Hope's Journey: A Therapeutic Experience

The story of Hope is our story highlighted with modest graphics and told through an excellent interactive story. while i was delving in the game and taking choices I had to ask myself the same question: What would I do in her place? Time after time I choose the "right" answer, but it won't be my answer in the real life. It made me think that deep inside myself i do suffer from the same conflicts and perils as this girl, but i could think differently and it's OK. thank you

I work in the field of mental health for over 5 years and was given to review this game. I was skeptical at first, is it possible to actually implement therapeutic concepts within a game and I was amazed to see that it actually works. I'll explain. First of all the game is a simple fun RPG game with an Anime concept and design which I very much appreciated as a small time fan of anime. Along with that you have a sort of a mini game you play all along the game, in which you notice the protagonist's thoughts and reactions about an event. It might seem a bit repetitive and pointless at first but it's quite the contrary. The game teaches you simple technics that are used in cognitive behavioral therapy, technics and concepts which I was already familiar with and used to implement them in my everyday life. During the play I didn't feel that I learn anything new, but afterwards I noticed that my mind improved it's ability to absorb and notice my thoughts. It actually improved my ability to notice negative patterns in my thoughts, take hold, process and review them before they affect my mood and feelings. The developers of this game, in my opinion, have succeeded to implement simple therapy teachings in this game, which actually may have an influence on ones life in reality. I definitely recommend this game for children and adolescents. Adults might benefit from the game as well. It is no substitute for therapy, but I promise that if you play it through you'll notice an improvement in your day to day and the way you react to everyday events and interactions in your life.

Hope's Journey is a game with modest graphics (but hey, I'm an old school Final Fantasy fan) but a very lively story, I found myself caring about the characters and how they see the world. Obviously the main focus of the game is therapy (it's in the name, duh!) and I believe it delivers on that front. While the game constantly reminded me that nothing is a substitute for seeking professional help, it is a great resource as a first step to think about the ideas discussed in therapy (speaking from personal experience of having sought professional help in the past) The one thing I constantly wished for while playing this game was voice acting, but that's easy to forgive given that it's a small indie title.

I think everyone could benefit from some basic understanding of cognitive theory, and this game does a good job explaining the basics. I'm enjoying it so far!

Interactions dont always work, very disappointed i love the premise of the game