Did you like The Last of Us? Here are our favorite movies and TV shows adapted from video games

The Last of Us pilot – out now on Disney+ Hotstar – was a terrific showcase for breaking the curse of video game adaptation, trusting the writing of the source material. The inclusion of Neil Druckmann – the author of the original 2013 PlayStation game – paired with Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) the HBO show’s cinematic expertise, bolstered the fan base’s belief that it could be special, and it actually worked like a charm. While much of the pilot felt like a shot-by-shot remake, it was the nuances in the filming techniques that made it even more special. The scrambled eggs naturally looked pale yellow instead of orange. Characters could be seen eating their food instead of playing with it. Above all, this is an HBO show, most of the shots were handheld, which only serves to draw you into the emotionally quivering psyches of desperate survivors.

Despite a post-apocalyptic and dystopian setting similar to most zombie-killing media, The Last of Us veered towards the human aspect. Here, the focus is on the unlikely duo of hardened survivor Joel (Pedro Pascal) and teenage girl Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who over the course of the video game assume a father-daughter relationship. This sentimentality effect is further expanded by minor tweaks to The Last of Us show’s writing, which help us understand Joel’s heartbroken state. The pilot was superbly well done, and that only keeps us excited for weeks to come!

That said, this HBO series wasn’t the only mainstream medium to pull off a video game adaptation. So while we wait for each upcoming Monday for a new episode, here’s a list of some great movies and TV shows adapted from video games that you can watch or re-watch, to keep you busy.

Cyberpunk: Edge Runners

With the exception of Blade Runner-style world-building – plagued by machines, sex, and body modification – Cyberpunk: Edgerunners operates almost separately from the actual video game, simply using the universe as a device to capture reality. outsider story of a street kid, David. With Studio Trigger involved as the animator for this one, we’re presented with an over-the-top, dynamic art style that plays with body physics and benefits from its neon-lit color scheme.

For an anime of this caliber, it’s definitely adult-oriented, with lots of gore, bullets, and violence, plus a set of quirky characters, who grow inside you over time – asking questions within you of what side you root. . It also breathed new life into the once tarnished Cyberpunk 2077.

Watch the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners trailer

Studio Trigger is known for incorporating an exaggerated art style into its works.
Photo credit: Netflix

Silent Hill (2006)

Based on the popular horror game series first released in 1999, the first Silent Hill movie was released in 2006 and closely follows the events and characters of the game, but with some changes for cinematic improvements. While the film explored far too many different horror themes and subplots, including supernatural creatures and a bizarre cult, it was widely praised for capturing the tone and feel of the video games it’s on. based.

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sonic the hedgehog

Although Sonic’s initial CGI designs were hilarious and imprecise, the final film turned out to be an enjoyable live-action adaptation of one of the most beloved video game characters of all time. The film benefits from excellent performances from James Marsden and Jim Carrey as the antagonist Dr Robotnik, as well as some neat throwbacks to the original Sonic games of the 1990s. It might be silly at times, but Sonic fans will nonetheless pleased.

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The titular speedster is voiced by Ben Schwartz in the film
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures/Sega

Esoteric

When it comes to building expansive lore, no one holds the candle at Riot Games, which now fulfills dual roles as a game developer and production company. Watching a standard League of Legends game might seem trivial and hazy to an outsider – because it’s just a bunch of small champions charging ultimates and casting spells at large towers on either side of the map. But there’s a whole spectrum of drama behind it; a small part of which is explored in the watercolor-themed steampunk show, Arcane.

This 2022 Game Awards-winning series explores the origin story of orphaned sisters Vi and Jinx, as they are separated amid rising tensions in the chic, utopian town of Piltower. With a dense storyline that touches on the aspect of duality, whether it’s the morals of the main characters or the towns in conflict, and an even electrifying soundtrack, Arcane is rightly a must-have for fans and newcomers to the franchise.

The Witcher Series

For Henry Cavill fans, now might be the best time to catch up, playing the Geralt of Rivia, before Season 3 hits Netflix in the summer. After that, Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games films) takes on the role of the mostly silent monster hunter, who seeks to understand the intricacies of the Elder Blood that courses through Ciri’s (Freya Allan) veins. Of course, The Witcher series doesn’t technically count as a video game adaptation, since it’s derived from the original novels by Andrzej Sapkowski and all. But it certainly fits as an add-on piece, which serves to deeply expand the tradition of CD Projekt Red games.

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Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher
Photo credit: Netflix

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