We’ve long believed that video games don’t make good sources for adaptations, but that’s been changing recently.
Games have really become a fruitful ground for TV and even movie adaptations due to a mix of Hollywood’s need for franchise IP and games getting better at intricate storytelling.
Mass Effect, Days Gone, and Fallout are just a few of the numerous games that are now in various stages of production with adaptations on the horizon.
The animated gaming series adaptations Castlevania and Arcane were huge successes as well, and HBO has been getting a lot of attention thanks to their impressive The Last of Us series.
Few other features felt as suited for a TV adaptation as the Naughty Dog game, which was previously praised for having one of the finest narratives in video games.
If done correctly, many games can also be adapted to the TV format.
Here are some that we think are particularly suited for the small screen!
- Control
The world-building of Control, which examines what it’s like to work for the Bureau of Control, would be the main attraction.
The game itself suggested a lot about the day-to-day activities of these mid-level G-men seeking to understand extraterrestrial dangers.
The plot wouldn’t even have to closely resemble the game.
Instead, it can focus on Jesse’s encounter with the Hiss and her promotion to Bureau Director as the pilot or her background.
- Diablo
The struggle for spectacular riches in this dungeon-crawling game keeps players interested but the show would probably rely more on world-building.
An action-adventure series similar to the next Dungeons and Dragons movie may thrive in a supernatural fantasy series centered on the remaining human adventurers standing their ground against a demonic plague underneath the surface.
The war to defend our realm would gain another factional layer because of the franchise’s original viewpoint on heavenly creatures, which aren’t always the purveyors of benevolence as they’re typically portrayed in most media.
- Mirror’s Edge
There aren’t many dystopias that are as immaculate as the one in Mirror’s Edge, and the agile Runners prefer to employ knowledge as their primary weapon.
If handled with a clever, light touch, that may lend itself to some very entertaining societal satire.
- Portal
A TV version of Portal would need to be gloomy, obviously, but also hilarious.
It may even examine Aperture Science’s routine activities before the events that inspired Portal and Portal 2.
- Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar has made a name for itself by telling original tales about the latter days of the Old West, when rustlers feared that the passage of time would render them obsolete.
The prequel developed on the idea by adding the dynamics of a wandering band of criminals, while the original game used this to create a mobster-filled “one final job” plot we are all too familiar with.
While either one would fit perfectly on TV, it would also be great to see a series that reverses the two stories and gives it its own twist!