienced in my gaming career. A tremendous effort from a legendary writer.

    CONCLUSION:
    A masterpiece. A game that will stand next to pillars of the industry for decades to come. We are often left asking, "What is the defining game of our generation? What is our PONG? What is our PACMAN?" Zoe Quinn just gave us the answer to that question.    … Expand
  9. josefigueira
    Aug 23, 2014
    8
    This game came to my attention after hearing of the controversy about the main developer, and her ethics, not only at work, but in general. But one thing that I had to immediately do, was separate the developers personal life, and the game: a game shouldn't suffer because the developer is, or not, an awful person.

    With a fresh mind, and ignoring all the controversy, I started the game.    This game came to my attention after hearing of the controversy about the main developer, and her ethics, not only at work, but in general. But one thing that I had to immediately do, was separate the developers personal life, and the game: a game shouldn't suffer because the developer is, or not, an awful person.

    With a fresh mind, and ignoring all the controversy, I started the game. It's, at its core, an educational game. But it's an educational game that will actually help a person with depression (or, sometimes more importantly, someone close to a person with depression) to deal with it. Although some things seem particular to that situation, we also have to realize that it's about telling a specific story to other people. So, even though it's an education game, it's not there to fit to OUR situation. It's there to give us an "example", in simplistic terms, of a case, to help us relate to it.

    One thing that, first struck me as amateur-ish, but then sort of made sense, was the aesthetics of the play-for-free website. It's a very simple, black and white aesthetic, already a staple of text-based 21st century games. But it's a good choice, bringing a sense of calmness, and no other distractions, in order to put ourselves in (I unconsciously named **** Paul) shoes. That means, trying options that might not seem the best one, but that we feel like someone close to us with depression might be available to take.

    The gameplay is obviously simple - and just because it's a text-based game, it doesn't mean they should have been so lazy about it (remembering specifically a zombie text-based game with AI close to resident evil terms, with a active clock, and where I ended up being caught running in some stairs after waiting to long to make a decision). Sometimes, I really do wish there were more options, or maybe an internal clock system, because let's face it, a person reacts different in you tell them something right away, or you hesitate. But, and even though I still mentally took some points out for it, it is an educational game. There's no winning in this game. It's here to immerse us in the story.

    The subject seemed fairly well, and sensibly, approached (read: it's not either a romanticised tumblr **** or a diecisscum tumblr **** for example). It was a great, and seemingly not for profit (free-to-play, anyone?) idea by the developers (maybe Zoe Quinn isn't such an awful person) to release it after Robin Williams death, and to acknowledge that men are the group most harmed by depression seems a little unbiased from a game being attacked by Red-pillers, feminazis and general edgy teens, and praised by both the feminist, men's rights and LGBQT movements (me being a supporter of the latter three groups). BUT, the mix of actually depressed people praising, and in a considerably minority, bashing, this game refrains me from doing any more substantial comment on this part of the review.

    I ended up really caring about the character, simple as they were. Not wanting to spoil anything, let's just say that, your sibling will usually be there for you in the hard times, when most people don't understand what your problems, even though they might act differently when you don't have problems.

    I end up giving an 8 for this game. It's good, yes, but it could have been much better.    … Expand
  10. g_squidman
    Sep 27, 2014
    8
    First, I have no bias based on the "Gamergate" event.... I was confused about what that was all about but thought I'd check out the game, I am a gamer after all. I also have not yet completed the game, I intend to continue it though.

    The biggest thing in question about this game is, "is it really a game?" I would like to remind everyone that, if you go to the home page, Depression Quest    First, I have no bias based on the "Gamergate" event.... I was confused about what that was all about but thought I'd check out the game, I am a gamer after all. I also have not yet completed the game, I intend to continue it though.

    The biggest thing in question about this game is, "is it really a game?" I would like to remind everyone that, if you go to the home page, Depression Quest very clearly advertises itself as an "interactive (non)fiction." A non-fictional interactive fiction. As a "game" it is lacking, of course. But for the purposes of this review I will be rating it as what it is meant to be, interactive reading material.

    I'm not a sound guy, there could be no sound at all, makes no difference to me.

