{"id":147549,"date":"2026-05-04T12:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T12:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/article.php?article_id=2140184"},"modified":"2026-05-04T12:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T12:20:10","slug":"neurodeck-tackling-phobias-and-mental-health-is-both-refreshing-and-a-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/neurodeck-tackling-phobias-and-mental-health-is-both-refreshing-and-a-concern\/","title":{"rendered":"Neurodeck tackling phobias and mental health is both refreshing and a concern"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bertie:<\/strong> It’s the monsters that do it for me. They are manifestations of phobias, and even though I am lucky enough to not have any phobias (that I know of), they unsettle me. Take the Tokophobia monster: it’s based around a fear of childbirth, and here it’s depicted by a silhouetted pregnant woman on her knees, whose bulging stomach morphs into an angry child when it attacks. That’s freaky, right?<\/p>\n

Or there’s the Haptophobia monster, which I think ought to be Haphephobia because it’s based around a phobia of touching. Here, it’s a creature made of many hands that all reach out and grab at you when it attacks, and it’s grotesque. <\/p>\n

There are others but I don’t want to spoil them. But it’s the way they’re brought to life, the way they look and behave, moving as if made for a vintage cartoon, in a kind of flick-book animated way, which speaks to a kind of quality in Neurodeck which elevates it. That, hand-in-hand with the game’s focus on mental health, and cards themed around ways to deal with phobias, and keeping a mind calm and positive, are what makes Neurodeck more than another game moulded around a Slay the Spire frame. They’re its difference. And they manage a kind of relevance and connection with, certainly, me, that other games have to work much harder for.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bertie: It’s the monsters that do it for me. They are manifestations of phobias, and even though I am lucky enough to not have any phobias (that I know of), they unsettle me. Take the Tokophobia monster: it’s based around a fear of childbirth, and here it’s depicted by a silhouetted pregnant woman on her knees, whose bulging stomach morphs into an angry child when it attacks. That’s freaky, right? Or there’s the Haptophobia monster, which I think ought to be Haphephobia because it’s based around a phobia of touching. Here, it’s a creature made of many hands that all reach out and grab at you when it attacks, and it’s grotesque. There are others but I don’t want to spoil them. But it’s the…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eurogamer"],"yoast_head":"\nNeurodeck tackling phobias and mental health is both refreshing and a concern | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bertie: It's the monsters that do it for me. 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