Empowered Learning in Games
Mentor Game Details
Game Name: Duru: About Mole Rats and Depression
Developer/Organization: Twisted Ramble Games
Target Audience: Young adults, educators and players interested in emotional well being and mental health awareness.
Learning Topic: The game focuses on raising awareness about depression and mental health, using a narrative driven puzzle platformer format.
Duru is a 2D narrative puzzle game set in a whimsical mole rat world. Developed by Twisted Ramble Games (Twisted Ramble Games, n.d.) and its primary goal is to foster empathy and understanding about living with depression. The game frames mental health challenges in a way that is approachable and meaningful, aiming to reach a wide audience that includes not only general players but also educators and advocates interested in teaching social emotional learning through interactive media (Rüth, Bachmayer, & Kaspar, 2025).
Gameplay is puzzle platformer based, requiring players to move through environments, solve logic-based challenges, and interact with both the world and companion characters. Core gaming elements are present: rules (progressing only by solving puzzles), conflict (navigating depression’s impact represented as a dark, sticky entity), feedback systems (successful puzzles unlock new paths), outcomes (story progression or stagnation), and goals (completing each puzzle to advance the narrative).
The main goal of the game is to progress through puzzles while witnessing how depression influences the protagonist’s experiences and relationships. The story follows mole rat characters in a colorful world, balancing whimsical visuals with the weight of mental health struggles. It is a single player game, with rules tied to solving environmental challenges and supporting the protagonist’s journey.
Duru does not include formal learning materials such as teacher lesson plans or parent guides. However, its website and outreach indicate an educational mission, suggesting it is intended to supplement broader conversations around mental health rather than functioning as a structured classroom curriculum.
Gameplay Experience
I have played Duru for approximately two hours across three sessions. During this time, I completed zero levels and just a few accomplishments. My primary accomplishments included solving environmental puzzles and better understanding the symbolic ways the game portrays depression (AdventureGamers, 2023).
One of the struggles I experienced was trying to understand the game play due to the fact that the instructions are all images. However, these moments reinforced the learning embedded in the game, as the challenges somewhat mirrored real life struggles with persistence, frustration and support systems.
Because the game does not include official lesson materials, the learning is embedded within gameplay itself. The symbolic use of the depression “creature,” the narrative of friendship and support and the puzzle mechanics all reinforce the game’s core educational aim to build empathy and awareness.
Looking at others’ reviews and gameplay videos, I found that my experiences were similar to many players who praised the game’s art style and sensitive portrayal of depression (AdventureGamers, 2023). Some players noted that the puzzles could feel challenging or repetitive, which aligned with moments of my own frustration. The difference was in interpretation, while I viewed this as intentional design to evoke persistence, others sometimes saw it as a barrier to truly enjoying the game (Rüth et al., 2025).
Games for All Accessibility Assessment
During my playtime, I noted several potential accessibility barriers:
Motor barriers: Precise platforming could be difficult for players with reduced dexterity.
Visual barriers: Some text and interface elements were small, and the contrast between colorful backgrounds and foreground details could pose challenges.
Cognitive barriers: The symbolic storytelling may be difficult to interpret for some learners without additional context.
Auditory barriers: Limited subtitles and lack of robust visual cues for all audio elements could hinder hearing-impaired players.
WSSG Accessibility Score: 10/27
I rated Duru a 10 out of 27 on the WSSG Accessibility Scale. The game excels in scaffolding information (3/3) and providing strong feedback loops (3/3), both of which support learning and persistence. However, most other accessibility features are either minimally present or missing. For example, text is not scalable (1/3), audio lacks captions (0/3), and no alternative input or remapping options are available (0/3). The interface is clear but not optimized for assistive technologies (1/3), and cues often rely heavily on color without sufficient alternatives (1/3). These gaps create barriers for players with sensory, motor, or learning differences. Overall, the score of 10 places Duru at the lower end of moderate accessibility, showing promise in its educational design but clear areas for improvement.
Principles of Learning Critique
Empowering Learners
Identity Principle: Duru allows players to inhabit mole-rat characters, adopting a perspective that represents living alongside depression. This creates empathy by merging player identity with the narrative (Gee, 2003).
Agency Principle: Players influence how puzzles are solved and how the protagonist progresses, giving them a sense of control even when the “depression” character tries to limit options (Gee, 2003).
Problem-Based Learning
Pleasantly Frustrating Principle: Puzzles provide just enough difficulty to challenge without overwhelming. Failure leads to retrying, which mirrors perseverance in real life (Gee, 2003).
Cycles of Expertise Principle: As players master one puzzle mechanic, new, slightly harder puzzles build upon those skills, scaffolding learning over time (Gee, 2003).
Deep Understanding
Situated Meaning Principle: Concepts like depression are not abstract; they are embodied by game mechanics (the “depression creature”) and situated in gameplay. This gives players contextual understanding of what it feels like to navigate daily tasks while carrying emotional weight (Gee, 2003).
Although Duru currently lacks formal lesson materials, it could easily be incorporated into discussions of mental health in middle school, high school, or college classrooms. Teachers could pair gameplay with reflective journaling, guided discussions, or role playing activities that explore empathy and emotional resilience (Rüth et al., 2025). Creating structured lesson plans that integrate gameplay segments with classroom dialogue would strengthen the game’s educational impact.
Reflection on the Critique Process
Through analyzing Duru, I learned how to look at games not just as entertainment but as vehicles for empathy, awareness, and learning. If I were to do this critique again, I would document specific accessibility barriers with screenshots and try to map them more precisely to the WSSG scale. The most interesting part of the process was connecting Gee’s principles of learning to the symbolic design choices in the game, which made me realize how intentional mechanics can reinforce both gameplay and emotional meaning (Gee, 2003).
References
Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Palgrave Macmillan.
Twisted Ramble Games. (n.d.). Duru: About mole rats and depression. Twisted Ramble. Retrieved September 7, 2025, from https://www.twisted-ramble.com/duru/
AdventureGamers. (2023, April 17). Duru – About mole rats and depression. AdventureGamers. Retrieved September 7, 2025, from https://adventuregamers.com/games/duru-about-mole-rats-and-depression
Rüth, M., Bachmayer, R., & Kaspar, K. (2025). Learning about depression by watching gaming videos: A case study on the potential of digital games for psychoeducation and destigmatization. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1585571. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1585571
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