Research shows that young people may feel happier after playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or watching movies from Studio Ghibli.
A study examined the well-being of 518 graduate students by dividing them into four groups. One group played an open-world video game, another watched heartwarming, nostalgic movies, a third did both, and the final group didn’t participate in either activity. Afterwards, researchers asked all participants to rate their feelings of exploration, calmness, competence, purpose, and overall happiness.
People who played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild generally reported feeling happier than those who hadn’t. This positive effect was even more pronounced for people who also enjoyed Studio Ghibli films, likely due to the feelings of nostalgia those films evoke.
According to a recent study published in JMIR Serious Games, watching films from Studio Ghibli may have positive effects on mental well-being.
— TopMob (@TopMob) September 15, 2025
Exploration, calm, and mastery played key roles
The study explored how the interventions boosted happiness. Researchers discovered that feelings of exploration, calm, a sense of control, and purpose helped explain why playing the game and feeling nostalgic improved people’s overall well-being. Essentially, these feelings acted as a bridge between the game and increased happiness.
The study found that feeling nostalgic made playing open-world games even more enjoyable, and people who experienced both nostalgia and played these games reported the greatest levels of happiness.
This experiment, unlike simple observation, let the researchers confidently determine cause and effect. By randomly dividing students into different groups, they were able to pinpoint how both playing open-world games and watching nostalgic movies had an impact.
Although this research focused on graduate students and only looked at immediate changes, the findings indicate that certain games and media can consistently improve mood and overall life satisfaction.
This isn’t the first study about feelings to become popular online. Earlier this year, research suggested eating cheese before bed might lead to bad dreams, and another study identified the text message most likely to evoke a strong emotional response.
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2025-09-15 22:18