Fractured Minds
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the Game
Fractured Minds is an immersive artistic short game, exploring anxiety and mental health issues.
Winner of the BAFTA Young Game Designers Award, Fractured Minds is a game created by Emily Mitchell, then 17-years-old, with the hope of aiding understanding and awareness of mental illness.
Embark on a journey through the human psyche and experience six atmospheric and thought-provoking chapters, each symbolising a different aspect or challenge associated with mental health issues; from isolation to anxiety, with everyday situations being distorted beyond recognition.
Raw, emotive and earnest, Fractured Minds demonstrates that video games are capable of communicating vital messages in imaginative ways. It is a game that seeks to encourage empathy and champion support for the millions living with mental health issues.
Wired Productions is proud to support Safe In Our World, a gaming industry charity striving for mental health awareness. 80% of the proceeds will help fund Emily’s career as well as future initiatives from Safe In Our World.
- Take a personal and honest journey through the human psyche.
- Interact with your environment to overcome challenges and puzzles across 6 levels, each inspired by real life obstacles.
- Explore the emotions surround emptiness, anxiety, depression and paranoia.
- Enjoy a rich and immersive soundtrack including “Silence” provided kindly by Kai Engel.
- A thought-provoking experience about what it means to live with mental health.
“Fractured Minds is an immersive puzzle game that uncovers the daily struggles of people living with anxiety and mental health issues. It is designed to give the player a genuine insight into the experiences of those quietly living with mental illness – the feelings of isolation, of being trapped, of everyday situations being distorted beyond recognition.
My own anxiety has been very debilitating and I wanted to create a game that shares my experiences and provokes real discussion about this topic that is often misunderstood and rarely spoken about. It recently won the Young Game Designers BAFTA award (15 – 18 category) and now I’d love for you to play.
I realise the game is provocative and at times uncomfortable – but I felt that it was so important to be honest and true-to-life – confronting mental illness is extremely challenging and uncomfortable.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Fractured Minds. Your energy has helped to elevate support and awareness for mental health.”
— Emily Mitchell
Game Discussion
Steam User 6
I like the game, but the achievements are broken. I missed one, went back to play chapter 4 to finish it and then it reset all achievements, didn't think that was possible.
Steam User 5
I hope Emily is very proud of this one. As a game developer, we want our games to be fun, but sometimes we also want them to spark emotion. For me this game sparked a lot of emotions. It was short, but well put together. Keep it up Emily
Steam User 2
I remember playing this game for the first time on my xbox, had no idea it was on steam so i decided to playthru it again. Its a really short game that does a great job in visualizing different mental health issues. I'd recommend it to anyone whos struggling with mental health or just anyone whos curious about mental health. But for the price, theres not alot of games out there that can send the same message that Fractured Minds can. Ill eventually playthru it again, only complaint I have that it wasnt longer.
Steam User 2
An intriguing and heartfelt look into mental illness and relationship breakdown through the eyes of a child. Although the game is short, its emotional impact and thoughtful design make the small price of admission well worth it. A powerful experience from an award-winning title.
Steam User 1
Very short but really good game / experience. Level 4 part 2 (Or was it 5?), with the water and the platforms and jumping to the door was a bit difficult.. The way the running jump keeps your momentum and doesn't slow you down as you move forward through the air, a dampening effect, would have been helpful. The movement on the ground was a bit weirder than I am use to as well, it had a sort of ice skating effect where your character continues to slide a little after you let go of the keys. Everything in the game worked though! I was able to complete the game and that makes me happy.
Steam User 0
Fractured Minds is a simple walking simulator where you walk around and interact with game objects to progress the game chapters. Each chapter simulates different emotions for the players to allow them to understand and empathise with someone who is experiencing social anxiety. Chapter 1 is called The Mundane and the player feels bored when walking around in the room looking for the key to unlock the door to the next chapter. Chapter 2 called Emptiness allows the player to feel empty as they are celebrating their birthday but no one is around. Chapter 3 titled Comfort Zone allows the player to feel safe and secure inside a room and when they venture out of the room, a voice tells them not to leave, making them feel discomfort. Chapter 4 with the title Paranoia makes players feel fearful when they see many people in the streets looking at their handphones. The player feels more anxious when they have to find the people with the correct matching symbols to unlock the exit to the chapter. Chapter 5 called Sinking and is related to the previous chapter? In the previous chapter, as players tried to reach the door at the other end to exit the chapter, they get pulled down into the water, causing them to feel that they are burdened by a heavy load or responsibility. Finally, Chapter 6 called Monster requires the player to turn four levers to destroy the monster and the process caused the player to reflect on whether they are the monster that they are trying to eliminate.
Even though the game is quite straightforward, I was stuck in Chapter 5 Sinking as I could not see the password on the television screen after I put the batteries into the remote control on the table. My character was standing too far from the television screen, so the numbers on the television screen are quite small and do not stand out for me as numbers. I had to watch a YouTube video to look for the answer for the passcode to unlock the door to exit the chapter. I also missed the achievement called "Do you need me to hold your hand?" in Chapter 4 Paranoia as I did not know that I had to wait for a while for the monster to spawn along the walkways beside the street and so I missed this achievement on my first playthrough. I had to play Chapter 4 again to get this achievement. When I replayed Chapter 4 to get this achievement, I honestly felt a bit anxious that the monster did not appear even though I had waited for quite some time (waited for about 18 minutes?)
Steam User 0
I really appreciate the amount of context on the store page for this game. Explaining the background of the developer, the award she won, and the message she is trying to convey helps frame this experience.
The game itself is exactly what it says it is. A short, interactive artistic experience. There isn't much here as far as actual gameplay goes.
I wish the developer great success moving forward.
6/10.