There is a belief that movies based on computer games are doomed to failure. This statement is often refuted by the same games I mentioned earlier. But what if we turn the situation around and talk about games based on movies?
When I hear about this phenomenon, unpleasant associations with something unplayable immediately arise in my head. garbage from the last and the one before last change. But it’s not all that bad actually. There are good games based on famous movie franchises, and we’ll talk about those below.
Let’s play together:
1. Alien: Isolation
About what: Ellen Ripley’s daughter tries to find her mother
Platforms: Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android
First up is the best example of how to create the right stories within a franchise without breaking its canon.
Isolation isn’t just an interactive adaptation of the events of one of the Alien films. It’s a full-fledged story set between the first and second films in the franchise, while Ellen Ripley is still stuck in an escape pod, waiting to be rescued in cryogenic sleep.
The game takes place fifteen years after the events of the original Alien film, released in 1979.
We play for Amanda Ripley, the daughter of the main characters of the xenomorph movie saga. In the film “Aliens” by James Cameron, it is mentioned that Amanda did not wait for her mother and died of cancer at the age of 66. Do you remember that 50 years passed between the first and second parts of the film?
However, according to the plot of the game “Alien: Isolation”, Amanda did not leave the country to study the fate of her matter and did not leave the sector of space where the ship “Nostromo” was last seen, on which Ellen’s place is located. The investigation led her (and the player) to the station “Sevastopol”, where a tragedy occurred. On the one hand, androids that have gone mad, and on the other – a xenomorph that appeared out of nowhere ruins the lives of the remaining inhabitants of the once densely populated station.
“Alien: Isolation” perfectly conveys the atmosphere of Ridley Scott’s first film. There is retro-futurism, claustrophobic corridors of the station, wide ventilation and an oppressive feeling of something appearing behind your back. The iconic motion detector, emitting a cold, amplified sound (who, by the way, hears the xenomorph perfectly well), also in place.
The director of the recent film Romulus, Fede Alvarez, spoke about the influence of the Alien franchise on the whole. He was inspired, among other things, by the game Isolation. And just after watching the best film about xenomorphs in the last 20 years, I always recommend diving into an active game about Alien in the same period of time.
📌 Alien: Isolation on Steam
📌 Alien: Isolation on the App Store
📌 Alien: Isolation on Google Play
2. Ghostbusters: The Video Game
About what: nameless hero joins ghost hunters club
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Wii, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Windows, PSP, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS
Alien: Isolation is an example of how games can change well between films in a franchise. But this example is much more interesting. Ghostbusters: The Video Game is considered a full-fledged and canonical continuation of Ivan Reitman’s cult duology.
Almost everyone who participated in the creation of the films worked on the game Ghostbusters: The Video Game. In the game you can see all the actors from the main cast, the plot is based on the scripts of Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd. The cutscenes are filmed in the style of Ivan Reitman, so what happens on the screen really reminds the third part of “Vision Busters”, and not just a game based on it.
In the game, we will play as a new nameless and voiceless protagonist. The hero tries to speak, but every time he wants to say something, other characters shut him up. This causes laughter until the very end of the game.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a third-person shooter with adventure elements. Instead of regular firearms, we use a proton pack similar to the one in the original film. The enemies in the game are varied, and you need to find your own approach to each of them.
The only downside to the project is its 2019 remaster. On the one hand, it’s cool that you don’t need to look for an old console to play. On the other hand, the remaster lacks a critical element in the form of a cooperative process. The developers promised it, but for unknown reasons they couldn’t implement it. Otherwise, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a great game for both fans and those who haven’t seen the film. After playing the game, you’ll have a great reason to check out the original dilogy.
📌 Ghostbusters: The Video Game on Steam
3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
About what: the story of one of the main characters of the X-Men franchise
Platforms: PSP, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows Mobile, Nintendo DS
While Insomniac Games is hard at work on the Wolverine game for PS 5, let’s remember the previous project about that very a man with clawsX-Men Origins: Wolverine initially looked like a typical movie game, cheaply made and made very quickly, just to get to the release of the original source material faster. However, it is a deception.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is different from the movie. The game has scenes with a high age rating of 18+ – they are much more violent than the Wolverine movie that will be released later. In the game, Logan uses his thoughts to the maximum, blood and scenes of dismemberment are found at every stage. This is what did not contribute to the movie.
