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Liverpool Echo

Entertainment

Beth Ure

Seven video games that would make great TV shows

Shepard ARTYOM Max Caulfield

The Last of Us has been hugely successful, with a second series of the show already confirmed as the first continues to air every Sunday.

The show has managed to appeal to diehard fans of the game and people who have never played it, much like the hit Netflix series The Witcher, based on the videogame and book series. Clearly, the attraction for these adaptations goes beyond the original fanbase.

Based on their success, it feels inevitable that we'll see other games being adapted into TV shows or films. So which ones would work best?

Life is Strange

This story-based game follows teenager Max Caulfield, who discovers she has the power to rewind time. She reunites with her childhood friend Chloe and the pair attempt to solve the mystery behind Max's visions of the future, and Chloe's missing friend. The game was widely successful when it was released in 2015, and actually came out over the course of a few weeks as 'episodes' for people to play through, so it could easily be adapted into a TV show.

The storyline of the game did partially depends on decisions the player makes, either choosing to rewind and avoid interacting with some people, or choosing different dialogue options. But, the overall plot is the same, plus the game has spawned a few sequels and prequels, so could be adapted into a TV show with multiple seasons.

Red Dead Redemption

The first instalment of the game follows John Marston, a former outlaw whose wife and son are taken hostage by the government to force him to weed out his former gang members and bring them to justice. Although the game had an open world setting that players could roam through freely, a TV series could easily follow the main storyline through.

The game, initially released in 2010, was followed up by a prequel game in 2018 with an equally compelling storyline.

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Elden Ring

This game took the world by storm when it was released in 2022, with fans loving playing through the tricky combat scenes, and it went on to win Game of the Year. Although it didn't have a huge storyline, the story was written by George R.R. Martin, so we could expect a Game of Thrones type TV show to spin off from the hit game.

It Takes Two

Another winner of Game of the Year at the Game Awards, It Takes Two follows a married couple who are forced to work through their issues when their daughter accidentally traps them in doll-sized versions of themselves. The majority of the game-play was taken up by puzzles which forced two players to work together, which would be difficult to translate on screen, but the emotional cut-scenes and development of their relationship could make for an emotive limited series TV show.

Metro 2033

Like The Last of Us, Metro 2033 is set in a post-apocalyptic world, although in this game it is nuclear war that has destroyed life as we know it. This game is actually based on a book of the same name, with the game and book following Artyom navigating the new world where a fear of radiation has sent the inhabitants of Moscow underground to live in the Metro tunnels.

As a player, you control Artyom protecting his home station from the horrors beyond the metro, both human and mutant. This game also had a number of follow-up instalments, so a TV adaptation would have plenty of material for several series'.

Cyberpunk 2077

This 2020 game allowed players to customise their character, including choosing their gender, so any TV adaptation would have free reign on casting for the main character, V. The game follows V's movements around Night City as they deal with a mysterious cybernetic implant that threatens to overwrite their body with the personality and memories of a deceased celebrity.

While a TV show might have a lot freedom in the casting for V, diehard fans of the game could be difficult to engage with without Keanu Reeves reprising his role from the game as Johnny Silverhand.

Mass Effect

Set in the year 2183, Mass Effect could be adapted into a high-budget TV show, as the game sees you travel all over the galaxy as Commander Shepard (like in Cyberpunk, in-game players could choose to play Shepard as male or female). In the first game, you follow Shepard trying to stop a rogue agent from carrying out a galactic invasion on behalf of the Reapers, a machine race.

The game, released in 2007, was followed by Mass Effect 2 and 3, then Mass Effect: Andromeda, with a fifth game reportedly in the works, so it has the potential to be adapted into a long-running TV show.

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