Beyond Human-Centric Play: A Review of Commercial Video Games to Inform More-than-Human Serious Game Design

Rapid changes in climate and persistent environmental challenges require us to reconsider our relationship with the environment in ways that account for the existence of other species. Serious games are often developed to raise players’ environmental awareness and encourage them to adopt alternative perspectives. In this study, we systematically analyze the reviews of 45 commercial video games with a Steam score of 75% or higher, selected as possible facilitators of fun and more-than-human experiences. We devise exclusion criteria based on the evaluation of human decentering with respect to nature, sustainability, and climate change to identify relevant games that will benefit the development of serious games. We conduct a sentiment analysis of game reviews and comments on the online Steam store, analyzing positive sentiment as an indication of fun, enjoyment, and appreciation of the game. Our findings show a positive association between enjoyment and realistic yet relaxed and calm environments. Furthermore, we find no indication that fun is associated with either immersion or narrative aspects. Implications for serious game design are discussed, highlighting the challenge of designing enjoyable human-decentered play.