It’s not always that a video game adaptation receives positive reviews. In fact, whenever an adaptation is announced, gamers let out a collective sigh as they prepare for the filmmakers to butcher their favourite series.
However, the perception that video game adaptations are bad has shifted significantly. HBO’s The Last of Us, Netflix’s The Witcher, and the recently released Super Mario Bros. movie from Nintendo are prime examples of how games can be successfully converted into an equally enjoyable movie or a television series.
Below are our recommendations of the best movies and TV shows based on a video game franchise:
10 Best Video Game Based Movies and TV Shows
Follow TbreakTech on Instagram and YouTube for unboxings, comparisons, and everything new in tech, gaming and Entertainment. Or, subscribe to our newsletter to get weekly updates straight to your inbox.
Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2
Paramount Pictures adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog almost plummeted towards obscurity even before it was released. The first trailer for the original movie revealed a Sonic so horrifying that the entire internet band together to pursue Paramount to change the character design to something more…pleasant. Thankfully, the studio listened and delayed the release of the film to rework the character model that looked much closer to what was in the games.
That was a wise move, as the film was quite good. The spirited performance from Ben Schwartz as Sonic and Jim Carrey as Dr Robotnik elevated what was otherwise an ordinary script and was a massive success at the box office. The second movie continued the trend and was an even bigger success, thanks to a better script, higher stakes to get behind, and the welcome addition of Idris Elba as Shadow.
While the movies heavily deviate from the games, it is still a highly entertaining watch and will also be a great hit with kids.
Halo
Paramount+’s Halo show was pretty much panned by fans of the series when it was released in 2022. While the show follows the core plot of the games – following a war between United Nations Space Command and an alien alliance called the Covenant, with Master Chief John-117 at the centre of the action – the show’s bold changes to some of the characters and the story arc wasn’t met with great enthusiasm.
However, the show can be enjoyable to watch with an open mind. Creators Steven Kane and Kyle Killen might have taken some controversial decisions to move away from the game’s original story. Still, it also adapted its unique thing that they can continue for several more seasons without getting bogged down by the game’s somewhat convoluted plot. The show is also helped by Pablo Schreiber’s earnest portrayal of Master Chief and the largely great sci-fi visuals.
Dragon’s Dogma
Dragon’s Dogma is a hidden gem in Netflix’s large library of anime shows. Based on Capcom’s 2012 game of the same name, Dragon’s Dogma follows the story of Ethan, a warrior who is after a dragon that stole his heart, but with every demon he kills, he loses more and more of his humanity.
While the series is far from perfect, Dragon’s Dogma is an engrossing watch with stunning visuals and action sequences and was appreciated by newcomers and fans alike. However, it seems the show didn’t do too well to warrant a second season, as there is no word on if the show will continue its run on the streaming platform.
Watch Dragon’s Dogma on Netflix.
Castlevania
Konami’s long-running video game series, Castlevania, received a highly-successful animated show on Netflix and was one of the very first video game to television adaptations that turned out to be good.
The show follows Trevor Belmont, Alucard and Sypha Belnades as they come together to defend Wallachia from Dracula’s minions. It received near-universal acclaim across its four seasons, with critics and fans lauding the show’s animation, voice cast, action sequences and overall story.
Pokemon Detective Pikachu
Loosely based on the 2016 Nintendo 3DS game, Pokemon Detective Pikachu was a massive success despite scepticism over whether or not a live-action adaptation of a Pokemon game would even work.
The story follows Tim, who is looking for his missing father, and teams up with his dad’s Pokemon (played by Ryan Reynolds), a Pikachu that can speak fluent English but can only be understood by Tim. With a largely funny script, elevated by classic Ryan Reynolds antics, the film saw massive success at the box office, amassing USD 433.2 million worldwide.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Unlike CD Projekt Red’s disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077, its anime spin-off on Netflix received universal praise.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is set one year before the game’s events and centres on David, a street kid who, after losing everything in a drive-by shooting, chooses to become an ‘edgerunner’, a high-tech, black-market mercenary also known as a “cyberpunk”.
The 10-episode series was highly lauded for its distinctive and stylish visuals, action sequences and engaging story while featuring a fantastic main character. Unfortunately, it seems Edgerunners was a one-off, and there are no plans to produce a sequel yet.
Watch Cyberpunk: Edgerunners on Netflix.
Arcane: League of Legends
If there is one thing Riot Games does well – you know, other than releasing extremely popular titles like League of Legends and Valorant – they are their spin-offs. Be it smaller games or an anime series like Arcane: League of Legends, every one of them seems to hit its mark.
Netflix’s Arcane: League of Legends follows sisters Vi and Jinx as they find themselves warring against the rich elite of Piltover and the oppressed underbelly of Zaun. The series is a fantastic watch for League of Legends fans and for those that may not be familiar with the source material. While there is no word on the second season, anime fans should have this one on their ‘must watch’ list regardless.
Watch Arcane: League of Legends on Netflix
Uncharted
Sony Pictures and PlayStation Studios’ Uncharted movie is one of the strangest success stories regarding video game adaptations. For all intents and purposes, this movie shouldn’t have worked. With Tom Holland as Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Victor Sullivan, two actors that look and behave nothing like their video game counterparts, the film was still largely accepted as a fun adventure movie despite deviating heavily from the first game and presenting a hodge-podge of fan servicing from others.
Regardless, the Uncharted movie is still a great one-time watch if you want an easy adventure movie. The film follows Nathan Drake, who gets recruited by a seasoned treasure hunter, Victor Sullivan, to recover a long-lost fortune belonging to Ferdinand Magellan. The movie also stars Sophia Ali as Chole Frazer, Tati Gabrielle as Jo Barddock and Antonio Banderas as Santiago Moncada.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Bolstered by Jack Black’s unabashed “Peaches, Peaches, Peaches!” single, Nintendo’s and ILM’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one of the recent examples of how video game adaptations should be made.
Amassing over USD 1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, it is clear that The Super Mario Bros. Movie hit the mark in bringing the world of Mushroom Kingdom to a wider audience.
The movie is about two Brooklyn-based plumbers, Mario and Luigi, who unwittingly travel through another dimension and land in the Mushroom Kingdom, a strange magical place with anthropomorphic creatures who can talk and a human princess named Peach running the show. They are quickly recruited to save the Kingdom from a ruthless fire-breathing Koopa named Bowser, who has fallen madly in love with Peach.
The film features the voice talents of Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and Jack Black as Bowser.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is one of the most revered video games of all time. Naughty Dog’s PlayStation-exclusive post-apocalyptic adventure series is already considered a cinematic masterpiece across all mediums, so to port it over to a television show format was a tough task to follow.
However, HBO, along with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and Naughty Dog’s own Neil Druckmann, have not only done a phenomenal job at adapting the series to television but also expanded the game’s lore for fans familiar with the story.
The Last of Us is set in a world reeling from a global fungus pandemic that has killed most of the population. The story revolves around Jeol, a seasoned smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across the other end of a zombie-infested United States. Jeol begrudgingly agrees to the job but soon discovers that Ellie might be the key to humanity’s survival. What follows is a heartbreaking story of love, loss and survival, with tremendous performances from Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsay as Ellie, Anna Torv as Tess, and Nick Offerman as Bill.
The show received near-universal acclaim and numerous Emmy nominations for its direction, performances and storytelling.
