14 Best Video Game Adaptations of All Time, Ranked

The video game Halo is undoubtedly a piece of gamer history, cementing the presence of the first-person shooter in culture and single-handedly creating demand for the Xbox console. It’s all the more disappointing, then, that its TV show adaptation is so clunky and dull by comparison.

In trying to bridge the gap between die-hard fans of the game and newcomers looking for their sci-fi fix, Halo somehow manages not to satisfy either, offering up convoluted world-building and aimless plotting that’s not quite redeemed by some serviceable action sequences.

A cool concept, shocking set pieces, and a capable cast aren’t enough to make Twisted Metal, a TV show adaptation of a demolition derby video game, anything more than a collection of used parts.

Starring Anthony Mackie, who is forced to spend much of the show doing a Ryan Reynolds impression, and Stephanie Beatriz as a near-silent character hunting for revenge, much of the show is dedicated to making big things go boom, catch on fire, or get shot up by guns. While this could be its own certain brand of appealing in, say a 90-minute movie, the shtick gets old fast across 10 episodes.

The years in development limbo and delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic should set off some warning bells that this adaptation would not end up being all that exciting.

Starring the perpetually likable Tom Holland (with Mark Wahlberg phoning it in), Uncharted feels like a blueprint of an action game adaptation rather than a fully realized movie. However, props to Tati Gabrielle, whose sparse screen time was the most watchable element in the entire endeavor.

Beloved source material and good taste in casting Josh Hutcherson and perpetual scream king Matthew Lillard in lead roles still can’t propel this inert movie to anything remotely as heart-pounding as the game (or its labyrinthine lore).

Despite gamely recreating the abandoned children’s entertainment center where much of the action takes place, and its creepy animatronic inhabitants, the lack of effective scares or emotional stakes make this adaptation more or less a snooze-fest.

Despite being one of the highest-grossing movies of 2023, and featuring a stellar Jack Black as Bowser, The Super Mario Bros. Movie fails to capture what makes the game, and its spinoffs, (Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, etc.) so widely beloved.

Aggressively a fan-service project above all, the whirling colors and familiar characters try to mask the creeping feeling one gets watching this movie… that you’d rather just be playing the game.

This movie is fueled primarily on Angelina Jolie’s star power, and honestly, that’s all it really needs.

Starring Jolie as the titular adventurer, the plot, which involves mysterious clocks, ancient cities, and pre-Bond Daniel Craig, reads as an Indiana Jones spoof. What pulls it together is Jolie’s signature allure and physicality. No wonder she started getting cast in more action after this.

Blade Runner meets Pikachu, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, is a pretty weird conceit for a blockbuster movie, but what’s even weirder is that it all sorta works in this neo noir-inflicted romp.

The film centers on the son of a detective (Justice Smith), an amnesia-stricken Pikachu, and an aspiring journalist (Kathryn Newton), who seek to uncover a vast conspiracy. The friction between Pikachu’s adorable, cuddly CGI body and Ryan Reynolds’ signature sarcastic delivery style makes the character reliably hilarious, even if its human counterparts come across a little flat.

While the plot may be forgettable, and the effects leave something to be desired, the movie adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog more than justifies its existence by having Jim Carrey play the villainous Dr. Robotnik and letting him tap into the weirdo, hyper-caffeinated mode he does best.

Aside from Carrey, the filmmakers do a solid job of depicting Sonic’s high-octane abilities and creating a surreal fish-out-of-water story with the help of an always-welcome James Marsden.

Panned by critics as being unnecessarily dour and confusingly plotted, retrospective reviews have put a little more respect on this adaptation’s name, and for good reason.

Despite some of the special effects not holding up too well nearly 20 years later, the atmosphere and design of the most memorable aspects of the game (Pyramid Head! The Bubble Head Nurses!) make this a thoroughly immersive and creepy watch.

Yes, the Resident Evil movies from the early 2000s have Milla Jovovich looking really, really cool, but that’s unfortunately all they really have going for them.

In this prequel, which takes place in 1998 at the start of the zombie outbreak, a more faithful, B-movie inflected approach and an enjoyable cast (Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, and Avan Jogia, among others) makes all the difference. On top of that, the action scenes deliver higher emotional stakes and more interesting set pieces than the original films, with all due respect to Jovovich and Co.

Ella Purnell may be making her live-action debut in a video game adaptation with the upcoming Fallout, but don’t sleep on her as Powder/Jinx in this richly rendered animated series based on the online multiplayer game League of Legends.

Centered around sisters Violet (Hailee Steinfield) and Powder, Arcane tracks the duo’s evolution from siblings to fierce opponents over years of their lives, with the help of gorgeous animation and beautifully stylized action scenes.

While admittedly bearing little resemblance to the mafia-style VR game it originated from, Werewolves Within is an excellent horror-comedy hidden gem, with a fun soundtrack, slick screenplay, and a stellar lead performance from Sam Richardson, playing a sweet schmuck à la his character in Veep.

Director Josh Ruben, wearing his Shaun of the Dead influences proudly on his sleeve, has the jokes and the horror landing with surgical precision, and a subplot of red state-blue state infighting amongst the townspeople makes for a riotous watch.

Easily the first bona-fide Peak TV offering to have its roots in a video game, The Last of Us being actually good is due in no small part to top-tier talent — Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, yes, but also showrunners Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (co-creator of The Last of Us, the video game).

The game itself is a third-person shoot-’em-up, but it’s also a poignant meditation on found-family dynamics and morality, much of which is embodied in the dynamic between Pascal’s morose Joel and Ramsey’s upbeat Ellie. Featuring a stellar cast of supporting actors — Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, and Melanie Lynskey just to name a few — The Last of Us has elevated a video game adaptation into appointment viewing.

While it doesn’t have the prestige of The Last of Us show or the big name actors of the Sonic the Hedgehog or Super Mario Bros. adaptations, there’s a reason why you can still catch ’90s kids humming the irresistibly catchy theme song under their breath to this day.

Spanning a jaw-dropping 1,006 episodes across a multitude of American networks, the series has been credited with bringing anime to Western audiences and introducing innumerable iconic characters into the pop culture lexicon — you’ve just gotta catch ’em all.