Most stories are about winning. Defeating the enemy. Conquering the challenge. Achieving the goal.
But there’s a different kind of story emerging-one that’s quietly radical:
Stories about healing. About restoration. About the slow, non-linear process of becoming whole again.
Not conquest. Recovery.
And these narratives are resonating deeply because they reflect something conquest narratives can’t: the actual shape of human healing.
The Hero’s Journey vs. The Healing Journey
Traditional Hero’s Journey:
- Call to adventure
- Trials and challenges
- Climactic confrontation
- Victory/transformation
- Return changed
Structure: Linear, escalating, culminating in a decisive moment
Healing Journey:
- Acknowledge brokenness
- Small, repeated efforts
- Setbacks and relapses
- Gradual integration
- Ongoing maintenance (never “finished”)
Structure: Cyclical, non-linear, no single climax
The critical difference: You “defeat” a dragon once. You manage trauma, addiction, or grief forever.
Why Healing Narratives Matter Now
The Mental Health Crisis
Statistics:
- 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness annually
- Anxiety and depression rates doubled during pandemic
- Burnout is endemic across professions
Traditional narratives:
- Often ignore mental health
- Or “cure” it with one big moment (inspirational speech fixes depression)
- Or use it as character flavor without depth
Healing narratives:
- Center mental health as the actual story
- Depict recovery as process, not event
- Respect the difficulty and non-linearity
Collective Exhaustion
We’re tired. Of hustle culture. Of constant crisis. Of performative productivity.
Conquest narratives say: Overcome. Defeat. Win.
Healing narratives say: Rest. Recover. Be gentle with yourself.
The latter message is profoundly counter-cultural-and desperately needed.
The Architecture of Healing Stories
Restoration vs. Destruction
Conquest narratives: Take broken situation → destroy problem → create new order
Healing narratives: Take broken situation → gradually repair → restore wholeness
Example: Stardew Valley
Conquest version: “Defeat Joja Corp by destroying their building”
Actual healing version:
- Restore community center (repair what was neglected)
- Revive relationships (heal social fabric)
- Rebuild your grandfather’s farm (restore family legacy)
- Help townspeople heal (Shane’s recovery, Penny’s hope)
You’re not fighting Joja-you’re making them irrelevant by healing the community.
The Cyclical Nature of Healing
Linear stories have clear endpoints. Healing stories embrace cycles:
Daily rituals:
- Water crops
- Feed animals
- Check on friends
- Maintain your space
These aren’t “grinding”-they’re healing through routine.
Why this works:
- Routine creates stability
- Repetition builds mastery
- Rituals provide grounding
- Small daily actions accumulate into transformation
Real-world parallel: Therapy, meditation, exercise-healing happens through consistent small actions, not one big breakthrough.
Key Elements of Healing Narratives
1. The Broken Beginning
Healing stories start with something damaged:
- A neglected farm (Stardew Valley)
- A destroyed home (Spiritfarer)
- An abandoned garden (Garden Story)
- A grieving character (Gris, Rakuen)
The brokenness is never ignored or rushed past. It’s acknowledged, felt, honored.
2. Small, Tangible Actions
You can’t “defeat” grief. But you can:
- Plant a seed
- Clean one room
- Talk to one person
- Complete one small task
Healing games excel at making the small feel meaningful:
A Short Hike: Collect feathers (simple) → gain ability to explore (empowering)
Unpacking: Place objects (simple) → create home (meaningful)
Spiritfarer: Cook meals for spirits (simple) → provide comfort (profound)
3. Setbacks Are Normal, Not Failure
Conquest narrative: Hero fails → despair → rally → ultimate victory
Healing narrative: Character has good days and bad days (and that’s okay)
Example: Celeste
- The mountain represents anxiety/depression
- You die constantly (setbacks are mechanical)
- But respawn instantly (setbacks aren’t punished)
- Progress is incremental (each screen is a small victory)
Madeline doesn’t “defeat” her anxiety. She learns to manage it. The ending doesn’t cure her-it shows her accepting the ongoing process.
4. Community as Support, Not Audience
Conquest stories: Hero acts, community cheers
Healing stories: Community actively participates in recovery
Stardew Valley:
- You help Shane confront alcoholism
- But the community (therapist, support system) also helps
- You’re part of his healing, not the sole savior
Spiritfarer:
- You help spirits resolve issues before death
- But they also help you process grief
- Healing is mutual, reciprocal
5. The Destination Is Ongoing
Conquest ending: Problem solved, world saved, credits roll
Healing ending: Character is better, but not “fixed” - life continues
Celeste: Madeline climbs the mountain, but still has anxiety Night in the Woods: Mae returns home, but issues aren’t resolved Stardew Valley: No ending-you keep playing, keep living
The message: Healing isn’t a destination you reach and stay at. It’s a practice you maintain.
The Technique: Writing Healing Narratives
1. Start with Loss, Not Lack
Lack (conquest): Character doesn’t have power/knowledge/tool → Acquire it → become capable
Loss (healing): Character had wholeness and lost it → Rebuild it → become integrated
Why this matters: Loss creates deeper emotional stakes. We grieve what we had. We merely desire what we never possessed.
