5 great movies that could be adapted to equally great games

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Every week it seems we're getting a big headline about a new video game adaptation. Earlier this week, Sony dropped the headline nuke that they're working on an R-rated animated Bloodborne adaptation set for a theatrical release. But, what if the shoe was on the other foot? What if movies were made into games, and not the other way around? Last week, we took a look at TV shows that could be adapted into great games, and now we're looking at movies we'd love to play. Just as before, we're mostly looking at recent movies, within the last five years or so, to check out some fresh ideas.

The Running Man

Edgar Wright's take on The Running Man may not have been the major box office hit he'd hoped for, but it did introduce us to a stylised world that I think could really lend itself to being explored in other mediums. We did get a Running Man-inspired multiplayer game in DeathSprint 66, but while that game did capture the spirit of the death race idea in its gameplay, I think a single-player, story focused extreme hide-and-seek run could be engaging, too. It could be an action-packed, cinematic experience that could also lend itself to a choice-based narrative, letting us choose to be super greedy for the big prize pot, or try and take down the death race from within.

Predator: Badlands

Yeah, there have been a few Predator games out there. A couple of them are good, but none of the movies sparked game potential for me quite like Predator: Badlands. Travelling a hostile planet with a chatty robot on your back is a great set-up for a video game, even if it doesn't steal the plot or world of Badlands exactly. It feels like the next step from classic pairings like Leon and Ashley or Joel and Ellie. You don't need to protect your companion if they're strapped to you, and they can even help you out like Mimir in God of War. Battling horrible plants and giant alien beasts as an alien yourself would be so cool that a gory trailer would probably be enough marketing to make a load of dudes say "hell yeah" and buy this game.

The Green Knight

This is probably the oddest pick, but I find David Lowry's adaptation of one of the best Arthurian tales ever written down to be so visually impressive that I want to see the world depicted on the big screen brought to life in another medium. The Green Knight might immediately generate images of playing as a knight on horseback, saving damsels and killing barbarians, but both the poem and the movie pull away from the traditional Arthurian fantasy, instead forcing our hero to reflect on what it means to be a knight, and what it means to be a man. I think this could be a great bait and switch in a game format. Make someone think they're loading up their fiftieth soulslike, then send them on an epic journey of self discovery, that may leave them with more questions than they have answers.

Mickey 17

The Alters is kind of like Mickey 17 the game, but really it focuses more on the potential versions of a character, rather than exact clones that are just the same person, churned out over and over. Mickey 17 as a game immediately presents itself as a roguelite, where we can play as many Mickeys as we like going through the game's central story. It'd be interesting to see there be a random element to the personalities you get as you keep spawning as new clones, and how that might affect gameplay. We may not need any more roguelites out there in the market today, but that doesn't stop them being made nor impressive ones coming along. We don't have to just follow the plot of the books or movie as well, as instead we could take a look at the life of a different disposable employee and his days spent trying to tame a hostile world.

The Menu

Anya Taylor-Joy was really cooking on the first press tour for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where she said The Menu would be the best film of her filmography to turn into a game. While in the video here, she pitched two different games: one where you're the chef, and another where you're a guest, I have to say I find the former more interesting. Having Ralph Fiennes over your shoulder as you're forced to prepare incredibly impressive food for clients that won't see the sun again seems like it could be like Overcooked on steroids. There are ways that games can make us feel tense without a punishing boss fight or a jumpscare waiting around the corner, and I think that The Menu could be one of those experiences. Horrifying without being horror, you could really create an immersive, unsettling atmosphere in a game adaptation of this gem of a movie.

What movie would you turn into a video game?