In addition, the game expanded the plot and used the image of the immortal hero Lubei X. The script shows that Logan was not always cynical and cruel. His character changes gradually, but sometimes it happens quite stereotypically.
However, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is worth playing for its radial gameplay, not its story. The game is a hack-and-slash game with no unnecessary elements. The combat system is both easy to learn and difficult to master. If you want to deal damage-free fights, you need to learn how to control the crowd of enemies. If you don’t understand how to use combination attacks, every fight will be fatal.
Even in 2024, X-Men Origins: Wolverine might surprise you. It’s a whirlwind chopping about a superhero with liters of blood on the screen. Unfortunately, I am sure that this is a unique product, and it is unlikely that Insomniac Games will be able to show the same level of brutality in their future games. You can play it even without watching the film.
📌 Buy X-Men Origins: Wolverine (PS2) on Yandex Market for 1700 rubles.
4. Hogwarts Legacy
About what: the player, under the guise of a student, enters a cult school of magic and wizardry
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows
There have been many games created in the Harry Potter world for different platforms. Unfortunately, I can’t call any of them quality. They were all pretty mediocre. The announcement of the game “Hogwarts Surprise: Legacy” was big for me, because nothing significant has been released in the Harry Potter universe for a long time.
The developers at Avalanche Software decided to take an unconventional approach. They didn’t focus on any of the films or books in the franchise, but turned to an earlier period. There are still ten years to go before the deadly battle between Voldemort and Harry Potter or the confrontation between Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore.
We travel to late 19th century Great Britain, where we take on the role of a fifth-year student at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This project is primarily designed for Potteriana fans. For the first time in the franchise’s history, we can experience a fully-fledged and detailed open world. We will be able to walk not only around Hogwarts and its surroundings, but also around the wooden Hogsmeade. Moreover, it is even better for us to fly around this beautiful world.
The world of Hogwarts Legacy is filled with various activities, interesting places and quests. Almost every part of the map has content. Magic lessons, duels and settings, as well as an epic storyline – all this is also present in the game. This is a real gift for fans.
📌 Hogwarts Legacy on Steam
5. Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game
About what: saving Skull Island for humans and destroying dinosaurs in King Kong
Platforms: Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Windows, PSP, Nintendo GameCube
In 2005, the game was named the best action game of the year, which is a unique case for film-based projects. In 2024, Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game is considered a forgotten masterpiece by Ubisoft and one of Michel Ancel’s best works (father of the Rayman series and creator of Beyond Good and Evil. At the moment, he is practically thrown out of the developed industry by modern effective managers.).
The interesting fact is that the film is basically just a title. The plot was completely reworked to work within the genre – first-person shooter. But from the visual and atmospheric source material, you can immediately guess. Skull Island is there, King Kong and drama too.
And in terms of gameplay, everything is simple here. The game is divided into two separate segments. In the first, we are limited to Skull Island in the first person as Jack Driscoll. We solve internal puzzles, sometimes shoot and basically survive in a very unfriendly area. The second segment is completely dedicated to King Kong. Playing for him is more reminiscent of the third-person beat-em-up genre with platformer elements. Fight dinosaurs. Brutal, tough and even with spectacular spectacular effects.
“Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game” is a model of its era. A beautiful (even by today’s standards) project, which is not without pleasure to play even in 2024. True, it will not be possible to officially buy it, the game has been removed from digital stores, which indicates obvious rights to the brand. However, if you have an Xbox One or Series X, you can find a disc on Avito, the game will appear in the backward compatibility window and will run on the console without problems.
📌 Buy Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official PC Game on Yandex Market for 2516 RUB.
The industry knows how to surprise
The games in this selection are just a small part of the attachment to the world of game projects based on films. In fact, there are many more good games based on films, and every player can find something interesting for themselves.
However, if you are just starting to get acquainted with such games, then I would start with the projects that I talked about.
In the comments, you can share your favorite games based on films. Who hooked you and forgot to pass?
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
