Stop and Breathe
A 3D puzzle platformer that teaches you a breathing technique to help with your anxiety! Calm your mind by performing the breathing technique, Belly Breathing! Traverse a school environment, solve puzzles, move platforms, all while being accompanied by your companion, Zen!
Does this feel indie?
Vote based on whether this game feels indie to you. You can change your vote at any time. Results earn an IGF score after 10 accepted votes.| ContextThe evidence factors used to assess whether this game belongs on IndieGame.Fan. | Status | Notes Latest Contributor: IGF TeamEdit notes |
|---|---|---|
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer. | ||
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher. | ||
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Publisher statusHow the game's publishing relationship is classified. | ||
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Creative controlWho appears to retain creative control of the game. | ||
Updated: Jul 14, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released. |
Media
6 itemsAbout the Game
Game Overview
Discover the importance of breathing during moments of stress or anxiousness.
Learn how to control your breathing to achieve serenity and calmness.
Solve a series of fun puzzles with a multitude of gameplay mechanics.
The Story
Ace is a young teen who starts to feel anxious about kicking off their day at school. As they head towards the school entrance, their anxiousness begins to grow and intensify until they experience an intense panic attack. Feeling scared and overwhelmed, Ace gets closed off into a warped mind world where they now need to find a way out.
With the help of their companion Zen, Ace learns the proper timings and physical stance for the Belly Breathing technique, which they can now utilize to expel their anxiousness and colour the way forward.
Gameplay
In this mind world, Ace must navigate a disjointed version of their school by performing a series of simple platforming challenges, breathing the anxiousness away, and solving an array of puzzles.
Upon entering each new section of the school, mental blockers and a lack of colour fill the surrounding area, making it difficult for Ace to achieve their goal of escaping.
By finding a calm space to center themselves, Ace can perform Life Breathing to bring colour back bit by bit and remove their mental blockers.
Use the power of controlled breath when interacting with breathing terminals to inflate and deflate large balloons, change the directional air flow of fans, and rotate platforms to move forward.
To progress to the next section, find and place large books into their proper shelves to open doors and move on to the next page of the Ace’s journey.