Examples:
- Gris: Singer loses voice (grief visualization)
- Spiritfarer: Deceased souls processing death
- Stardew: Grandfather’s farm fallen to ruin
2. Make the Metaphor Physical
Abstract concepts (depression, grief, healing) are hard to depict. Effective healing narratives make them tangible:
Depression:
- Celeste: A mountain that’s exhausting to climb
- Gris: A colorless world slowly regaining color
Grief:
- Spiritfarer: Ferrying souls to the afterlife
- Rakuen: A fantasy world processing hospital trauma
Healing:
- Stardew: A farm transforming from overgrown to thriving
- Garden Story: A garden reclaimed from corruption
3. Use Environmental Storytelling
Show healing through the environment changing:
Visual progression:
- Overgrown → maintained
- Broken → repaired
- Empty → populated
- Gray → colorful
Stardew Valley’s farm over three years:
- Year 1: Clearing debris, basic crops
- Year 2: Infrastructure, animals, organization
- Year 3: Optimized, beautiful, productive
You see the healing in the space.
4. Embrace the Mundane
Healing happens in ordinary moments:
- Making breakfast
- Organizing a drawer
- Going for a walk
- Talking to a friend
Don’t skip these. In healing narratives, the mundane is the plot.
Coffee Talk: You make coffee and listen. That’s it. That’s the healing.
A Short Hike: You climb a mountain slowly, talking to people. No rush. The journey is the point.
5. Create Rituals
Rituals provide:
- Structure (predictability reduces anxiety)
- Meaning (transforms mundane into sacred)
- Progress (small repeated actions accumulate)
Effective game rituals:
- Morning routine in Stardew (water, feed, check)
- Cooking for spirits in Spiritfarer
- Watering flowers in Animal Crossing
These aren’t “filler”-they’re the mechanical expression of healing as practice.
Depicting Mental Health Respectfully
DO:
Show recovery as non-linear
- Good days and bad days
- Progress with setbacks
- No magic cure
Respect agency
- Character actively participates in healing
- Support is offered, not forced
- Growth comes from within, aided by others
Avoid spectacle
- Don’t make mental illness “cinematic”
- Quiet depiction of real struggle
- No romanticizing suffering
Example: Shane (Stardew Valley)
- Alcoholic, depressed, suicidal
- Heart events show therapy, support groups, setbacks
- Romance doesn’t “fix” him
- Years later, still managing (messy room persists)
DON’T:
Magic cure
- Love interest fixes depression
- One epiphany solves everything
- Problem disappears after climactic moment
Inspiration porn
- “Just stay positive!”
- Character exists to inspire others
- Suffering is romanticized or glorified
Trauma as plot device
- Tragic backstory without exploration
- Suffering exists only to motivate revenge
- No depiction of actual recovery
Why Fixing Feels Better Than Fighting
Psychologically, restoration is often more satisfying than destruction:
1. Creation > Destruction
Destruction:
- Temporary satisfaction
- Creates void
- Often requires more destruction
Creation/Restoration:
- Lasting satisfaction
- Fills void
- Enables further creation
Example:
- Destroy enemy base (done, empty)
- Restore community center (ongoing, generative)
2. Before/After Satisfaction
Healing narratives provide clear visual progress:
- Here’s the broken thing
- Here’s it getting better
- Here’s it whole
The transformation is visible and personal.
3. Alignment with Real Life
Most players will never:
- Save the world
- Defeat a dark lord
- Lead an army
Most players will:
- Try to recover from something
- Help someone they care about
- Attempt to fix what’s broken in their lives
Healing narratives are applicable.
Examples of Masterful Healing Games
Spiritfarer
What’s being healed: Grief, unfinished business, fear of death
How:
- Ferry souls to afterlife
- Help them resolve final issues
- Say goodbye with grace
Why it works: Death isn’t defeated-it’s honored. Healing is letting go.
Celeste
What’s being healed: Anxiety, self-doubt, depression
How:
- Climb mountain (face fear)
- Work with “bad” part of yourself
- Incremental progress despite constant setbacks
Why it works: Mental illness isn’t cured-it’s managed. Healing is acceptance.
Gris
What’s being healed: Grief, lost voice/agency
How:
- Traverse emotional landscape
- Regain color (representing emotion)
- Rebuild wholeness
Why it works: No enemies, no words-just pure emotional journey.
Stardew Valley
What’s being healed: Burnout, corporate alienation, community decay
How:
- Leave office job
- Restore farm and community center
- Build relationships, find purpose
Why it works: Systemic critique (Joja) + personal healing + community restoration
The Therapeutic Power of Narrative
These aren’t just games-they’re narrative therapy.
Research shows:
- Narrative helps process trauma
- Metaphor creates safe distance for difficult topics
- Interactive agency enhances engagement
- Repeated ritual supports real behavioral change
Healing games leverage all of this.
Practical Takeaway
To create a healing narrative:
1. Identify what’s broken
- Physical space (farm, home)
- Relationship (family, community)
- Internal (mental health, grief, identity)
2. Make healing tangible
- What small action represents recovery?
- How can progress be visualized?
3. Design for repetition
- What ritual could be meaningful?
- How does repetition create transformation?
4. Respect the timeline
- Healing is slow-embrace that
- No instant fixes
- Value the process, not just outcome
5. Create space for setbacks
- Bad days are normal
- Relapse isn’t failure
- Progress isn’t linear
The Radical Act of Healing
In a culture that valorizes conquest, strength, and constant achievement, healing narratives are revolutionary.
They say:
- It’s okay to be broken
- Recovery is worthy of story
- Small acts matter
- You don’t have to be fixed to be valuable
We don’t need another story about saving the world.
We need stories about saving ourselves-and each other-one small, repeated, imperfect action at a time.
Next: Quiet Protagonists in Loud Worlds - Why the farmer doesn’t speak