The Top Five Movie-est Movies Ever Videogame’d

Do you remember Movies? Y’know, “Movies”? Capital “M” Movies? Cinema? The confluence of “high art” and “low art” that our collective culture once agreed was the most important form of entertainment in the world? Back in the 1940s, before TVs were everywhere, the majority of Americans saw up to two movies a week in the theater. These days, movies have all but been replaced by streaming, social media, and of course, videogames. Influencers like Mr. Beast are more famous than most movie stars. More people are likely to trek out to the theater to see the last episode of a TV show like Stranger Things than they are to see a new film. Even the mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe has seemingly fallen off it’s throne, this former king of a crumbling medium having recently been shown up by the likes of A Minecraft Movie, which made more money in the theaters than all three of Disney/Marvel’s latest superhero pictures. 

Maybe film’s fall from grace started back when they started dabbling with the idea that videogames could be potential partners in their crusade to remain the world’s most respected, awe inspiring story delivery system. Some Movies, you see, are more “M” movies than others. They are held up as examples of what only movies can do, as standard bearers for the craft of filmmaking, containing a mix of divine inspiration and raw technical mastery that make them borderline religious artifacts in the minds of cinephiles. And yet, even some of these movies couldn’t help but want to cash in on the surging financial success of videogames. Or, they just thought videogames were cool? Maybe a bit of both. 

No matter the motivation, it’s fun to look at movies that are intractably associated with “the art of film” that, probably against most people’s better judgement, still opted to take a crack at being videogames too. Here’s five of the most unlikely, and interesting, attempts at bridging the gap between movies for movie lovers… and games for people who wish that movies were games? I guess? 

You be the judge!

JAWS: RETRO EDITION

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws created the template for the “realistic-enough animals terrify people” Hollywood blockbuster, that would later be used by films like Deep Blue Sea, Cocaine Bear, The Host, and even Spielberg’s own Jurassic Park. But before it became synonymous with mainstream movie making, it was like nothing people had ever seen before – part slice-of-life portrait of a small tourist town, part morality play on the dangers of letting economic priorities guide your decision making, and part horrific-but-believable monster movie. Against all odds, Spielberg managed to weave these different parts into a cohesive whole. Many call it a perfect film, one that has had no problem remaining relevant all the way into 2026. In fact, for whatever reason, it’s recently seen the launch of its own scratch ticket, a new “making of Jaws” app by Steven Soderbergh, and the rerelease of it’s NES game from 1987. 

As you might imagine, almost none of the movie directing genius that went into the original Jaws film made its way into the game. In fact, the game seems to be based more on the critically panned Jaws IV: The Revenge, than it is the beloved, inaugural movie in the franchise. Thankfully, it’s also much better at being a game than Jaws IV is at being a movie. The spirit of the Jaws idea – that a giant shark may suddenly scare the crap out of you at any time, remains intact, all while harnessing some early stabs roguelite game mechanics, like wandering for randomized enemy encounters and grinding for stat boosts. It’s way more fun than it probably should be, and the newly released version for modern consoles has an enhanced mode that turns every aspect of the fun up at least 20 notches. It’s a game that would be just as good, if not better, if it didn’t have the Jaws name attached to it, but the fact that it’s so bad at replicating the strengths of the movie only makes it more impressive that it manages to be so fun anyway.

PLATOON (TWICE!)

Auteur screenwriter and director Oliver Stone’s Platoon was a gritty, feel-bad film about the American war in Vietnam. Largely based on Stone’s own experiences as a soldier in that war, it took him years to get the movie made. It doesn’t flinch in its depiction of the horrors of war, and the decimation of the humanity of its soldiers. It’s not exactly fun, but it was a recognizable name, especially after the VCR market blew up and it was made widely available in video stores. So when Ocean Software adapted the movie into a relatively story-free shooter, it was a stupid surprise, while remaining right in line with where games as a medium had been going. With Stallone’s soldier archetype Rambo and Schwarzenegger’s John “Commando” Matrix already making their way into games via the cover art of Contra, it was clear that the game buying public didn’t care a whole lot about digging into the ethical complexities of war. They wanted to feel like a sweaty man in the jungle with a machinegun, taking down all comers, but in a way that was grounded in some kind of reality. And so, Platoon was picked as a vessel for that premise, and it sort of smelled. 

But it didn’t smell so badly that they wouldn’t try again with a 2002 military strategy game also based on the film. Like it’s 1987 counterpart, it takes place during the Vietnam War, and as was expected for the time, it has voice acting and a musical score that felt cinematic enough. But this game was also completely uninterested in integrating the psychological/emotional burdens of the War. It’s more interested in letting you move troops to wooded areas to set up ambushes and whatnot. For Oliver Stone to work so hard to get an as honest-as-possible portrayal of his personal experience as a traumatized soldier developed to film, only for all of that honesty to be stripped out in the game versions, feels a little evil.  But I suppose it’s better that the games almost totally divorced themselves from the characters in the movie than to make them high-score-hunting-fun-boys who were scoring extra lives by conking Vietnamese swamp turtles on the head one hundred times.

HITCHCOCK’S VERTIGO

Vertigo isn’t Alfred Hitchcock’s most loved movie, but it’s deeply respected for it’s use of visual metaphor, willingness to make the viewer distrust nearly every main character, and end things in a painfully believable way. It’s a story about if we can believe others, and ourselves, when the shrouds of infatuation, insecurity, and guilt, descend over our eyes. It’s a troubling hoot, and we wouldn’t likely have Twin Peaks, Gone Girl, or Basic Instinct (one and two!) without it. 

