Shadow's Edge is a free mobile game created to help teens and young adults deal with mental or emotional challenges that may come your way.
Our narrative therapy-based journey makes the process of emotional wellness more like a video game so you can get back to having fun!
Welcome to the World of Shadow's Edge!
Life can get challenging at times, to say the least. Between school, work, and relationships, it’s easy to let our emotional needs take the back seat or to drown in a spiral of emotions and never ending thoughts... But what if taking care of our emotional health could be fun like a video game?
Discover a safe space entirely for you in the world of Shadow’s Edge! Vent it all out in your own private journal, unlock yourself through art and writing, and join a supportive and creative in-game community where we support each other through the tough times. And not only do you get to level up your self-care game, but Shadow’s Edge is the only mental health game where you can bring life back to a storm-wrecked city and defeat your personal shadows in epic battles at the same time!
Features:
-
Story driven casual and creativity game
-
Writing prompts based on narrative therapy and positive psychology.
-
Collect colors, stickers, stencils and player titles to build power.
-
Help Ty, the angry one, Maize, who's got an artistic block and Pax who sees no problem in anything to overcome their Shadow.
-
Get support from Phoenix, the wise pigeon along the way with exercises to relax and destress.
-
Easy to learn.
-
In-game art exchange "Shadowgram"
-
Discord community
Shadow's Edge is an ad-free game with no in-app purchases. Our goals is to reduce the stigma around mental health.
A project developed by The Digging Deep Project, an award-winning small nonprofit with a mission to create mental health tools that are based on expression, psychology and gaming.
Free to download on
Meet the guardians - they are your fellow travellers in the story of Shadow’s Edge. They each represent one of the stages of the world that they are stuck in. Their look, clothing, mannerisms, and even what they say and how they say it, work together to help you recognize these stages in yourself. Think of the Guardians like virtual friends that help you progress through the game.
Tyler (also known as Ty) oftentimes comes across as terse and angry, especially during times of stress. He wants to be always on the move, not entirely accepting what has happened and just wanting to “get it fixed." But his limited ability to show emotions keeps him from healing. His fear to have the stigma of being the one who messed things up, keeps him from sharing what he is going through. All this ironically contradicts his desire and ability to find solutions to the problems around him.
​
Ty’s refusal to open up and show vulnerability puts a wedge between him and his friends, Maize and Pax. He wants to be mad at them for leaving him behind, but deep down knows that he also needs to change. And that he needs to learn to show vulnerability and that receiving help supports him in coming to terms with what is happening.
The Guardian of Disruption
With all that is happening in Shadow’s Edge, Maize is a bit overwhelmed by strong emotions. She switches from being negative, to being more optimistic, then back again with the blink of an eye. What makes it all so much worse is that her relationship with her two best friends, Ty and Pax, has been in disarray since the storm hit, and she feels stuck in the middle of it all. Maize is stuck in a spiral of thoughts and emotions as she struggles to find solid ground in herself.
She can see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, yet she doesn’t know how to get there! But as the city starts to heal, Maize’s starts to feel more hopeful, and she begins to find meaning through her art and poetry. Which is all thanks to the help from the hero ( that’s you, the player)!
The Guardian of Disillusionment
Pax is an optimistic and bubbly person with a passion for nature, yoga, and meditation. They know how to smile through the hard times and tries to not let past challenges weigh them down.
But sometimes their overwhelming amount of positivity comes between them and their friends, who just want to feel heard and supported when times are tough. Pax is in away fearing to be stigmatised, if she admits that she is struggling. Pax’s current challenge is learning how to see things from a positive light, while also understanding that ignoring problems can be just as damaging... for both themselves and those around them.