Zen and Slow Games
Víctor Navarro-Remesal
Ebook
January 20, 2026 | ISBN 9780262385022
AmazonApple BooksBarnes & NobleBooks A MillionGoogle Play StoreKobo
Paperback
January 20, 2026 | ISBN 9780262553568
AmazonBarnes & NobleBooks A MillionBookshop.orgHudson BooksellersPowell'sTargetWalmart
About the Book
A deep dive into the reflective modes of playfulness in video games.
Slowness and reflectiveness have always been part of the video game medium, though they have been used very differently throughout its history. In Zen and Slow Games, Navarro-Remesal challenges the dominant discourse of action and quick reflexes in video games to offer an analysis of reflectiveness as a style in games, tracing its evolution from its origins to the present time. Two labels are of particular importance: the Zen Modes (and later, Zen Games) of the 2000s, especially during the Casual Revolution, and the Slow Games or Slow Gaming movement, which started in the 2010s and is ongoing today. The term “reflective games” is offered as an umbrella to bring together these and other labels to raise awareness and discussion of slow gaming.
Slowness and reflectiveness have always been part of the video game medium, though they have been used very differently throughout its history. In Zen and Slow Games, Navarro-Remesal challenges the dominant discourse of action and quick reflexes in video games to offer an analysis of reflectiveness as a style in games, tracing its evolution from its origins to the present time. Two labels are of particular importance: the Zen Modes (and later, Zen Games) of the 2000s, especially during the Casual Revolution, and the Slow Games or Slow Gaming movement, which started in the 2010s and is ongoing today. The term “reflective games” is offered as an umbrella to bring together these and other labels to raise awareness and discussion of slow gaming.
Read more
Close
