Mario Kart is currently the most stressful game in the world, according to a survey conducted by BonusFinder. In the same category, which took into account the heart rate of players, second place went to FIFA 20, one of the most popular soccer simulators, while the FPS Call of Duty: Modern Warfare won the bronze medal, placing third. Titles such as Dark Souls III and Fortnite also appear on the list. Check below for more information about the study.
The survey was released on November 9 and used the heart rate measurement of 14 volunteers during several games to reach their verdicts. According to the authors of the study, the participants in question were chosen because they played at least 15 hours a week and were already quite familiar with the games on the list.
BonusFinder explains that Mario Kart, available for platforms such as Nintendo Switch, increased players’ heart rates by an average of 21 BPM (beats per minute). In percentage, the increase corresponded to a 32.81% increase in heart rate, which, at rest, was in the 64 BPM range, as reported by the authors.
In the case of FIFA 20, available for PlayStation 4 (PS4), PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, the increase in beats corresponded to 20 BPM on average, a high of 31.25% compared to the heart rate in a normal state. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, third on the list and available for the same platforms as the Electronic Arts soccer simulator, raised heart rates by 29.69%.
An interesting curiosity is that although it is only fourth on the overall list, Dark Souls III registered the highest peak heart rate, reaching an average of 127 BPM during a fight against the Darkeater Midir boss (an increase of 98.44% compared to the rest frequency, 64 BPM). The second-highest peak heartbeat was from Fall Guys, a game that became viral after its release in August 2020.
The analysis of the behavior and effects of electronic games on people’s health is quite common. The results of the research, however, are not always the same. Another study that measured the same aspect of stress, developed by the site ManySpins, identified that the most stressful game is Among Us. The online impostor game generated an increase, on average, of 67% in the heartbeats of the players who participated in the tests.
After all, what are the most stressful games in the world?
The research conducted by BonusFinder took into account the effects of gameplays of 16 different genres, which went from running to RPGs and FPS. For the choice, the most challenging and popular games of each segment were selected. Check below the complete list of games, from the most to the least stressful.
The full list of games for a maximum of 30 minutes was:
- Mario Kart
- FIFA 20
- Call of Duty (Modern Warfare)
- Dark Souls III
- Fortnite
- DOOM
- Fall Guys
- Battlefield V
- Street Fighter
- Among Us
- Grand Theft Auto
- UNO!
- The Sims
- Animal Crossing
- Minecraft
- Skyrim
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