The movie-to-game and game-to-movie curse is somewhat of a running joke. There’s no denying that these formulas very rarely work; Mario Bros, Assassin’s Creed and Final Fantasy being prime examples. It’s not hard to understand why these tend to fall by the wayside. After all (and especially for game-to-movie) it’s hard to cram in years of lore and backstory into a ninety minute sitting. TV Shows, on the other hand, typically offer up a much lengthier running time, which is a much more suitable option for this adaptation.
There’s room for world building, character growth and everything else in between. On the flip-side, taking a hit TV Show that’s already planted that exact same concept, is more suited for a game than a movie (Don’t Knock Twice, I’m looking at you, you ugly piece of rushed uninteresting work). With The Witcher currently in the process of getting a TV Show via Netflix Original, alongside the success of the likes of Castlevania, we take a look at five games that deserve the same attention and five TV Shows that deserve game adaptions.
Five TV Shows That Would Make Great Games
Firefly
Joss Whedon’s quite frankly under-appreciated, cancelled Firefly series is one of my favorite shows to date. Hope for the lifespan of Firefly fluttered once more a number of years back via the acclaimed Serenity movie, but sadly, things never quite took off. The universe is very interesting and the space-pirate theme still remains compelling and intriguing.
With the likes of No Man’s Sky and Elite Dangerous soaking up a great deal of attention, a game of similar ilk set within the universe of Firefly would go down a treat. There’s so much potential here, it’s unreal. Space voyages, heists, NPCs, several diverse rich locations, online multiplayer support and more. What I wouldn’t give for this to proceed.
Supernatural
Supernatural is one of the longest running shows of its type. Sure, it may well be running into boredom-ville as of late, but there’s no denying that its vast and interesting lore could easily make for one hell of a great game. I’m not suggesting that we should see demon hunting brothers Dean and Sam taking on the lead role, but there’s a lot of value here.
Fans of the show will back me up when I say that there’s no shortage of interesting dynamics and features that would seamlessly suit a video game adaption, let alone the wide portion of demons and general evil that’s open to tap into. Will we ever see this come to past? It’s unlikely, but one can sure as hell wish…
True Detective
Arguably the weakest link in our chain here. Crime solving murder mysteries are surprisingly absent on console, despite how interesting the formula is. When I took to compiling this list, Rockstar’s L.A. Noire crossed my mind several times. True Detective’s “whodunnit” foundation, as well as it’s back-and-forth through time setup, seems like a good fit to me.
I dare say that a game based on the show would be better suited for an episodic journey. Despite the poor reception of season two, season one was the talk of the globe. The setup, the writing, the delivery and the general mystery, collectively drove the entire experience. Blend this all together and inject it into an immersive well-paced game and I’m sold.
Game of Thrones
Put Telltale’s serving to the side, along with the Bethesda rumors that have been circulating for a while now. Game of Thrones, its rich history and the world of Westeros is the most compelling world in any TV show or book in recent memory. Playing CDPR’s fantastic Wild Hunt made me realize how epic an open-world Game of Thrones game would be.
Every single location from King’s Landing to Winterfell would make for one outstanding experience. There’s already so much in place; families, alliances, factions, outposts, heaps of locations and more. It would just take an experienced developer to build the world, fill it with NPCs, quests, events and we’re all set. Westeros heaven.
Stargate
A game set within the Stargate universe is probably the most interesting from the list. I’m undecided as to what sort of game this would suit being; open-world, third-person action or maybe even a classic side-scroller, but I’d certainly be up for anything. I love the idea of travelling to a variety of worlds to confront or help out opposing races.
The show came to an abrupt halt during one of its sub-series, but the SG1 series and the movie are both interesting and in-depth enough to fit into game entertainment. This is never likely to become a thing, but much like any game from this list, it doesn’t hurt to dream, right? Safe to say that it still has a sizable fan-base too.
Five Games That Would Make Great TV Shows
A Way Out
Prison Break, before it became absolutely ridiculous, was one of those shows that you just had to binge. There’s something oddly alluring about escaping prison and with how popular A Way Out proved to be, this was a no-brainer when it came to deciding what game would make for an interesting TV Show.
A Way Out has the charisma, the theme and the action to make a worthwhile show. Netflix, given their interest in The Witcher and Castlevania seems like the most suited candidate. Though, a game-to-show adaption like this would probably suit a limited-time run, rather than it spanning multiple seasons and so on.
The Council
Those that follow our reviews are probably scratching their heads right now. We’ve hardly been singing The Council’s praises. Though, I cant help but think that a TV Show based on (or around) the game, would be massively exciting. I like myself a periodical drama and I love a good whodunnit.
Mix them both together and we’ve got The Council. Much like the episodic game, a TV Show would allow for heaps of character growth. The Council’s unique design and setting carries much of its allure, bolstered further by its interesting setup. Any given writer worth their salt could make this work and you would see me front and center, cheering it along.
Deus Ex
There’s no shortage of sci-fi shows. In fact there’s a growing trend as of late. With that in mind and regardless as to how Mankind Divided was received, I fully believe that a Deus Ex show would go down a treat. It’s interesting, it’s innovating, there’s plenty of character to lean on and the overall design is already in place for the taking.
How well a show based on Deus Ex would survive in the long-run is questionable, given the rather niche following that the series enjoys now, but it’s still worth a shot if you ask me. There’s a lot of potential and heaps of lore to dive into. The major hurdle would be the revolution theme that each game rests on, given that that’s been done too much as of late.
Tomb Raider
I quite enjoyed the original two movies and the latest movie seems to be going down well with the fans, if not the critics. Lara’s story is a long-winded one. Hell, her origin story spans three games alone – with the third game in the origin trilogy having recently wrapped up. If the adult theme and the writing was on point, I could definitely see this making a hit show.
Many would likely disagree but there’s a space on the market for this sort of setup, especially as far as TV Shows are concerned. Furthermore, the games have a lot of story ready and waiting to be spread over a number of seasons. This particular addition to the list, along with True Detective, will likely split the crowd, but if done correctly, it could be a hit.
Resident Evil
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. This series is massively controversial as far as its overall pacing goes. Resident Evil 2 pulled the series back to form, whereas the movies, well, they can piss off entirely. When I put this to the list, I had the clear vision of a tension-filled horror series based on the first three games or the latest game.
It could work given the right direction, which is pretty much the polar opposite to the movies. With The Walking Dead ironically dying out, there’s space for a new zombie series to grab the attention. We’d probably have to cut loose Leon, Chris, Claire and the rest of the cast, but I certainly wouldn’t say no to a talented writer giving it a shot.
Do you agree or disagree? Do you have any other adaptions in mind? Feel free to sound off in the comments below to get in on the discussion.
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