Most depressing video games?
Majora's Mask is all about depression, man that game. Everything from the ominous moon that will crash in 3 days, all the people suffering in Termina, and knowing that you don't have the time to restore everything to its former state in one time loop. Plus Link never finds Navi, which is really sad. Also, Metal Gear Solid 4, how Snake turns into a shrivelled prune as the world destroys itself, and the very sad graveyard scene at the end. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron was also pretty sad, especially for a transformers game. Grimlock's transformation into a monster, and the autobots observing their world's destruction. Halo 4's ending was predictable, but not too bad. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, that was a real downer, after the first half of the game, all the characters in your army, who have been developing relationships with each other, talking about plans for after the war, are all scorched to death by their allies, and the traitor responsible steals the main characters wife before killing him off. The second half of the game isn't much better, all the new characters are orphans left by the parents who died in the first half, living in harsh conditions.
Can depression be a form of an ego death?
Ego death has a couple of meanings, so my answer is based on Joseph Campbell’s use of the term. Self-surrender and transition can be aspects of depression, but there are frequently other features to the depression that are not so positive. I have had quite a few depressive episodes, which has put me in close quarters with others suffering from depression. One patient described his depression as an endless loop of negative self talk. The only way he could think to quiet it would be to jump off a high bridge, but he was too scared, which added to the loop the notion that he was a coward on top of all the other negative talk. Medicine eventually helped reduce his anxiety. The desire to snuff out one’s own life, or the perception that one is a coward, are both deeply attached to ego.My worst depression caused me to sleep 18 hours a day. I had to register for college courses, and nothing I picked was available. I had decided to end my life, so I randomly chose Italian. After a botched suicide, I got psychiatric help for the depression. I speak fluent Italian now. So that seems like self-surrender leading to a transition. It is rare that someone who has chosen actual death will find a way through and experience a life change without medicine and talk therapy. The wounded ego may choose suicide. That is not a desirable transition!