When adapting a book into other media, it doesn't always translate well and you'll often hear "the book was better." However, there are times when the adaptation does the book justice or becomes its own awesome piece of work. Whether films, TV shows, or games, oftentimes the new adaptation is loosely based on the book or is not faithful to the original telling. For example, in Netflix's The Witcher series, there were many changes made from the books.
This list takes a look at five of the best games based on books and five of the worst that fans wish they could forget. (We're strictly looking at novels, so you won't find any comic book or manga adaptations here.)
10 Best: The Witcher Series
King of this list has to be The Witcher series as it is arguably the most successful book-to-game adaptation. There are some notable differences from the source material, with Ciri being a full-grown adult being one of the biggest. By changing things up from the books, CD Projekt Red offered a fresh experience to new and seasoned fans alike, allowing everyone to enjoy the games whether they've read the books or not.
The Witcher series has gone from strength to strength, with each new title receiving even higher scores than its predecessors and earning multiple awards.
9 Worst: Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
Ken Follett's award-winning novel The Pillars of the Earth was adapted into a point-and-click game, Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. The game was split into three different books, with the first released in August 2017, the second in December 2017, and the final part released in March 2018.
It ultimately received mixed reviews. It was praised for its unique visual style, but there were many criticisms about the game being a slow-burn, lacking drama or any sense of urgency. It was also called out for its frame rate issues.
8 Best: Discworld Series
Terry Pratchett's beloved Discworld series of fantasy books was adapted into games beginning in 1995 with Discworld, a point-and-click adventure game. The sequel, Discworld II, was released in 1996. The games were a critical hit in the UK and Europe, most likely due to Terry Pratchett being an English writer and more well-known overseas.
Even in the U.S., the games received favorable reviews, even if the series was less of a hit overall. These two games have gone down in history as two of the hardest point-and-click games to complete.
7 Worst: The Lost Legends of Redwall
The Lost Legends of Redwall is an episodic indie game that is based on Brian Jacques' series of Redwall books. The game is not a direct adaptation, but a new story based on the world of Redwall, set before and during the events of Jacques' first book.
While the game delivered on true Redwall aesthetic and appealed to many fans of the fantasy novels, it was criticized for many of its gameplay mechanics. For those unfamiliar with Redwall, the game fell even further short of expectations as players were not able to appreciate the true charm of the setting and storyline. You can see Screen Rant's review of the first episode here.
6 Best: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is based on the fantasy world created by J.R.R Tolkien, but is an original story. The game is an open-world action-adventure game that released in 2014 to critical acclaim, with high praise for its Nemesis system. It became the best-selling Lord of the Rings game ever made.
In 2017, the sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of War released and was also met with positive reviews. With two well-received games to its name, Monolith Productions is likely to release another Middle-Earth title in the future. Hopefully it'll come out on the next generation of consoles.
5 Worst: Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu was inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's short story, as well as the 1981 role-playing game adaptation of the same name. This is a survival horror game with puzzle elements that follows private investigator Edward Pierce as he delves into the death of the Hawkins family.
The game received mixed reviews and ultimately did not live up to the promise that Lovecraft fans expected, nor did it offer fulfilling-enough gameplay to satisfy non-Lovecraftian players. Due to the average reviews, it's unlikely players will see a sequel to this game.
4 Best: American McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice is based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and is an unofficial sequel of what happens to Alice after the events in the book. The game released in 2011 and is an action-adventure platform game with psychological horror elements, set in a twisted steampunk version of Wonderland.
The game received positive reviews and after plans for a film adaptation of the game fell through, a sequel was released in 2011 called Alice: Madness Returns. The sequel received generally favorable reviews but fell short of its predecessor.
3 Worst: Game of Thrones
After the success of the TV series adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice novels, it was only natural that the gaming industry wanted its own chance to make some magic happen. Game of Thrones released in 2012 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and is based on the first book in the series, while also drawing some elements from HBO's TV series.
The game was met with mixed reviews and although the plot was praised, the poor graphics, bad voice-acting, and repetitive combat were heavily criticized.
2 Best: Metro 2033
Metro 2033 is a first-person survival game based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's 2002 post-apocalyptic novel of the same name. Though it was criticized for its AI and some graphical issues, the game received positive reviews and was praised for its dark atmosphere and horror elements.
It eventually received two sequels, Metro: Last Light in 2013 and Metro Exodus in 2019, as well as remasters of the first two games in the form of the Metro Redux package. All games within the series received favorable reviews and sold well, with Exodus selling 50% more copies than Last Light.
1 Worst: Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper
There are a number of video games based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous fictional private detective, Sherlock Holmes, and many of them leave a lot to be desired. The hard part here is deciding which one should make this list as one of the worst book-to-game adaptations. Ultimately, Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper won — or lost, as the case may be.
The game received mixed reviews upon release, with players finding some of the gameplay features lacking and the low-quality graphics and particularly bad voice-acting distracting.