Here are six wholesome moments in video games that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Video games are deeper than vanquishing enemies and outdoing others in sports. They have the power to grip your emotions, far beyond any other form of media, because of the element of interactivity.

Films have memorable moments. Books have great chapters that stick with you. But games have moments that burn into my memory far longer any words or recorded moving picture could.

Pair that with the growing need and love for wholesome content in 2018 (it’s been a rough year, okay?), I realised a list like this doesn’t really exist. So allow me to list (in no particular order) seven wholesome moments in gaming.

Also, spoiler warnings for The Last of Us, Uncharted 4, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Pokemon Let’s Go.

1. Teeing off in Everybody’s Golf

Golfing made for one of two types of game - slow and boring, or incredibly sports focussed. Everybody’s Golf changed that for me. Life slowed down and my heart rate relaxed, as I settled down to a few holes in one of the calmest experiences on my PS2. So wholesome.

2. An unexpected discovery in The Last of Us

Ellie has just murdered the leader of a cannibalistic group, who had sadistically targeted her. It was a horrific moment, which you see affect her in the proceeding scenes.

She looks pensively into the distance, shaken to the core by what she’d been witness to. And as she drops a ladder for you, she runs off after spotting something. Scared for her safety, you rush after her, but things aren’t quite what you expect…

You burst through a door to see what she was looking at - a beautiful giraffe. In this world of terror, nature’s beauty has taken the planet back, leading to one of the most introspectively wholesome moments of the entire game

3. Reuniting a Cubone with its dead mother in Pokemon Let’s Go

Beating up other kids pets for money doesn’t necessarily lead to wholesome moments. But then again, if you still think this, you clearly haven’t been to Lavender Town. The whole story surrounding this place was already bittersweet, a commonly known fact through all previous Pokemon titles, but this was different.

As you retrieve binoculars to see ghosts for what they are in the cemetery, you reveal a giant ghost to be the mother of a tiny Cubone. They reunite one last time before she disappears and you feel emotional-yet-whole at the same time.

4. Every. Single. Moment in Animal Crossing

Nothing much to say about this community simulation that hasn’t already been said. It’s one of the most relaxed experiences you can ever have. I always nip back to this village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, to check on my crops and go fishing. It’s rare to feel so wholesomely fulfilled.

5. Settling down in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

You’ve played three games full of adventure and deaths in their thousands, making you realise that Nathan Drake should 100% be in prison right now. But as we moved onto the PS4, we were welcomed to a version of Drake after the action - including being thrashed on Crash Bandicoot by your wife and enjoying a nice dinner.

The love feels real as you have officially settled down into the married life. Get ready for a wholesome 15 minutes of gaming.

6. Building a house in Red Dead Redemption 2

As the most recent game on this list, I’ve saved it until last and have drawn the word count out on this part, so that if you haven’t completed the story mode, you’ll not have gone too far into hitting spoiler territory. Do not read any further if you’re yet to finish the story…

So, as you transition to playing as John Marston after the demise of Arthur Morgan (see, I warned you there would be spoilers), you start to rebuild the life you wanted for your wife and son. This includes building a new ranch house, which is accompanied by a super wholesome country song and a wholesome montage that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside with wholesomeness.

Of course, these are just my choices, so please do suggest your own in the comments. I’m always looking for new wholesome experiences!

THANKS FOR READING.

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