Video g🦹ame adaptations of popular mo💟vies don't always have a stellar track record. They tend to get mauled by a lack of vision and scope among the development teams responsible for production.
Still, every once in a while we get a real gem. That's why we're counting ꧙down 10 movies that definitely deserve a video game adaptation of their very own! With the right planning and vision, every single entry on our list could be a෴ bonafide hit.
10 🍌 BLADE RUNNER
The last time Blade Runner tackled video games was 1997 in a point-and-click adventure that wasn't directly tied to the original source material. With the recent release of Blade Runner: 2049, the landscapꩲe is ripe for another crackꦫ at a game adaptation.
The 2017 release of Observer starring Rutger Hauer proved that futuristic cyberpunk games were not only viable, but begging for a Blade Runner spin. We're picturing a mixture of detective-style clue gathering in an open world, with various sub-plots and side ﷺmissions to complete, which unlock extra content and story arcs🍰. The question is, who to base the game on - Decker, K, or a completely new lead?
9 EQUILIBR🔯IUM 🤪
We're not sure why an Equilibrium game was ne☂ver produced, as it bears all mechanics that would make for a fantastic 3rd person shooter. The movie centers around an improvised fighting style known as Gun Kata, and that would have easily translated into a video game world.
Max Payne laid the groundwork for this type of shooter, and building on it would𒁃 produce a title where strategic combat goes hand-in-hand with a killer story about overthrowing an emotionless government body. Make it a prequel, sequel, or direct movie adaptation. Whichever way you slice it, it would work.
8 ESCAღPE FROM NEW YORK
The closest we ever got to a game ada▨ptation of John Carpenter's classic film was a board game in 1981. It's high time we revisited the concept, don't you think? Afᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚter all, a burnt-out New York serving as a penal colony where the player can free-roam and explore? Sounds great to us!
The only thing we're unsure would work is the time limit imposed in the movie. If this could be circumvented in the story somehow, you'd have a gaꩲme with side missions galore, unlockable environments and buildings, and some ri🥂p-roaring shooter and melee combat with John Carpenter's electronic score whirring in the background.
7 �꧑� FLASH GORDON
Flash Gordon got a video game treatment in 1986, but let's no🍸t kid ourselves. The technology was far too limited to properly capture the magic of the hit movie.
We envision a Flash Gordon video game that takes its cues from that film, while incorporating secondary story elements brought in from the classic 1ౠ3-c🦋hapter serial. Kitsch would play a significant role here, so any developer willing to tackle the project would need to embrace the outrageous visual style and tone with honesty and integrity.
6 GREMLINS
Gremlins enjoyed several video games releases up until the 1990 NES adaptation of the second film. Time to cut new ground and create a brand new Gremlins game that directly expands on the movies!
We're envisioning this as a tale focusing specifically on Gizmo, from his early days at Mr. Wing's shop, to the calamity in Kingston Falls, and the outbreak at the 𒆙Clamp Center where the story finally comes to an end. The idea of navigating a pipsqueak Gizmo around a super-sized (by Mogwai standards) world would certainly be one of the major draws of such a game.
5 GUYVER
To date, the Guyver franchi♎se has made its way to gaming only through a series of indie projects which haven't made tremendous headway. It's about time someone gave this badass super꧅hero his own game!
We think a Guyver game would benefit greatly from a Metroidvania-style approach, or at the very least a traditional side-scrolling action title. Go full retro, with stunning parallax backgrounds, flashy effects and a killer soundtrack to match Guyver's over-the-top fighting moves and powers.
4 ꦆ ☂ HIGHLANDER
Eidos took a slice (no pun intended) at a Highlander game in 2008, but sadly the project was put out to grass in 2010, l𓆏eaving the future bleak for a video🌠 game adaptation.
If there's one thing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice taught us, it's that sword-fighting games aren't dead. In fact, they should be cultivated! Highlander could adapt a similar control style that allows for fantastic sword-fights against immortal opponents. We envision a mixture of 1 on 1 fighting game, and open-world environment-style gameplay where two fighters can utilize the environment to their advantage. This is a staple of Highlander movie fights, and would serveᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ not only to draw out the combat and make it more challenging, but also allow for environmental reac🌊tions during a Quickening, depending on where you are at that exact moment.
3 ROBOT JOX
Robot Jox is fondly remembered as one of the better movies about giant fighting robღots. Sure, it didn't have much of a budget, but it did possess a coolness factor that many of its lower-par rivals🐠 did not.
Mech fighting games can make a comeback. Titanfall proved this quite easily. Now, all someone has to do is take it a step further, and create a game where gigantic skyscraper-sized mechs can be stuffed with powerful weapons and turned loose on one another. Strategy would have to play a major role in a Robot Jox game, however. That means less emphasis on speed and flashiness, and more on navigating the lumbering, slow robots to prepare for tactical mele𒐪e and ranged strikes.
2 ไ CLAS꧂H OF THE TITANS
Clash of the Titans did get a video game adaptation in 2010, but it was based on the remake. We'd opt for the original, with its 1980s fantasy charm and visuals. We'd probably go for a direct movie adaptation that fleshes out the original story. After all, there's a lot skipping about in the origina♊l film.
We'd want to track Perseus' progress from a young man, to the warrior he eventually becomes. By making him the central figure of the story, we would effectively join him on his journey to rescue Andromeda from her ꧅horrible fate. Boss battles would be a huge highlight of the game, forcing the player to exercise extreme caution when battling the dreaded Medusa, while offering up a God of War-style battle of epic proportions against the Kraken.
1 𒉰 ℱ DIRTY HARRY
Picture a Dirty Harry game set in an open-world 1970s San Francisco, and you've got a recipe for success! Not only is Harry Callahan one of the coolest anti-heroes ever committed to film, but the setting of the Dirty Harry films are almost characters unto themselves.
A Dirty Harry video game could drive a singular plot-line, with many other side quests and missions to explore on the side. These could include everything from routine traffic stops, to bank robberies, and rescuing suicidal people on the side of buildings. Basically, everything that made the movies so memorable could be applied here, with Harry's deadpan wit and dry delivery. It would be equal parts Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto, with a focus on 70s them🃏es and social/political underpinnings.