Application Of Serious Games And Digital Game Based Learning (DGBL) In Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic review on the use of serious games (SGs) and digital game-based learning (DGBL) in higher education across various disciplines. The aim of the review is to identify research gaps and summarize the current status of the use of SGs in higher education, including growth over the years, applications across different regions, types of games applied, research methods used, and acquisition of results. Using the PRISMA 2020 guideline, a total of 211 research papers were found from the three databases (Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of science). After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria for filtration, 16 papers were finally selected for review. The review found that the application of DGBL and SG in higher education resulted significant improvements of learning outcomes and academic achievement. However, there are still significant research gap in exploring tertiary or vocational education in different disciplines. The existing researches focus on targeted outcomes but rarely identifying other learning outcomes from DGBL and SG. This review paper concludes that future research needs to focus on exploring the impact of DGBL and SG on a wider range of learning outcomes while strengthening the applied approach in different disciplines of knowledge.