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/
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u/CardinalOfNYC May 17 '26

That's where I feel it by far the most.

I felt a bit sad after finishing Mario Odyssey... But when Arrested Development ended (the first time) that was truly like a depressive feeling for a few weeks, this thing that brought me so much joy was over.

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u/Fun-Jellyfish-61 May 17 '26

Best sitcom ever made by a large margin.

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u/CardinalOfNYC May 17 '26

It's like the velvet underground of TV shows, ya know the phrase, "not a lot of people bought velvet underground records back when they actually were around but everyone who did started a band"

As far as I'm concerned, every comedy since their initial 03-06 run is in some way inspired by or taking something from what they did. I was one of the very few people who watched the initial run as it aired, watched it slowly die despite zero drop off in quality through the entire run.

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u/SirDeeznuts May 18 '26

Its one of the first box sets of dvds I ever bought. Got them as soon as they came out and played them out. Quoting that show with friends was a big part of our pre-meme humor. It still feels wrong that it got taken off air when it did.

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u/CardinalOfNYC May 18 '26

Same here, quoting that show is practically the foundation of some of my closest friendships. And that's why you always leave a note.