Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies - Ludomythologies, Oct 2025

In this article, we analyse the Boku no Natsuyasumi series (Millennium Kitchen 2000–09), where players control a boy in rural Japan in the 1970s, and other related games starring children in mundane settings. We use myth analysis, analysis of video game form, and the mechanics, dynamics, experiences (MDE) model to identify and study their recurrent motifs and imaginaries and how these are turned into gameplay. We argue that these games are connected to the Japanese idea of furusato (‘old village’), a form of political and social nostalgia described as a ‘mythopoeia’ of modern Japan. We identify four main mythemes: (1) a child protagonist, (2) rurality, (3) community and (4) mechanics about daily activities. Our findings show how this subset of games reflects (international) cultural obsessions about modernity, childhood and nostalgia, while at the same time using ludonarrative strategies to embrace adulthood.

This article discusses the potential for the mythological study of (video)games or mytholudic analysis, to both benefit from and enhance ecocriticism. In ecocritique, the question of ecopolitical relationality is at the forefront of critical analysis. In the study of myth, likewise, sociocultural realities can be critically analysed through their salient naturality yet implicit political signification. Considering and reformulating the idea of myth through the concerns of ecocriticism can therefore facilitate ecocritical analysis surrounding invocations of myth. This article sets out to expand understandings of myths and mytholudics to involve ecocritical analysis. Finally, the article develops this approach through a case study of Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (2020), subsuming existent ecocritical analyses into mytholudic ecocriticism.

This article proposes to incorporate René Girard’s mimetic theory into the study of ludomythology using the game Shadow of the Colossus (Team ICO 2005) as a case study, comparing the existing analyses of the game with the results of this new approach. Textual analyses argue that the game portrays a tragic world and that the actions of the player character are morally negative. Our approach suggests that this perspective corresponds to the foundational myth created by the persecutors of scapegoats, an accusatory narrative that legitimizes the sacrifice of victims. Girardian hermeneutics, supported by methods of video game narratology, reveals this rhetorical mechanism while also suggesting that, within the game’s world, the victims are innocent and its protagonist is a hero seeking to abolish the legitimizing foundations of violence which are inherent in the sacrificial society to which he belongs.

The present article examines the interactive representation of serial killers, victims and law enforcement in video games, focusing on three case studies: Until Dawn, Heavy Rain and Ravenous Devils. Through a textual analysis, we explore how these games reinterpret traditional narrative archetypes through their ludic language. Until Dawn showcases the perspective of the victim in an interactive slasher, Heavy Rain delves into the tormented detective of the neo-noir and Ravenous Devils transforms the killer into a capitalist entrepreneur. The study highlights the ability of the video game medium to explore moral and systemic complexities, remediating film and literary conventions while developing its own aesthetics and mechanics. The results underscore interactivity as a key element to understand the cultural fascination with serial killers and fictional representations of them.

This article offers a historical perspective on the representation of ancient Rome within the video game medium, focusing on the transformation of the Roman past into myth, and on the resulting creation of new ludic imaginaries of antiquity. The selected case study concerns the portrayal of Marcus Junius Brutus in some of the most commercially and culturally influential video games of the past two decades: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (2010), Assassin’s Creed: Origins (2017) and Shadow of Rome (2005). By analysing the narrative and visual characterization of Brutus, the aim is to provide insights into how historical figures, through continuous processes of rewriting, are reshaped according to contemporary sensibilities while still retaining roots traceable to ancient sources. These roots – despite historical accuracy and reimagining – may prove productive for the understanding and interpretation of the past.

Video games have demonstrated a profound connection with mythic structures. This connection can be examined through player interactions in online forums, where mythic elements may emerge and be reinterpreted in user commentary. This study explores whether fans perceive and discuss, on Steam forums, the classical and contemporary mythic structures embedded in the video games they engage with and whether they are linked with their own day-to-day experiences. Through a qualitative analysis of forum posts, this article seeks to identify common themes and trends in how players interpret and engage with mythical elements in games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Death Stranding, Gone Home and Detroit: Become Human. The findings reveal that players often draw from a diverse range of mythologies to make sense of video-game narratives, while also generating their unique mythic interpretations.