For the longest time, video game adaptations were the bane of fandoms. Several early big-screen adaptations in the ’90s were seen as cheesy or an attempt at a quick cash grab. Think of movies like the first Super Mario Bros. film, Street Fighter (1994), or Doom (2005). Nowadays, video game adaptations have found new blood through successful releases like Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, HBO’s The Last of Us, and most recently, Amazon Prime’s Fallout. Having found this newfound respect for the medium, here are five video games that could do well as a TV series or movie adaptation.
 

Metroid

Samus Aran from Nintendo’s Metroid games made history as one of the first well-known female protagonists in a video game. It’s only fitting that she should also find the same recognition through an adaptation. Perhaps something in the style of Ridley Scott’s Alien would do it justice. After all, the games have always been given high praise for the design of their environments. It would be a godsend if they could get someone like H.R. Giger to bring those designs to life.

Left 4 Dead/Left 4 Dead 2

Valve’s Left 4 Dead franchise continues to stand strong since the release of its first game in 2008. After its immediate success, it took only one year for the sequel to come out and instantly became one of the greatest video games ever made. Even to this day, Left 4 Dead 2 takes a spot on Steam’s daily most-played games list. What makes this game perfect for an adaptation is it already has an established backstory and an extensive cast of characters. All eight characters that star in the game equally have charming traits and interesting tidbits of lore that make them stand out from one another. Imagine seeing them in a movie in the style of either George Romero or Zack Snyder. Maybe if the adaptation is a success, Valve will finally give in and make Left 4 Dead 3.

Red Dead Redemption/Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar is no stranger to making excellent games, giving us titles like L.A. Noire, the Max Payne series, and the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Then there’s the Red Dead Redemption series. Most write it off as Grand Theft Auto with cowboys. The reason both titles stand out from the rest is its compelling story. Many gamers still tear up when thinking about the journeys of RDR’s titular characters, Arthur Morgan and John Marston. Think of how cool it would be to see a Spaghetti Western adaptation similar to Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained set in RDR’s world. 

Crash Bandicoot

After the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, one video game character perfect for an animated adaptation on the big screen would be Crash Bandicoot. Hyperactive qualities similar to Taz from Looney Tunes make this lovable bandicoot stand out. There’s something about the manic energy mixed with the rich visuals of the games that also catch players’ attention. An animated big-screen adventure seems to be the perfect step for the Crash Bandicoot franchise to show off just how wacky things can get. Let’s just hope they don’t botch it by casting a random big-name celebrity to voice the character.

The Elder Scrolls

Bethesda already struck gold with Amazon Prime’s Fallout series, what if it can go even further by adapting the Elder Scrolls franchise? The popularity of the Elder Scrolls games dates as far back as when PC games ran on MS-Dos. It’s almost impossible to encounter any gamer who hasn’t played or heard of Elder Scrolls’ most popular title Skyrim. If there’s anything the first two seasons of Netflix’s Witcher taught us, fantasy video game titles make for great TV.  There’s much to discover about the lore of the Elder Scrolls games that it has the potential to be turned into a series as popular as Game of Thrones.