Cards of Heart
A downloadable game for Windows and macOS
Download the game (for Mac or Windows) below! To play, unzip the folder on your computer, click on "Cards of Heart" and enjoy!
Update: The final version of the game was released in early September 2024 for both Itch and Steam, and it can now be downloaded here as "v2."
Cards of Heart is a narrative-focused cozy digital card game mixed with a fantasy top-down RPG about a young woman’s daily mental health struggles against her inner Shadows.
Controls
WASD- Move
E- Interact with points in the world
Click and Drag- Play cards, add/remove cards from the deck
Left Mouse Button- Advance dialogue, use techniques, open menus, etc.
Description
Amalia is a young woman living in a small fantasy town who is plagued by Shadows after losing her best friend. But when a wisp named Ljos gives her the ability to create cards of light from her daily life, she must use this power to confront the Shadows and heal from the pain of her past.
By creating cards of light to confront Shadows and discover insights in Amalia’s memory, the player will experience the heartache and hope that are part of the difficult process of encountering and overcoming mental health challenges while exploring concepts like self-acceptance, resilience, and the importance of social connections. The mechanics in the game are grounded in real therapeutic techniques used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Narrative Therapy.
We're still working to improve the game! Please let us know if you have bugs, suggestions, or other feedback! :)
This game was developed as an MFA thesis at the University of Southern California by Marielle Brady and the Cards of Heart team.
Download
Comments
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Randomly tried this game, and I'm very glad I did!
This is a sweet story about a young woman learning to live with depression. The deck-building actually mechanics fit the theme very well. Negative thoughts fill up her deck with with junk cards, making it harder to do anything. On the other hand, connecting with others and performing self-care adds new cards to her deck, literally representing her learning new tools to manage her condition.
I don't usually have much interest in 'wholesome' games. But I really enjoyed this, and when I was done I even thought about doing the dishes! (I didn't actually do them though)