Slavic mythology in video games: ways of representation, transformation, and functions in contemporary game narrative

Abstract

The article examines the representation of Slavic mythology in several video games, includ ing The Witcher (2007), The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), Blacktail (2022), Yaga (2021), Black Book (2021), and One-Eyed Likho (2025). This study is relevant because of the increasing scholarly interest in mythological narratives in digital culture, as well as the need to understand how they function within game narratives. The article aims to identify various ways in which Slavic mythology is transformed into video games. The research material includes the listed video games and their accompanying in-game texts, such as bestiaries, encyclopedias, and scripts. The study employs narratological, comparative typological, mythopoetic, and intermedial approaches. It reveals that Slavic mythology in video games serves both as a source of images and plot motifs, as well as a means for organizing the game world and its visual style. The analysis demonstrates that the use of mythological material varies across the selected projects: as a cultural code, as a basis for artistic stylization, and as a means of creating game atmosphere. Additionally, the study shows that in some games the Slavic myth becomes a structural principle of shaping characters, conflicts, and the player’s interactive experience, rather than an external object of quotation.