Keyword: 21st-century skills

ABSTRACT: This review aims to examine the role of gamification in fostering collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy–the essential 21st-century skills. The review used a structured methodology, while a comprehensive search was conducted across Scopus, ERIC, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate to analyze studies published between January 2010 and August 2025. The findings reveal that when strategically designed, gamification effectively promotes the development of collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy skills by embedding game elements into learning activities. Specifically, the findings from the analysis show that collaborative features of gamification tools (e.g., rewards, leaderboards, points) strengthen teamwork, narrative-driven challenges foster critical thinking, and integrated approaches with problem-based learning enhance problem-solving abilities. Furthermore, gamified digital environments significantly enhance students’ digital literacy skills. This review concludes that gamification is a powerful and promising pedagogical tool for developing 21st-century skills, but its effectiveness is contingent upon intentional design.