Summary

• Live-action video game adaptations are seeing success with recent movies like Detective Pikachu, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, opening the door for more video games to be adapted for the big screen.
• There is potential for lesser-known video games like Bioshock and Death Stranding to spark interest in other popular games receiving movie adaptations, contributing to the positive growing trend of video game adaptations.
• Games like Hotline Miami, Knights of the Old Republic, Super Smash Bros., Infamous, Dead Space, Crash Bandicoot, Dark Souls, Metroid, Mass Effect, and Red Dead Redemption have the potential to be successful and exciting movie adaptations in various genres.

Live-action video game adaptations have a notorious reputation for being some of the worst movies ever made, but with recent critical and commercial successes, like Detective Pikachu, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, the growing trend of live-action video game adaptations leaves the door open for other video games to see big screen releases. While a A24 Death Stranding live-action movie on the way, gamers are beginning to see a paradigm shift as filmmakers are making more concerted efforts to develop challenging games for the big screen.

While the news surrounding a live-action Bioshock and Death Stranding are exciting all on their own, they both veer more on the obscure in of worldwide recognition and fame. While their lack in popularity compared to the Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog franchises doesn't take away from their excellence, their development will hopefully spark interest in other popular and critically acclaimed video games to receive movie adaptations. With plenty of good video game movie and TV show adaptations breaking the video game adaptation curse, there still are a handful that can contribute to the positive growing trend.

11 Hotline Miami

The John Wick franchise has already proven ultraviolent movies with imaginative worldbuilding can work.

Released in 2012, Hotline Miami follows an assassin unofficially named Beard, who performs hits on various targets against the backdrop of the neon and bliss of 1980s Miami, Florida. Renowned among gamers for its electric soundtrack, psychedelic visuals, and unrelenting viscera and gore, Hotline Miami is a top-down shooter that lends itself to the movies and TV shows with similar aesthetics, like 1983's Scarface and the John Singleton-created Snowfall. With two games to base a movie on, a Hotline Miami movie could give the entries in the John Wick series a run for their movie.

10 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Knights of the Old Republic is arguably one of the best written stories in Star Wars lore.

Released in 2003, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is arguably the best Star Wars game ever made, and its expansion of the Star Wars lore, addictive gameplay, soundtrack, and well written characters and story contributed immensely to its success. While there's plenty of Star Wars content already readily available to consumers, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a game changer primarily because of the exploits of its central villain, Darth Malak. Malak's complex and nuanced feelings about the force combined with many of the game's unique locations justify the beloved video game receiving a live-action update.

9 Super Smash Bros.

A Super Smash Bros. movie could effectively jumpstart a Nintendo movie multiverse.

The Super Smash Bros. franchise debuted on the Nintendo 64 in 1999, and features all the company's most beloved characters duke it out in what is arguably the best crossover platform fighter of all time. Although many non-Nintendo characters have made their way into the franchise, the series is predicated on seeing the likes of Mario, Pikachu, Samus, and Link, among others, use their iconic weapons and skills against each other. With The Super Mario Bros. Movie's success and The Legend of Zelda Movie in development, it's possible that audiences could get a Super Smash Bros. multiverse at some point.

8 Infamous

Infamous' complex protagonist and well-written story lends itself to a movie adaptation.

Sucker Punch's Infamous franchise is renowned for its well-written stories that pontificate about the nature of one's morality and the implications that their actions can have on society, and for its distinguished protagonist, Cole MacGrath, whom the series uses as a conduit to get across its messaging. Featuring cinematic-level story beats and an exciting karma system that forces players to seriously consider their actions, an Infamous movie is already rife with drama that can elicit similar emotional responses from its audience. Furthermore, a possible Infamous franchise could see Cole interact with future protagonist, Delsin Rowe, thus expanding movie franchise potential.

7 Dead Space

Dead Space helped redefine the space survival horror genre in gaming.

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Released in 2008 by EA games, Dead Space centers around a space engineer named Isaas Clarke, as he survives the horrors of deep space aliens and demons in a game that spawned a franchise and helped lend further credence to the survival horror genre. With filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro and James Wan and production companies like Blumhouse and Jordan Peele's Monkey Paw all making strong contributions to the modern horror genre, a Dead Space movie can work since its themes of morality when making tough decisions combined with its unique space atmosphere already make it a compelling horror movie.

5 Crash Bandicoot

Crash Bandicoot has enough material to carry the momentum of Sonic and Mario's recent movie success.

Debuting in 1996, the Crash Bandicoot franchise is an adventure platformer that centers around the adventures of an anthropomorphic bandicoot as he perpetually combats Dr. Neo Cortex and his forces of evil. With four main entries in the franchise and a string of successful spin-off titles, a Crash Bandicoot movie has plenty of material to base things on. The success of Sonic the Hedgehog and The Super Mario Bros. Movie are particularly notable examples of how Hollywood can rework the Crash Bandicoot series for the big screen, while using elements of the video games to help tell an original story.

4 The Dark Souls Series

Each game in the Souls series features a unique setting and story that would translate well into film.

The Dark Souls series' distinct play-style, locations, and incredibly dense lore are a few reasons why the series is one of the most successful video games ever made. With each installment taking players to different parts of the world during distinct periods in time, a live-action Dark Souls movie has more than enough content to develop for the big screen. Moreover, the series is renowned for its obscure, almost esoteric storytelling that compels gamers to strongly scrutinize their actions. As such, a Dark Souls adaptation would work extremely well as it would be just as scary as it is challenging.

3 Metroid

Metroid's Samus Aran and blend of science fiction and horror make for a unique approach to sci-fi horror.

Perhaps one of the most famous video games of all time, Metroid follows protagonist Samus Aran and her quest to defend the galaxy from interplanetary threats. Armed with a unique array of weapons and gadgets and an incredibly high intellect, Samus is easily one of the greatest video game protagonists, and her status as such would justify a quality actress' skills to convincingly bring her to life for a live-action Metroid movie. Although the science fiction genre constantly reinvents itself, a proper Metroid movie would serve as one of the genre's best thanks to its blend of action and science.

2 Mass Effect

A proper live-action Mass Effect adaptation can redeem Mass Effect 3's disappointing conclusion.

The first Mass Effect centers around protagonist Commander Shephard, as he and his loyal team utilized highly advanced technology to defend the galaxy from highly advanced technological and alien threats in the 22nd century. Notable for its seamless blend of action, RPG, science fiction, and drama, the Mass Effect trilogy has solidified itself as one of gaming's best. However, the less-than-stellar conclusion to the trilogy is something that a Mass Effect movie can correct. While remaining faithful to many of the things that made the franchise a success, a movie could take liberties to deliver a more satisfying conclusion.