And in a lot of ways, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo: The Game (2021) has just as much in common with those three romantic thrillers as it does the game it was named after. In fact, it probably has more in common with Gone Girl than anything else, but saying more might spoil it. Needless to say though, while it takes some of the themes from Vertigo and other Hitchcock films, it’s entirely it’s own thing, very narrative-focused, but without any of the real Hitchcock magic at play. A relatively slow-paced visual novel, the game offers some player agency through walking and talking, but no matter where you go or which dialogue choice you select, the outcome of the story will be the same. I’d say then that it would have made for a better animated film than a game, but that wouldn’t have been so great either, as the art and animation here sits in a weird spot between Coraline-expressive and Fortnite-generic. And the whole story ends in such a ridiculous way that it’s hard not to wonder if the whole game was an elaborate troll post. Hitchcock would not be pleased, but for Hitchcock fans, the novelty of this game even existing might be worth a curious playthrough the next time it’s on sale. 

THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN

Before his breakout hit Amélie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet was best known in cinephile circles as the co-director of City of Lost Children, one of the most strikingly beautiful, relatively low budget dystopian sci-fi movies about a dream-sucking Santa Claus impersonator ever made. It’s creepy and classy, frenetically flipping from cretinous cyborgs hunting children, to a two-headed school teacher scolding a rebellious teenage protagonist, to a group of forlorn clones attempting to enjoy a birthday party in lockdown, all without skipping a beat.

It all smacks of potential video game logic. Out of all the games on this list, it’s the one that makes the most conventional “sense” for a game adaptation, and it likely could have been a hit if it weren’t so limited in depth and scope. Most of the characters from the film are missing, it contains only a handful of areas and puzzles, and the whole thing is over in less time than it takes to watch the film. It feels more like a playable artbook or a DVD bonus feature than a full-fledged game. Being a PS1 game, it’s clear that they were hoping that the CD-ROM technology, and the publics newfound obsession with “cinematic games” like Resident Evil and Final Fantasy VII would help get this one limp over the finish line and recoup it’s production costs. It definitely plays like Resident Evil (but without the combat) and looks like Final Fantasy VII’s Midgar (but without sexy terrorists and talking cats). Had the budget for this title gone into a more lo-fi, traditional 2D point and click game in the style of Monkey Island, it likely could have been a classic.

RESERVOIR DOGS

Based on Quentin Tarantino’s feature film directorial debut, the existence of Reservoir Dogs for the PS2/PC (2006) almost adds up. While the film isn’t particularly action-oriented or violent, there’s no denying that by 2006, Tarantino was seen as the new king of the gangster movie. While a Pulp Fiction game probably would have drawn in more crowds and made more sense given how over-the-top and violent the movie can be, it stands to reason that at least one of his movies would make the leap to an interactive medium in the wake of GTA3’s runaway success. It’s just weird that they’d pick Reservoir Dogs, one of Tarantino’s most slow-paced, patient films, which relied almost entirely on Tarantino’s skill at directing, and fully committed performances of it’s cast, to work as a story. 

I’d be a jerk if I didn’t mention that there were also The Godfather and Scarface PS2 games released in 2006, and the movies that those games were based on could be considered more emblematic of concept of “cinema” than Reservoir Dogs. So why didn’t those games make the list instead? It mostly comes down to delivery. The Scarface game tried to respectfully tiptoe around the source material by acting as a sort of fan fiction sequel to the film, with Tony surviving the events of the end of the film and going on to have a GTA3 style adventure, stealing cars, killing criminals, and rebuilding his criminal empire. The Godfather game is also a GTA3 clone, just with a Godfather-themed skin on top, putting you in the role of a new character who is essentially a Corleone family cosplayer who inserts and removes himself from key events from the film without actually tampering with them. It’s more of a Godfather fan con LARP than an attempt to recreate the movie in playable form.

Reservoir Dogs, the game, goes the other way. It recreates every lead character from the movie, though without all the likenesses of the roles in question, and allows you to play as them in events that take place both before and during the film. The voice acting is done by a pretty impressive array of sound-alike performers, with the exception of Michael Madsen, who is back in the role of Mr. Blonde. The game just tramples all over the source material, essentially working to replace it with low poly character models and new scenes like “the guys all play paintball as a training exercise” tutorial level. And it’s also a balls-out, nonstop action game, with Max Payne-style bullet time and exploding helicopters and the like. The fragility of human life and the struggle to hold on to who you are in the face of near certain betrayal or death that underpinned the film is replaced with health bars and the option to play as a “psycho, criminal, or professional” for different endings. I haven’t heard what Tarantino thought of the game, but chances are, he doesn’t think it’s better than the movie.

BONUS: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

There are a few unofficial Night of the Living Dead fan games out there. There are even a few AA games that feature Night of the Living Dead mini-campaigns or DLC content. But none of them quite count as official adaptations of the movie, because the movie itself is public domain, so just about any adaptation of it is as official as any other, fan made or otherwise. 

That’s why it’s always bothered me that no one made a Night of the Living Dead 2D point and click adventure game. It worked for The Walking Dead, right? Except, to match Night of the Living Dead’s indie aesthetic and retro look, I think a 4 color, classic LucasArts SCUMM system game would be a better fit. I even tried my hand at making a mock up screenshot for said hypothetical game, and it… could be worse?