Virtual agents have demonstrated remarkable progress in both competitive and cooperative en- vironments. Embodied agents, which enhance AI interactions with the physical world, show great promise for a variety of use cases in both virtual and non-virtual settings. This literature review ex- amines the intersection of embodied virtual agents with cognitive and social frameworks derived from human behavior, focusing on open-ended learning and intrinsic motivation. These paradigms, inspired by human learning and adaptability, offer a path to- wards addressing the limitations of current artificial systems. The literature survey provides a thorough analysis of the research landscape, discussing the definitions, applications, and benefits of embodied agents in virtual settings. Furthermore, it evaluates the methods and benchmarks used to assess the ca- pabilities of these agents, while offering possible solutions for developing the next generation of embodied agents.