Video Games That Actually Help With Algorithm Fatigue

We all know that doom scrolling is bad for us, and yet it’s just so hard to stop. Pulling out your phone when you have a moment and scrolling through a social media feed can feel as easy as breathing; sometimes you don’t even realize you’re doing it. Yet it’s hardly relaxing. Being shown the horrors of the world on an endless, looping feed is a great way to stress yourself out.

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)


Start

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)Start

If you’re looking to break your doom-scrolling habit and spend your time doing something more constructive, or at least more relaxing, then video games can help. Instead of flipping through another stream of worldly disasters, why not spend your time playing something that will calm you down, entertain you, and maybe even teach you some new skills? That’s exactly what these next games have to offer.

Tetris

Scientifically Proven To Help Manage Trauma And Stress

It may sound dramatic, but doom scrolling is a traumatic experience. Not severely traumatic or anything, but repeatedly exposing yourself to the horrors of reality every single day will obviously have a negative effect on your mental well-being. The insidious part is that scrolling will also show you positive things like cat videos and acts of kindness, which allow the trauma to slowly take effect, rather than hitting you all at once.

When it comes to processing trauma, Tetris has shown in multiple peer-reviewed studies to help individuals mitigate the effects of PTSD. I’m not a scientist, so I’m not going to try and explain how it does that, but the gist is that Tetris engages the same parts of your brain that imprint trauma into your memory, preventing them from focusing on that trauma. It’s one of the oldest video games in the world, and still one of the most popular, and it can also help break you out of that endless cycle of despair that comes from doom scrolling. How cool is that?

Elevate

Turn Screen Time Into A Growth Experience

Elevate is more of a collection of brain-training mini-games than a game in and of itself, but its particular focus on improving writing and communication skills is ideal for breaking out of a doom-scrolling habit. Doom scrolling is, by its nature, a lonely activity. Sure, you might share the things you saw after the fact, but in the moment, you’re isolated on your device.

The goal with Elevate is to improve your communication abilities by getting you to play short, 3–5 minute games that are designed to hone a particular skill. Some games will improve your writing, while others improve your ability to recall words more quickly, expand your vocabulary, or process information more quickly. You can then track your progress through the app and even compare your performance against other players. It’s best to think of Elevate like a daily workout: log in, play your daily games, and then walk away feeling like you’ve improved yourself, rather than stressed yourself out.

Momument Valley

Building New Pathways

The thing about a habit is that it’s repetitive. You form a habit over time by doing the same thing frequently, forming well-trod pathways in your brain that are easy to stroll down again and again, and making it more difficult to build a new pathway when the familiar one is right there.

The best way to form new pathways is to get your brain to think in different ways, and things like optical illusions can help encourage that. Monument Valley and its two sequels are puzzle platformers designed around a variety of optical illusions. While the goal is simple — guide your character from one end of the stage to the other — getting the stage to form the pathways you need is where the challenge comes in. See the similarities? Completing stages in Monument Valley pushes you to think in new ways, and if you can get better at it in the game, then you can improve in real life as well.

Civilization 6

Just One More Turn

If you just need something to break you out of a doom-scrolling addiction and not actually rewire your brain, then Civilization 6 is the perfect game. This historical strategy sim is currently the best and most complete entry in the franchise, although Civ 7 is well on its way. While it may seem daunting at first, Civ 6 is very easy to learn, largely because of how adaptive it is to the whims of each player.

You pick your nation right at the start, then choose where you want to establish your capital city on a map that is mostly empty. After that, you get to building your kingdom however you see fit, be it a commerce hub or a military superpower. It’s incredibly fun, but it’s also addicting. The pull of “one more turn” is almost irrestible, and many late nights have been spent toiling away on the game’s many randomized campaigns. With everything narrated by the illustrious Sean Bean, Civilization 6 is a welcoming game that’s full of depth, and offers the perfect escape from the endless pull of social media feeds.

Stardew Valley

Take A Load Off

For a different kind of addiction, one that stretches out over months or even years, you could do a lot worse than Stardew Valley. This unassuming farming sim will take over your life, but that’s not a bad thing. There’s nothing insidious about this game at all; no microtransactions, no crazy difficulty spikes, and no content locked away for a sequel. It’s just an incredibly relaxing, incredibly satisfying video game that never stops giving you new things to strive for.

The main focus of Stardew Valley is building up the farm your character inherits from their grandfather. You’ll plant crops, build barns, raise livestock, furnish your home, and plenty more. However, the game really shines in its social sim elements. The nearby town is chock-full of memorable NPCs, each with an entire relationship arc to follow should you choose. There are romance options, gifts to give, and even narrative threads to follow. All the while, your progress will continually unlock new regions to explore, revealing new NPCs, crops, and collectibles. Stardew Valley is like the exact opposite of doom scrolling. It’s a pleasant, rewarding way to spend your time that will leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling when you put it down.

Unpacking

Everything In Its Place

Much like Tetris, Unpacking is a game about slotting things into a limited space. In this case, instead of fitting colored blocks into a column, you’re fitting objects into a room. It’s a game about moving into a new home, without the stress and strain of moving out of the old place first. Instead, you just get to find spaces to put your things in a variety of new houses.

The other thing that differentiates Unpacking from Tetris is its narrative. Through subtle bits of information — like things that they did or didn’t bring from their last home — you learn about the progression of a young woman’s life, from the first time she moved away from home to her first big breakup. It’s a very zen experience, which makes it a perfect way to wind down instead of scrolling through endless updates on your feed.

Plants Vs Zombies

50 Levels Of Cute Little Shamblers

On the surface, Plants vs. Zombies might sound a bit intense. Your job is to build an army of plants that can fend off waves of attacking undead. However, once you get your hands on it, you’ll find the game is actually quite charming. The zombies are very cute, and often hilarious in their slow, awkward advances, and the plants you can unlock to fend them off are all very cool and provide interesting tactical options.

It may be a tower defense game, but Plants vs. Zombies is one of the best and simplest games in the genre. Sure, it will challenge you on occasion, but it never becomes so difficult that you can’t progress, and usually a second or third attempt at a level will yield success. There are 50 levels in the first game, but also a number of sequels and spinoffs that you can dive into if you want to keep the fun rolling. Plants vs. Zombies is a much more satisfying and much less stressful way to spend time on your phone than getting bombarded with daily horrors.