From Gameplay to Cultural Heritage Engagement: How Black Myth Wukong Shapes Traditional Attitudes and National Pride Among Chinese Youth

Abstract

The global expansion of the gaming industry has intensified scholarly interest in the cultural and psychological implications of digital gameplay. This study examines how gameplay experiences are associated with adolescents’ and young adults’ attitudes toward traditional culture and national pride, focusing on how myth-based digital games can function as interactive vehicles for cultural heritage engagement. Using Black Myth: Wukong, a contemporary action role-playing game inspired by the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West, the study investigates the psychological mechanisms through which gameplay extends into longer-term cultural evaluation. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, gameplay experience was conceptualized in terms of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, while Retrospective Imaginative Involvement (RII) was introduced to capture post-play imaginative recall and narrative elaboration. Survey data were collected from 312 Chinese adolescents and young adults who had played Black Myth: Wukong, and structural equation modeling was employed to test the relationships among gameplay experience, RII, traditional cultural attitudes, and national pride. The findings indicate that need-satisfying gameplay is positively associated with retrospective imaginative involvement, which in turn is linked to more favorable attitudes toward traditional culture and stronger national pride. The study suggests that the cultural influence of digital games extends beyond the moment of play and continues through reflective post-play processing. Theoretically, it contributes to research on media effects, narrative engagement, and digital heritage by identifying RII as a key post-play mechanism. Practically, it highlights the potential of culturally grounded games to support heritage communication and youth-oriented cultural engagement. © 2026 by the authors.