    I've found, going through the route I took, that there aren't a whole lot of options available at each cross-roads. When you have to make a decision it lists several possible actions to take and then often crosses out all but one or two. I like this, this makes sense to me. It portrays the sense that depression is taking over my life and making these options impossible. I assume, had I taken a less depressing, more open route where I talk about my feelings with friends and meet with a doctor, that more of these options would have been available. This is an over all plus for me.

    The exact feeling Depression Quest gives me was actually kind of overwhelming, I realized how much I feel similar to the character in the game and that I myself might be dealing with some form of depression. It truly has opened my eyes a bit to this possibility and made me think, which was the desired intention.

    Finally, the reason Depression Quest is not a ten: simple grammar and spelling errors. This counts a lot for me though. It didn't feel professional or serious because of this. Felt unfinished. Great work was put into releasing Depression Quest and just a little more effort could make it much more complete.    … Expand
  11. bluegreen
    Jan 25, 2015
    8
    A really touching game that raises awareness for a huge societal issue. It doesn't entirely match up with my own experiences of depression, but then, depression affects everyone differently.
  12. psibreaker
    Jan 12, 2015
    8
    A pretty accurate depiction of depression. And short too; you'll finish it within 15-30 minutes. That's probably long enough to immerse yourself in this character.

    I picked this up for free off Steam, mostly off the back of all the negative press, and have to say that even though my own experiences differ slightly, it helped conjure up a lot of the low periods of depression. Intended to    A pretty accurate depiction of depression. And short too; you'll finish it within 15-30 minutes. That's probably long enough to immerse yourself in this character.

    I picked this up for free off Steam, mostly off the back of all the negative press, and have to say that even though my own experiences differ slightly, it helped conjure up a lot of the low periods of depression. Intended to be interactive fiction, not a 'game', it pretty much explores the sort of lifestyle a 'typical' depressed person might feel, bearing in mind that labels like 'typical' doesn't really apply here.

    Not a ten out of ten, much as I appreciated a lot of the points that felt familiar (as well as those I'd not really considered but can recognise in hindsight). Similarly not a zero out of ten either, as you'd have to have real issues or, say, some sort of agenda to not credit this game with anything. I didn't feel there was any problem that I was being patronised, or that this was the work of a massive ego any more than I'd consider any other first person account, including anyone's review on the subject, to be the work of a person's ego. I've only played it through once so far - I'd be tempted to play it again.    … Expand
  13. Esperantisto
    Aug 21, 2014
    7
    This isn't a game, but rather a text-based "choose your own adventure". It took me about an hour to go through it.

    I suffer from depression myself, and found the descriptions to be somewhat realistic, but not entirely. I'd be upset if I had spent a lot of money for this, but it's available for free or as "pay what you want", which is fair enough. There are a *lot* of zero ratings,    This isn't a game, but rather a text-based "choose your own adventure". It took me about an hour to go through it.

    I suffer from depression myself, and found the descriptions to be somewhat realistic, but not entirely.

    I'd be upset if I had spent a lot of money for this, but it's available for free or as "pay what you want", which is fair enough.

    There are a *lot* of zero ratings, but that's unwarranted. It seems that the cause is alleged misbehaviour by the author. I've ignored that completely and judged the "game" on its merits.    … Expand
  14. kelticpete
    Sep 8, 2014
    6
    This game was pretty much what I expected, and was ok. I did not start it expecting to be wowed. the bad reviews about this game are obviously from people who were not the intended demo. Don't play a non traditional, "arty" game and then whine about it not being fun. It was mildly interesting as an experience. I got it for free, I might have paid $.99 for it and been happy. I give it aThis game was pretty much what I expected, and was ok. I did not start it expecting to be wowed. the bad reviews about this game are obviously from people who were not the intended demo. Don't play a non traditional, "arty" game and then whine about it not being fun. It was mildly interesting as an experience. I got it for free, I might have paid $.99 for it and been happy. I give it a 7. the people who whine about this not being a game can just sod off. text based stories with choices have been a genre of games for decades.… Expand
  15. AyHy
    Sep 26, 2014
    5
    It's sort of hard to call this a "game." It's a piece of semi-interactive fiction. It's very short. I played through it three times, choosing different options, and found that, basically, making the best life choices you were capable of would cause things to get a little better, while making bad life choices would cause things to get somewhat worse.

