Video games have a rough history when it comes to film adaptation. From Tomb Raider to Mortal Kombat, to Prince Of Persia, there’s a legacy of disappointment that makes the whole genre seem plagued. Sure, some of the films (most notably where Mortal Kombat is concerned) have cult followings. But for the most part, game-to-film adaptations wind up being nothing short of bad.
As much as this has been the trend though, things don’t have to stay this way. Plenty of video games provide more than enough material to inspire engaging films, and eventually, the right writer-director duo is going to produce an adaptation that surprises us with genuine quality. There’s no telling when this will happen, nor what game it will happen for. But there are some popular games that stand out as possibilities.
1) Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
The Assassin’s Creed adaptation a few years ago went poorly, for a few reasons. One was that it was simply a little campy in its approach, with melodramatic writing and less-than-stellar action sequences and cinematography (even if some sets and costuming were beautiful). But the other was that the script strained to incorporate the details of the Assassin’s Creed concept — namely, that modern figures can more or less travel back in time through DNA to alter history through the actions of their own ancestors.
It’s an inventive concept that can be done cinematically almost in a Matrix-y way, but it also led to a convoluted film and one that seemed to think itself cleverer than it was. So, what if a production team simply ignored the central premise and adapted a recent, relevant, popular, and gorgeous Assassin’s Creed game as a historical epic? In GamesRadar’s ranking of Assassin’s Creed games, the latest edition — Valhalla — snagged the number two spot, and was praised for the fact that “story is vital” within the game. This is true purely in the historical setting of the game, which basically brings semi-mythical Viking world adventures to life in extraordinary detail. There’s more than enough material for a stunning film without any mention of the historical manipulation conceit.
2) Far Cry 4
There is a little-known 2008 German action film loosely based on the Far Cry game series, and at one point there was talk of Ubisoft adapting Far Cry 3 (perhaps the most popular game in the series). But we’d like to see a fresh attempt at Far Cry 4 instead. This is a series that’s largely about the massive and beautiful worlds within which its adventures take place, and Far Cry 4 has given us the most impressive one of those worlds to date. The fictional kingdom of Kyrat, nestled in the Himalayans and ruled by a crazed dictator, is a rich, action-packed, and visually stunning setting that would be wonderful to see on film. Additionally, the core plot of the game would make for a strong film: The son of Kyrati explants returns home to leave his mother’s ashes, only to be drawn into a civil conflict as an influential mercenary.
3) Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II is perhaps one of the most adapted games in history. It’s been remastered and rebooted numerous times and for a variety of platforms. The iOS “Capcom Arcade” tool hosts spins on the game such as Street Fighter II Turbo and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. And NetEnt has used the original game as inspiration for an online slot experience, which has been highlighted in a Foxy Games post as one of the foundational examples of video game-to-slot adaptations.
It appears to be the case that Street Fighter II is so iconic and recognizable it can be continually updated, such that even in puzzle or online slot format, it reaches fans. So, it’s fair to ask, why wouldn’t a well-made film do the same thing? We wrote about the development of a Street Fighter TV series back in 2018 that has yet to materialise, and there have been past web series and film attempts leaving much to be desired. But the bottom line is that Street Fighter II is a combat-oriented game with well-known characters and minimal plot. So long as those characters are included and the action is handled well, most any plot could be crafted to give a fresh film a chance at success.
4) Super Mario RPG
The history of Super Mario adaptations in film is bleak to say the least. The 1993 live-action version is difficult to watch, numerous rumours of other adaptations have come and gone fruitlessly, and right now, we’re awaiting a ‘3D movie’ (animated, presumably) that is somewhat shrouded in mystery. It’s just a difficult game series to make a film out of for a number of reasons, and it may be that we’ll never see a good version of the idea.
That said, if narrative is the problem (most Super Mario games are light on plot, really), the old Super Nintendo game Super Mario RPG might be a viable solution. This game is a bit more fleshed out than most of its predecessors, as well as most games that came after. A mysterious villain named Smithy has taken over Mushroom Kingdom and the surrounding lands, and Mario has to go on a journey to set things right — gathering allies, collecting stars, liberating cities, and beating mini-bosses along the way. There’s a fun-filled and cohesive script to be drawn from the game, and a terrific animated film could ultimately result from the effort.
5) The Room
The Room began as an original mobile game developed by a small independent company. It was a smash success however, ultimately leading to the development of sequels. Eventually, one of those sequels even made it into the budding virtual reality category, where a review at CNET called it the best VR escape room game yet. The Room is now extremely popular, and while it has a somewhat ill-defined plot, there’s still plenty of material to support a film adaptation. Basically, this series of games concerns a never-ending series of puzzles and mysteries. The player engages in these mysteries via a series of notes and letters from a missing person, who appears to have been led into some kind of alternate dimension by a series of experiments. All of this would need to be fleshed out, but the world of The Room — Victorian mansions, ancient texts, puzzle boxes, intricate astronomy instruments, etc. — would make for a very fun setting for a sort of mysterious adventure film.
It may be that we simply won’t ever see a great film adapted from a video game. But we’d bet on one or two adaptations eventually bucking the trend, and each of these five would have a good shot.
