Feeling an Itch: A Systematic Review of Games for Mental Health on Itch.io

Aquila Wessels; Sander Bakkes; Julian Frommel

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-11043-5_33

Feeling an Itch: A Systematic Review of Games for Mental Health on Itch.io

Aquila Wessels
, Sander Bakkes
, Julian Frommel^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Sub Multimedia

Utrecht University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

In this study, we systematically reviewed mental health-related games on the indie games platform itch.io. After initial screening and subsequent gameplay, we arrived at a dataset of 60 browser-playable games tagged with “mental health” on itch.io, which were reviewed and classified along a set of categories: targeted mental health topic, game type, player motivation type, method used, theoretical grounding, references to resources, itch.io genre, interaction style, single-player or multiplayer social presence, and playtime. Analyzing trends in this dataset, we found that anxiety and depression were the most commonly targeted issues, while the game experiences were commonly single-player interactive fictions and visual novels. Only 13.33% of the games mentioned a relevant theoretical grounding. In addition to these findings, the research produced a detailed dataset of classified games that assist game scholars and other individuals seeking accessible mental health-focused games. While, to our knowledge, these games have not been evaluated regarding their effects on mental health, this can be valuable for research and practice.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Games and Learning Alliance - 14th International Conference, GALA 2025, Proceedings
Editors	Sander Bakkes, Francesco Bellotti, Pierpaolo Dondio, Manuel Ninaus, Vanissa Wannick, Antonio Bucchiarone
Publisher	Springer
Pages	344-354
Number of pages	11
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-032-11043-5
ISBN (Print)	978-3-032-11042-8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-11043-5_33
Publication status	Published - 2 Jan 2026
Event	14th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2025 - Utrecht, Netherlands Duration: 19 Nov 2025 → 21 Nov 2025

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Volume	16307
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	14th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2025
Country/Territory	Netherlands
City	Utrecht
Period	19/11/25 → 21/11/25

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Applied games
Games for health
Gamification
Indie games
Itch.io
Mental health
Serious games

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-032-11043-5_33

Cite this

Wessels, A., Bakkes, S., & Frommel, J. (2026). Feeling an Itch: A Systematic Review of Games for Mental Health on Itch.io. In S. Bakkes, F. Bellotti, P. Dondio, M. Ninaus, V. Wannick, & A. Bucchiarone (Eds.), Games and Learning Alliance - 14th International Conference, GALA 2025, Proceedings (pp. 344-354). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 16307). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-11043-5_33

Wessels, Aquila ; Bakkes, Sander ; Frommel, Julian. / Feeling an Itch: A Systematic Review of Games for Mental Health on Itch.io. Games and Learning Alliance - 14th International Conference, GALA 2025, Proceedings. editor / Sander Bakkes ; Francesco Bellotti ; Pierpaolo Dondio ; Manuel Ninaus ; Vanissa Wannick ; Antonio Bucchiarone. Springer, 2026. pp. 344-354 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science).

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abstract = "In this study, we systematically reviewed mental health-related games on the indie games platform itch.io. After initial screening and subsequent gameplay, we arrived at a dataset of 60 browser-playable games tagged with “mental health” on itch.io, which were reviewed and classified along a set of categories: targeted mental health topic, game type, player motivation type, method used, theoretical grounding, references to resources, itch.io genre, interaction style, single-player or multiplayer social presence, and playtime. Analyzing trends in this dataset, we found that anxiety and depression were the most commonly targeted issues, while the game experiences were commonly single-player interactive fictions and visual novels. Only 13.33\% of the games mentioned a relevant theoretical grounding. In addition to these findings, the research produced a detailed dataset of classified games that assist game scholars and other individuals seeking accessible mental health-focused games. While, to our knowledge, these games have not been evaluated regarding their effects on mental health, this can be valuable for research and practice.",

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Wessels, A, Bakkes, S & Frommel, J 2026, Feeling an Itch: A Systematic Review of Games for Mental Health on Itch.io. in S Bakkes, F Bellotti, P Dondio, M Ninaus, V Wannick & A Bucchiarone (eds), Games and Learning Alliance - 14th International Conference, GALA 2025, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 16307, Springer, pp. 344-354, 14th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2025, Utrecht, Netherlands, 19/11/25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-11043-5_33

Feeling an Itch: A Systematic Review of Games for Mental Health on Itch.io. / Wessels, Aquila; Bakkes, Sander ; Frommel, Julian.
Games and Learning Alliance - 14th International Conference, GALA 2025, Proceedings. ed. / Sander Bakkes; Francesco Bellotti; Pierpaolo Dondio; Manuel Ninaus; Vanissa Wannick; Antonio Bucchiarone. Springer, 2026. p. 344-354 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 16307).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

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Wessels A, Bakkes S , Frommel J. Feeling an Itch: A Systematic Review of Games for Mental Health on Itch.io. In Bakkes S, Bellotti F, Dondio P, Ninaus M, Wannick V, Bucchiarone A, editors, Games and Learning Alliance - 14th International Conference, GALA 2025, Proceedings. Springer. 2026. p. 344-354. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science). doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-11043-5_33