    That's not really very profound.    It's sort of hard to call this a "game." It's a piece of semi-interactive fiction. It's very short. I played through it three times, choosing different options, and found that, basically, making the best life choices you were capable of would cause things to get a little better, while making bad life choices would cause things to get somewhat worse.

    That's not really very profound.

    That said, I thought the writing was good, and speaking as someone with depression, I found I could identify with it to some extent. It didn't match my experience perfectly, since the protagonist is so ashamed of his depression and determined to hide it, while I tend to whine about mine. But some of it was definitely very identifiable.

    This isn't exactly an impressive project. I feel like I could have made it myself in about four days, and I'm no video game developer. But on the other hand, playing Depression Quest for an hour made me feel something interesting, while playing a lot of games for an hour just makes me feel bored or annoyed. I'm not unhappy that I played it, though I probably won't play it again.    … Expand
  16. brockcheese
    Jan 22, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As someone who has had depression, this game doesn't really tackle it all that well. The guy has a better life than most people and the game wont even let you take some options that would obviously improve the morale of the character. Top it all off with a cliche ending about having enough friends to carry on and it stinks. A lot of the reasons people get depression is because they have nobody in their life, but in this game you have loads of friends supportive parents and a great girlfriend. While I do appreciate what the game was going for, it ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth.… Expand
  17. GamersInk
    Aug 24, 2014
    5
    Short hand:

    This game offers a look into a "lite version" of depression. The character's luck in having a strong support group with no limitation on medical help offers a soften approach to the very dark topic of depression and its effect on people. With good music, the story is told clearly and well though flaws mar the experience and pull the player out of it. This short game will    Short hand:

    This game offers a look into a "lite version" of depression. The character's luck in having a strong support group with no limitation on medical help offers a soften approach to the very dark topic of depression and its effect on people. With good music, the story is told clearly and well though flaws mar the experience and pull the player out of it. This short game will offer an overly simple look into depression and is a nice starting point to get a feeling about the subject. An okay experience that definitely could have been better.

    Full Review:
    This game offers something unique, a look into the mind of depression and the lows it brings to those who suffer from it. Though its attempts seem rather limited and shallow. If one looks at the game from two perspectives, an art game designed to create a point and create an emotional response or entertainment designed to educate and teach people about depression then it fails to provide a decent experience. If one were to look at this from the perspective of an art game, the problem with the game and its message is the game doesn't allow for the true nature of depression to hit. It pulls punches and always seems to have a slightly positive spin to it which should not happen in a game that is meant to bring to light the depths of depression. It doesn't allow for the character to go to the point of no return where only one choice is allowed. It doesn't force for your choices to be meaningless to drive home the hopeless that depression tends to bring. Instead it offers just a taste of it that can be easily avoided by those who are not depressed and by those who have had depression. It fails to truly teach how dangerous depression can be. Maybe this was meant to prevent the game from being too harsh but if this game is an art game with a message then it must go to the greatest extreme or at least allow it to occur. Suicide and death are horrible realities of depression and can be the final moment of power that people who are extremely depressed have, a final way out. To not include this most final of acts in a game about depression is depriving the player from truly sympathizing with the torture of depression. If the player is not allowed to dabble with this deed then the player cannot truly understand what depression does to the mind and this only mentions the internal struggle of depression.

    On the other hand, if this is a game designed to educate then it also fails for a similar reason. The game doesn't offer details about the actual effects depression has on the people around him and does not allow for NPCs to react accordingly to a depressed person. In such, the game does not show the stigma normally placed on people with depression. The character is never told by others to bite the depression in the butt, to suck it up and be a man. The character is always surrounded by positivity and without the internal strife and consequences mentioned beforehand, the game doesn't adequately emulate the experience.

    Other faults exist as the character drinks alcohol while on medication (a no-no and shows that no one in the project ever dealt with full-blown clinical depression as mixing medication with alcohol can be fatal). As well as offering certain actions that would never be possible under any level of depression. If the actions failed while picking them then it would be nice. If the character's life actually changed with his support group leaving him or treating him differently the game would be better.

    The game does some stuff well though. The music sets the mood well though it does not change with the mood of the character. It would have been more effective in the sad music became more and more deafening the character went into depression. It also would have been better if the music was tinged with happiness as the character got better to emphasize the feeling of conquering the brain illness.

