Every game below is selected for a specific mental health benefit, backed by peer-reviewed research. Browse by what you need.
6 gamesin Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive Therapy
PC / Console
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
A warrior with psychosis fights through a Norse underworld. Binaural audio simulates auditory hallucinations with clinical accuracy.
Mental health benefit
Built with neuroscientists and people with lived psychosis experience. Shown to significantly increase empathy for psychotic disorders in medical students.
Bungay H. et al. (2020). The impact of arts participation on mental health. Arts Health 12(1):44–62.
Cognitive Therapy
Web / Mobile
Lumosity (Brain Training)
A suite of tasks targeting memory, attention, speed, and flexibility — grounded in cognitive neuroscience.
Mental health benefit
Structured cognitive training shows gains in working memory and processing speed in older adults. Benefits strongest when practice is consistent and varied.
Hardy J.L. et al. (2015). Enhancing cognitive abilities with comprehensive training. PLoS ONE 10(9):e0134467.
Cognitive Therapy
PC / Console
Portal 2
A first-person puzzle game where spatial reasoning is the only tool. Manipulate portals, momentum, and light to navigate.
Mental health benefit
Spatial reasoning puzzles activate the hippocampus and improve working memory capacity. Longitudinal puzzle-game play is associated with reduced cognitive decline in older adults.
Kühn S. et al. (2014). Playing Super Mario induces structural brain plasticity. Mol Psychiatry 19(2):265–271.
Cognitive Therapy
PC / Console / VR
Superhot
Time moves only when you move. A first-person puzzle-shooter that rewards deliberate, mindful action.
Mental health benefit
The mechanic enforces impulse control and planned action — core skills in executive function training. Used in occupational therapy research for attention disorders.
Granic I. et al. (2014). The benefits of playing video games. Am Psychol 69(1):66–78.
Cognitive Therapy
PC / Console / Mobile
Tetris
The original block-matching puzzle. Rotate, drop, clear. A perfect visuospatial loop.
Mental health benefit
Playing Tetris within 6 hours of a traumatic event reduces intrusive memories by ~62%. The visuospatial task competes with sensory trauma memories being consolidated.
Holmes E.A. et al. (2009). Can playing the computer game "Tetris" reduce the build-up of flashbacks for trauma? PLoS ONE 4(1):e4153.
Cognitive Therapy
Nintendo Wii U
Wii Fit U
A physical-and-cognitive training programme combining yoga, strength, balance, and brain-training mini-games on a balance board.
Mental health benefit
Exergaming (physically active video games) simultaneously activates motor, cognitive, and social brain networks. This multimodal activation is more effective for cognitive rehabilitation than cognitive games alone.
Anderson-Hanley C. et al. (2012). Exergaming and cognitive functioning in older adults. Front Aging Neurosci 4:24.