This paper reviews existing research articles to understand how cultural factors play a role in children's perception of play, especially within the digital gaming and interactive applications domain. The review investigates interrelated themes on cultural influences in play perception, cultural representation in games and the role of culture in digital character and narrative design. Children interact with digital characters and engaging narrative structures through games and interactive entertainment applications for learning, play and social activities. The pervasive nature of games in children’s technology mediated environment makes the medium a powerful tool that shapes children’s lived experiences. Designing games with diverse characters, narratives with cultural context and interaction mechanics that align with cultural practices and traditional play artifacts, improve children’s engagement with games. This paper presents the findings of this literature review through a framework and discusses cultural factors that influence qualities of play among children from diverse cultural backgrounds.