Evaluating Time in Play and Temporal Satisfaction: Time-Centric Language in Video Game User Reviews on Steam

User reviews provide a means for players to communicate experiential value and evaluate video game quality, yet the role of time in these evaluations remains underexplored. Through thematic analysis of time-centric language found in 5,423 user reviews from 100 popular video games on Steam, we identify six themes that communicate Temporal Priorities – users’ key concerns and values regarding time in play – to evaluate video game quality, personal engagement, and developer practices. This study furthers existing HCI examinations of temporality and situates Temporal Satisfaction – a user's evaluation of whether their time spent in play feels worthwhile – as a novel metric to guide system design and improve user experience. We contribute a user-centered conceptual framework that organises these Temporal Priorities to advance UX evaluation beyond task-based performance to encompass hedonic attributes. From this framework, we propose the generation and use of Temporal Satisfaction profiles, representative of user Temporal Priorities, to support iterative and ethical design processes.