Dustbunny: Emotions to Plants is a casual game about mental health, out now

• Dustbunny: Emotions to Plants is a new casual game out now
• It asks you to reconnect with your own repressed emotions
• Despite that, this laid-back game takes you on a gentle journey with simple hidden-object puzzles

Recently, it seems to have become something of a trend that we see games which profess to help players with their mental well-being. Of course, a lot of this is just lip service, but some do seem to go the extra mile to hold themselves to it. Cue today's subject, Dustbunny: Emotions to Plants.

Billing itself as an experience dedicated to mental well-being, the point of Dustbunny is to decorate a dusty, abandoned room with all manner of plant life and decorations. The catch is that each plant first manifests as a tiny creature you need to catch and nurture, slowly growing them and populating your once-empty space.

Yes, it's not exactly the most subtle metaphor for mental well-being, but it's also fairly straightforward in how it can help players relax. Even the nurturing of the emotibuns (as they're so named) is not necessarily the only focus, as you can also play minigames with certain items around the room. Dustbunny is out now on iOS and Android, so give it a try!

Dust up

I like the sound of Dustbunny - too often it seems that those looking into emotions or those sort of themes tend to be guided at the developer's pace. And I think there's a lot of value in the idea of giving players more an open space to explore those themes. Add onto that the developer's commitment to focus on community rather than excess growth, and I wouldn't be surprised if Dustbunny grows a cult following.

If you're looking for more options to relax, then don't look any further because we've got our list of the top 25 relaxing games for Android ready for you to peruse!

And while you're here, be sure to cast your vote as to what's getting nominated at the 2024 Pocket Gamer Awards!