    It's a flawed experience. One that does not warrant a second look into as the direction certain actions take are painfully obvious. The game's detail, length, and overall production value is meaningless in a review of a free game but still remains disappointing.    … Expand
  18. redplague
    May 15, 2015
    5
    It's sad how a lot of the troll '0' reviews are made by people who feel at pains to make personal attacks or slanders on the developer. What a coincidence, it's a woman. If it was a man they wouldn't even address such things.

    This game is a bit heavy and in a way it's not really a game as such. it's good as an educational tool but not much in the way of fun and can get extremely    It's sad how a lot of the troll '0' reviews are made by people who feel at pains to make personal attacks or slanders on the developer. What a coincidence, it's a woman. If it was a man they wouldn't even address such things.

    This game is a bit heavy and in a way it's not really a game as such. it's good as an educational tool but not much in the way of fun and can get extremely boring at times. It's doesn't take that long to go through and is obviously very cheap so give it a go if you fancy something a bit different but this isn't going to appeal to most gamers. Ignore the **** trolls that give it 0 out of 10. Do you honestly think they would have played the game given their hatred of female developers.    … Expand
  19. xRenx
    Sep 21, 2014
    4
    Way too simplistic, it has the most common shortcomings of amateur and commercial visual novels regarding choices being fairly straightforward and easy to exploit and "telling, rather than showing".

    I can't say that I perceive this game as educational in any way - even though to educate was apparently the authors' intention - I do get the distinct impression that those who claim it    Way too simplistic, it has the most common shortcomings of amateur and commercial visual novels regarding choices being fairly straightforward and easy to exploit and "telling, rather than showing".

    I can't say that I perceive this game as educational in any way - even though to educate was apparently the authors' intention - I do get the distinct impression that those who claim it opened their eyes are those who would look at some piece of contemporary art and claim they see the depth of it just because they're afraid of being ostracised for not "getting it" or for not being sensitive enough. In short: the king is naked and this game is below mediocre at best, but the only dissenting voices I see over here are of those who feel content in filling their reviews with references to **** and disparaging the game just because it doesn't offer game play in the most widely accepted and most traditional sense of the term rather than trying to at least explain why the story is so lacking in their opinion.

    I played through it and realised that most of the choices were fairly easy to exploit: either you are honest and open with others and try to socialise a bit, or you close in your cocoon and further spiral down in worse and worse depression. Which elicited a "Well, duh! No **** Sherlock!" from me every time I chose. I saw the path to a positive ending as completely lit up from the start. It would be just as easy for me to go after a much more grim ending.
    I'd like to believe it's because I'm a genius, but I suspect it's more because of the simplistic treatment the story has been given.

    For those who are in any way familiar with VNs, this is the most common pitfall: the choices are there only to make it so it's at least decently easy to collect all the endings, which is usually the point of the exercise. Clearly, that shouldn't be the case here, but it ends up contributing, with the already stale narration, in making this feel like a mockery or at least a lazy over-simplification of the problem. I wonder if anyone will ever make the equivalent of the original Deus Ex for this topic, it would be quite interesting to see if it would help immersion more and actually spread awareness outside of the circle of converted this game seems to be preaching to.

    Personally, I think it would have benefited a lot from making use of images and colours and a heavier use of music. It did feel a lot more like a prototype than a fully developed concept. I also found it a bit weird that there wouldn't be more motivation for the character's depression than some hazily painted pressure from their parents and a general displeasure for being in a menial job. That could have been a good starting point, but the development felt rushed and forced. I know that it doesn't take being beaten up M/W/F for years to be depressed, but the protagonist really is painted like someone who has a typical case of malaise, rather than depression. That is because the inner monologues, the repetition, the patterns that are only in the depressed person's head simply need more time and attention to be described than they've been given here.

    I can recognise a hint of some of the behaviours that are common in depressed subjects in the text, but these feel always like they're spelt out as if they were collected from a Wikipedia article rather than to serve the story that is being narrated. It's nice that someone bothered to use the media to talk about depression, because it is an issue that's often misunderstood as people simply being too lazy to do things and blaming it on external factors, but from what I've seen this game obtained exactly that effect for a lot of people. It convinced people who were already convinced or were open to being convinced and inflamed everyone else. I don't feel like I could use it to help me explain to others what I've personally gone through - not because it just doesn't perfectly match with my particular case but, rather, because it does such a rushed job at developing its points in a way that might help immersion for someone who's likely to dismiss me as someone who just has to "get over" themselves. I certainly don't feel like it helps me cope, either. If anything, it made me feel like I was being talked down in the same way I have from people who have absolutely no idea what it feels like and spout advice that is way too easy to give.

