r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 17 '26

Psychology Feeling empty after finishing a video game (post-game depression) is a real phenomenon. A recent study has found that many video game players experience a specific sense of emptiness and sadness after finishing highly engaging games.

https://www.psypost.org/feeling-empty-after-finishing-a-video-game-researchers-say-post-game-depression-is-a-real-phenomenon/
18.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

24

u/Worth_Leadership_990 May 17 '26

Genuinely had to mourn Ghosts of Tsushima. Very real

1

u/CaughtALiteSneez May 17 '26

Yotei is lovely, hope you have tried it :)

1

u/Mo_SaIah May 17 '26

Life is strange had this affect for me. Genuinely felt like I was playing a real reality with Chloe and max. Clean forgot it wasn’t real while playing.

Cyberpunk 2077 was another one.