Depression Quest is a 2013 interactive fiction game created by Zoë Quinn, Patrick Lindsey, and Isaac Schankler. The game is played entirely through reading and clicking through narrative choices on a simple, text-based screen. Players take on the role of a young adult managing daily life while living with depression. The game was designed for two main groups. One group includes people who are experiencing depression and might find comfort in seeing their struggles represented. The other group includes people who do not have depression but want to understand what it is like. Because the game is not made for entertainment in the traditional sense, it feels very different from most games. It is quiet, slow, and emotionally intense, which helps support the experience it tries to convey.
Figure1. Options are crossed out. While it seems like a good option, people who are depressed cannot simply shake off their feelings. In doing so, we have to engage with limitations and play within reduced options. Willingness to do action is absent.
To play this game through a feminist lens means thinking about how it questions what games usually are and who they are made for. In Play Like a Feminist, Shira Chess explains that feminist games do not need to be directly about women or even label themselves as feminist. Instead, they should create space for experiences that are often ignored or misunderstood. Depression Quest fits this idea by centering on mental illness. This is something that games usually do not talk about in meaningful ways. The game removes the usual sense of power or control and instead slowly reduces your options as your character’s depression worsens. You often see ideal responses on the screen but cannot click them. These responses are crossed out. Even though they are visible, they are unavailable. This shows how someone with depression may want to take action but feels completely unable to do so.
This mechanic is a good example of what Chess describes as “agentic training tools.” Most games give players a feeling of control and empowerment. Depression Quest does the opposite. It asks players to reflect on what it feels like to have limited agency. The game becomes a way to build empathy and understanding. Instead of providing clear rewards or victories, it encourages players to sit with discomfort. It asks them to pay attention to how emotional struggles can make even small decisions feel impossible.
The game’s design supports this experience. The screen uses gray tones, with plain black text and very little variation. There is no music or sound. The only color appears in the decision options. Blue is used for clickable responses. Red is used for responses that are no longer possible. This color choice feels cold and isolating. The design does not try to be entertaining. It mirrors the emotional tone of the story, which adds to the feeling of sadness and fatigue. In doing this, the game avoids traditional forms of stimulation and creates a more serious and thoughtful space.
Even though the game does many things well, it also has limitations. One major issue is that it presents a fairly narrow view of what depression can look like. The main character seems to live a middle-class life, with access to healthcare and a stable home. They have a job, a family, and a supportive partner. These are not bad things to show, but they do not reflect the experiences of many people who live with depression while also facing barriers like poverty or discrimination. The game does not show what it is like to be denied treatment because of cost, or to face stigma because of cultural background. These are very real parts of mental health for many people, and including them would make the game more honest and inclusive.
Figure 2. Overall really defeated options. The truth is that depression isn’t just all melancholy. Depressed people can be happy, but their overarching problems weigh them down that it is a trend. It’s not as one-sided as depicted in depression quest, and oftentimes things happen outside of their control. It’s a decent simulation on something that is hard to empathize with without experience.
Another concern is that the game does not provide enough emotional support for the player. The story is heavy and sometimes feels hopeless. There are very few moments of relief or lightness. This makes sense for the topic, but it also risks leaving players feeling drained. Chess talks about the need for feminist games to create more ways for people to enter and stay with the experience. That might include tools for care or reflection. For example, the game could offer a journaling space or provide mental health resources at the end. Even a message reminding the player that it is okay to take breaks could go a long way. These small choices can help players stay emotionally safe while they learn from the game.
Still, Depression Quest is a strong example of what a feminist game can be. It does not follow traditional game structures or reward systems. It is slow, reflective, and often difficult to play emotionally. But it uses that difficulty to teach something important. It shows that games can be about understanding rather than escaping. They can ask players to care and think instead of simply compete or win.
What makes Depression Quest a feminist game is not that it focuses on gender. It is that it creates space for a kind of human experience that is often invisible in games. It invites players to feel, reflect, and consider what life is like for people who struggle with depression. By doing so, it follows the core values of feminist game design. It challenges the norms of what games are supposed to be and opens up new ways to connect, learn, and care.