    After having played something like this, I feel even more respect for people like Darren Aronofsky and their ability and skill in painting things like obsession in such an effective way. I feel a lot less respect for whoever decided that this was worth some awards as I looked at those and I expected something at least decent, albeit controversial.    … Expand
  20. GodotIsW8ing4U
    Sep 13, 2015
    3
    The writing style is bland, the presentation is completely unengaging, the music is grating, and despite all its attempts to present itself as a game about depression, one gets the sense that while the writers may have read about depression once and maybe even had it at some point, they have no idea how to communicate this fact outside of simple description of symptoms, and have an evenThe writing style is bland, the presentation is completely unengaging, the music is grating, and despite all its attempts to present itself as a game about depression, one gets the sense that while the writers may have read about depression once and maybe even had it at some point, they have no idea how to communicate this fact outside of simple description of symptoms, and have an even weaker understanding of the concept of a "game".

    A far better approach, if you really want to understand what depression is like, is to read Allie Brosh's now-famous account of her own struggles with it, or if you prefer to do so in the form of a video game, try playing Winter Voices. For all bugs and interface problems Winter Voices struggles with, it does a far better and more engaging job of portraying depression and grief, by taking advantage of the fact that it is a video game in order to represent things more abstractly and truly draw in the player, trying to make them actually engage with the subject matter. Another option, of course, would be to play Spec Ops: The Line, but everybody already knows that game is amazing, so I thought I'd open with one of my personal obscure favorites because I'm an obnoxious hipster douche like that.

    Depression Quest is like reading the most boring and linear Choose Your Own Adventure book ever printed, one where all paths lead in roughly the same direction to roughly the same ending and the serious subject matter is treated so blandly that there's just no reason to give a **** unless you are so incredibly new to the concept of video games being art that you've never heard of Planescape: Torment or any of the other countless games since the 90s that have been fighting to prove that THEY are the true Citizen Kane of gaming and everything since then has merely been a pretender to the title.

    3/10: bug-free, playable, and costs $0, therefore it's already got several legs up on Aliens: Colonial Marines, but otherwise just not worth anyone's time, even as a curiosity.    … Expand
  21. titust
    Apr 22, 2014
    3
    The few mechanics used are simple yet effective, but it's apparent Quinn has never been to a creative writing workshop. Specificity and player character development are sacrificed for broader relatability, which would have actually been accomplished with more specificity and character development.
  22. edxtan
    Jan 12, 2023
    3
    By trying to explain depression to people who don't have it, Depression Quest often alienates those who do.
  23. Bdthemag
    Aug 19, 2014
    2
    A short, simple game that takes a clumsy stab at detailing what having depression is like, but ultimately comes off as an oversimplification of a serious subject. Controversy regarding the creator aside, it's a very simplistic, linear story with little to no choice that feels as if it was made by someone who just skimmed over a summary of a few average depression cases and made a short,A short, simple game that takes a clumsy stab at detailing what having depression is like, but ultimately comes off as an oversimplification of a serious subject. Controversy regarding the creator aside, it's a very simplistic, linear story with little to no choice that feels as if it was made by someone who just skimmed over a summary of a few average depression cases and made a short, simple game out of it. It's not ground-breaking or particularly well written and would probably feel somewhat insulting to people who actually have diagnosed depression, while at the same time seeming completely non-informative to people without it. It definitely doesn't deserve to be on steam, as the steam-release would simply be a re-branding of an already free, complete browser game.… Expand
  24. Qualex
    Jan 17, 2015
    2
    Bad. Poorly written, nothing to keep your attention, an annoying flicker effect that I believe is deliberate, and the handling of the subject matter is like you would read in a fan fic or on tumblr. However, it is free so you have nothing to lose by downloading it, but even then you might play through the first 10 pages before you want to stop
  25. Zhorge
    Oct 7, 2015
    2
    This may be her depression, but it's not mine or anyone that I know who has ever been depressed. It's much more of a self-indulgent sado-masochistic romp through wallowing in victimhood than anything I, or anyone I've known, has experienced.

