Climate change, air pollution, and other destructive habits of human beings towards the environment should be a great cause of concern to everyone. Travelers are well-aware of the environmental troubles impacting tourist destinations in the Philippines, including the encroachment of territories in Masungi Georeserve, destruction of mountains due to mining in Sibuyan Island, and damage to marine life brought by the recent oil spill in the wates of Mindoro.
However, kids these days are growing up stuck to their screens rather than exposed to the great outdoors. One way to make the younger generation appreciate the value of nature and our environment more is through video games.
An estimated 2.6 billion people play video games globally and a growing number are taking interest in the environment and conservation. According to the2019 UNEP report Playing for the Planet “video games can help engage billions to contribute to solutions to social and environmental challenges.”
To mark Earth Day this April 22, here just a few video games with environmental themes worth playing.
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Horizon Forbidden West (2022)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
I’m currently playing Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn. Like its predecessor, the sequel features primitive human tribes battling technologically advanced mechanical creatures in a post-apocalyptic version of Western United States recovering from the aftermath of an extinction event. Aloy’s main quest is to find the source of a mysterious red blight that is destroying the world, including the natural wildlife and plant life. The game features a vast array of beautifully-rendered environments and ecosystems, including lush valleys, dry deserts, snowy mountains, tropical beaches, ruined cities, and underwater settings. Horizon Forbidden West serves as a cautionary tale of how things can go wrong when humans prioritize technology over nature and the importance of healthy planet.
Endling: Extinction is Forever (2022)
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Amazon Luna, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Android, iOS
Endling: Extinction is Forever is an indie survival-adventure game where you play the last mother fox on Earth. Your goal is to navigate through the brutal industrialized lands, guiding and protecting your three fox cubs and teaching them how to survive in the world bent on destroying their natural habitat. Every move you make to a safer location has to be planned carefully, because one wrong choice could result in the loss of one of your pups. Based on the trailer alone, this one looks like a real tear-jerker.
Plasticity (2019)
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac, Linux. Play the game for free on Steam here.
Plasticity is a puzzle-platformer game that’s meant to be a wake up call on plastic and waste management. Designed and created by students, this free-to-play game set in 2140 in a future where plastic consumption has never ended, leaving lifeless lands, flooded cities, and widespread debris. In the game, you play as Noa and must complete puzzles and make decisions in a terrible world overwhelmed by plastic pollution. Your actions impact how you play the game and Noa’s future.
Eco (2018)
Platform: Microsoft Windows
Eco is an open-world simulation game where players have to work together to create a civilization on a virtual planet. The multiplayer survival game allows players to interact with both the world and each other and pushes players to reenact a sustainable lifestyle. Players must save the in-game world from an impending asteroid by developing technology destroy the meteor before it strikes. But they have to be careful because their actions will impact the natural resources and the world around them. This award-winning game is now being used as an educational tool for kids.
Okami / Okami HD (2006/2017)
Platforms: Original: PlayStation 2, Wii, Okami HD : PlayStation 3, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
While it was first released almost two decades ago, the timeless game Okami was remastered in HD and widely ported to several newer-gen platforms for a new breed of gamers in 2017. Set in classical Japan, Okami combines Japanese mythology and folklore to tell the story of how the land was saved by the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu, who took the form of a white wolf.
The game involves exploration, battles, and fun sidequests like feeding other animals you meet, but one of the core features here involves using a celestial brush technique of drawing circles around poisoned trees to restore the environment. Okami is arguably one of the best video games ever made, and a stunning example of video games as an art form. It’s an amazing experience that every gamer should experience at least once in their lifetime.
While most of these games listed above require consoles or game installations to play, there are numerous websites that offer games which you can play for free just on your desktop or mobile without having to download any apps.
There are a whole range of fun, free, and ad-free online video games ideal for younger kids and students from the site website Mortgage Calculator. While most of their games are focused on money management and setting up businesses, they have a few related to recycling, green energy, and resource management. Here are some you can try out.
Wind and Solar
Platform: Desktop/mobile. Play the game for free here.
Wind and Solar is a sustainable energy game where players adjust the placements of windmills and solar panels to maximize energy production. The goal is to control solar panels and avoid rain clouds to maximize exposure to the sun look while moving the blades of the windmill up or down to catch the wind to generate energy. Green and orange indicators at the bottom of the solar panel which indicate if you are capturing direct sunlight. You’re given 1:30 minutes to create as much energy as you can. When the level is complete, you’re told how much electricity you’ve generated.
While this may seem like just a simple game, it takes multi-tasking to determine what to focus on, and the levels become increasingly harder. Teachers can use this as an icebreaker activity for kids in relation to lessons on alternative energy.
Sort the Trash
Platform: Desktop/mobile. Play the game for free here.
In case you need a game for kids that shows the importance of recycling, Sort the Trash is a free game where players move the recycling bin across the screen to collect recyclables while avoiding other garbage. The goal here is to drag the bin side to side collecting bottles, cartons, and cans, while avoiding contaminants like batteries, straws, plastic bags, and organic waste like apples, eggs, bananas, or used paper coffee cups. The game helps raise awareness about different recyclable and non-recyclable items.
When you make a mistake, a pop-up message will tell you which type of item can’t be recycled, and where they should go instead. For example, if you catch apple cores and banana peels, you’re told that these are for composting or organic waste. The colorful graphics and simple gameplay system makes this fun and easy for kids to play.
Twin the Bin
Platform: Desktop/mobile. Play the game for free here.
Twin the Bin is another recycling game where players move the recycling bin across the screen to collect a specific type of recyclable. This time, you pick a character moving a recycling cart back and forth beneath a conveyer belt at the top of the screen. On each round you are instructed to collect plastic, glass, paper, or organic goods. Garbage periodically falls off the platform which you have to either catch or avoid. Again, the gameplay is simple, but the cute graphics will appeal to kids and it gamifies recycling to raise awareness.
Playing video games is not just for fun. Games can be educational tools for change that help spread messages of environmental awareness and love for nature. Check out more free to play financial video games on this site.