Video game adaptations are a mixed bag. It’s a hit-and-miss result. The same can be said of adaptations from novel to screen. Some worked such as Jaws, some didn’t such as Under the Dome. Video games over the years have had similar results. Here soon we will see more as we are getting game adaptations of God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn prequel series, and Gran Turismo. Another eagerly awaited is the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us.
It’s the existing ones which are mixed bags. Some fans were angered by the most recent Uncharted movie, while others praised it. If you missed it, you may see it this month on Netflix. The live-action Resident Evil series will also be available on Netflix. Recent Sonic the Hedgehog films have received positive reviews; however, fewer positive reviews may be found for Doom and Monster Hunter. There have been multiple live-action Resident Evil films, although they haven’t generally been as well received by the fan community. Success was declared for the Netflix TV shows and animated movies.
Why Do Game Adaptations Struggle
That is one interesting question. Again, the two Sonic movies garnered favorable reviews. The most recent Tomb Raider movie has detractors even though it seemed to be a hit. But some have been judged to be terrible. Some of them, like the Super Mario Bros. movie starring Bob Hoskins, have a cult following. Dead Rising: Watchtower and Dead Rising: Endgame were two of the series’ movies. I struggled through the first movie.
Is the length a problem? Based on the novels, The Witcher has been adapted for both film and television. The Netflix series was a success, but the movie wasn’t. However, it can be difficult to compress a potentially fifty-hour game into a movie. Although God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn both have extensive backstories to draw from, and The Last of Us has Neil Druckmann working on it for HBO. We can only hope they do the original material justice as they move to smaller screens. If so, it might be able to end what some consider to be a curse. Hopefully, future endeavors like the Ghost of Tsushima film can successfully transition console/PC to screen.