    Even worse, it plays like was written at the last minute by some HS slacker who stayed up the night before and rushed it out the door.
  26. perydwyn
    Aug 23, 2014
    1
    I managed to get this when it was being offered for free on Steam, and even getting it for free made me feel ripped off. This isn't a game, it is a fan fiction quality piece of 'interactive' fiction. I have suffered from depression when I was younger and if I had played this at the time, I would have felt really patronized. The story comes across more like an ego piece than an explorationI managed to get this when it was being offered for free on Steam, and even getting it for free made me feel ripped off. This isn't a game, it is a fan fiction quality piece of 'interactive' fiction. I have suffered from depression when I was younger and if I had played this at the time, I would have felt really patronized. The story comes across more like an ego piece than an exploration of what mental illness means in modern society. Poor writing. Poor design. Annoying, elevator music. An insight into the mind of a narcissist more than a game...Avoid (or download for free and then regret the hour of your life you will never get back).… Expand
  27. Tubey
    Mar 3, 2015
    1
    Meh... I put off reviewing this one, as doing so puts me on one side of "the fence" or the other. But controversy aside, let's review this as a game.

    There's absolutely nothing wrong with the idea for Depression Quest. I believe gaming can address social issues and be a power for good. The problem is here... well, it does none of that. In fact, it cheapens depression by treating it as a    Meh... I put off reviewing this one, as doing so puts me on one side of "the fence" or the other. But controversy aside, let's review this as a game.

    There's absolutely nothing wrong with the idea for Depression Quest. I believe gaming can address social issues and be a power for good. The problem is here... well, it does none of that. In fact, it cheapens depression by treating it as a paint-by-numbers condition that you can detail in a "Press X to continue" interactive novel, filled with bad writing and cliches.

    It's actually a torturous experience to play through as it's borderline offensive to me - not in that it challenges my beliefs or anything, but because it treats the subject matter with a selfishness and arrogance that is unforgivable. It's also exceedingly tedious, as it's an interactive novel, not a game.

    Just give it a miss, basically. Disregarding the controversy, the title on its' own merits simpy isn't worth your time.    … Expand
  28. Metatarsals
    Aug 19, 2014
    1
    I give it an A for the idea, but an F for everything else.

    I played this one on steam thinking it might be insightful or something, but no, not really. It was quickly cobbled together, the game mechanics weren't thought out at all, and I don't even know where to go with the story. This person is obviously mocking people with serious mental illnesses or just never learned how to write.    I give it an A for the idea, but an F for everything else.

    I played this one on steam thinking it might be insightful or something, but no, not really. It was quickly cobbled together, the game mechanics weren't thought out at all, and I don't even know where to go with the story. This person is obviously mocking people with serious mental illnesses or just never learned how to write.

    Which is why it gets a 1. Wonderful idea, but extremely sloppy execution, no story, no gameplay and even worse no refunds. Hopefully the creator takes this as a learning experience and works harder on polishing up their next game before they release it for sale.    … Expand
  29. decaf_cobra
    Aug 19, 2014
    1
    I really didn't enjoy this. It's got flawed mechanics in many ways. Sure, it could be considered some 'art game' but really it should not be a game due to how ignorant it is. People actually suffer from depression and this cheapens the experience they're getting.

    Also a lot of reviews on here are pointing out how the creator actually paid journalists with sexual favors. So, theres that.    I really didn't enjoy this. It's got flawed mechanics in many ways. Sure, it could be considered some 'art game' but really it should not be a game due to how ignorant it is. People actually suffer from depression and this cheapens the experience they're getting.

    Also a lot of reviews on here are pointing out how the creator actually paid journalists with sexual favors. So, theres that. But it would take a whole lot more than sexual favors to make this game any good.

    I give it a 1, because it does technically launch, but not else works.    … Expand
  30. Underfire777
    Aug 19, 2014
    1
    Depression Quest is a "game" made by someone who has absolutely no grasp on the subject matter. Good intentions combined with horrible mocking execution = this disgusting mess of a "game".
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  1. ActionTrip
    Sep 2, 2014
    50
    While it does an okay job presenting what it is really like to have depression, it sets the player down the exactly same depression path, no matter what is chosen.
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