Movies based on video games are always a bit controversial; they’re two very different art forms and trying to adapt one into the other is no simple task. However, some have been surprisingly beloved by fans of their franchises! These are the ones you can look forward to, this year and beyond.
The Last of Us has set a new high bar in television adaptation, not only performing stunningly well among critics but truly seizing the hearts and minds of the mainstream. Recent ratings reports straight from famed aggregate aficionados Nielsen show The Last of Us outperforming even House of the Dragon. Wild.
The Witcher: Blood Origin, on the other hand, has an opposite batting average – the prequel to the successful Netflix Witcher television show has broken the record for worst audience score the network has ever seen. That said, plenty of people at least watched the thing, and there’s reason to doubt the sincerity of at least some of those low scores.
Jade King called Cyberpunk Edgerunners “stylish, sexy, and sadly undercooked.” The overall warm reception, with a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, illustrates Studio TRIGGER’s commitment to making the most of their licensing deal with a lavish production.
The video game Cuphead is the definition of a labour of love. It was inspired by the old cartoon style (picture the very first Mickey Mouse cartoons), so everything in the game is hand-drawn, meaning it takes hours and hours for anything significant to be produced. The time was well worth it, though – five million copies of the game had been sold by its second anniversary!
Since it was inspired by cartoons, why not make it into its very own cartoon? Clearly someone had the exact same thought, because early this year they did just that. The Cuphead Show launched to mediocre, but generally positive, reviews – with the audience score being significantly higher than the critics’ score.
Resident Evil is an iconic horror video game franchise that has a widespread and dedicated fandom. Even small details from the games have turned into horror memes that survive to this day! As you can imagine, news that Netflix was adapting it into a television show was met with excitement and trepidation.
While we were impressed by this authentic adaption of Resident Evil, the show hasn’t been received well by fans of the franchise. On Rotten Tomatoes, its audience rating is only 22 percent. You should take the time to form your own opinion and check out the first season on Netflix for yourself.
In August 2022, Netflix canceled Resident Evil (reportedly due to low viewing figures), meaning it will not be coming back for a second season.
The Tekken fighting games date back to 1994, when the first one was released for arcades. It later received a port for the PlayStation, and the momentum just kept growing. Now, Tekken: Bloodline brings that legacy into the world of television.
The show is loosely based on the plot of Tekken 3, in which Jin Kazama attempts to avenge his mother’s death. It features loads of characters that fans of the series will recognize. While Tekken: Bloodline is undoubtedly good, we felt like it could have been so much more.
