Not that there is a need to justify buying yourself or your grandkids video games, but “Cognitive trainings using video games might increase subjective well-being of individuals with depression”.

Small study (46 participants - so big grain of salt needed) Published in Frontiers In Psychology, 3 groups (3-D Video Gaming (n=14; played “Super Mario Odyssey”), active control “CogPack” (n=16; trained on a computer program); and standard treatment (n=16; psychotherapy and medication).

Results showed that the percentage of participants with high levels of depressive symptoms decreased the most in the “Super Mario Odyssey” group. Their number almost halved. The decreases in the other two groups were smaller and insufficient to exclude the possibility that they were due to random variations in answers instead of treatment effects.