UPDATE: Arcane: League of Legends won Best Adaptation at The Game Awards 2022!

Where once video game adaptations were seen as somewhat of a joke, as it was rare to see one of high quality, now there have been some incredibly well-received shows and movies that are based on games. The Game Awards 2022 is looking to celebrate those adaptations in its Best Adaptation category, which might not be giving an award to a video game directly, but it is showing a level of admiration for another way in which the medium can reach audiences.

This year there have been some great video game adaptations. A few have offered deep dives into the lore of a pre-existing title, while others take inspiration from their source material and deliver something that fans weren't at first expecting but have enjoyed anyway. At this year's Game Awards, Netflix's first season of Arcane, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, The Cuphead Show are in the nominees list, with the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Uncharted movies filling it out.

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Arcane

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League of Legends might at first appear to be a tough game to make an adaptation from. Considering it doesn't involve the player partaking in a narrative directly, and instead focuses solely on the traditional MOBA style of gameplay, it may have come as somewhat of a shock to see the review scores for the first season of Arcane. However, for those who are familiar with the lore of League of Legends, this wouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Even still, the story of Vi, Jinx, and plenty of other League of Legends characters that was told in Arcane's first season captivated those already familiar with the popular MOBA and general audiences alike. A lot of critics praised Arcane for its unique and gritty animation style, its respect of the source material, and the story it crafted in only nine episodes. Now, a lot of fans can't wait to see what comes next in a possible Arcane season two.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

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Another Netflix animated series that packs a lot into a small amount of episodes, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners transports viewers to the dystopian future of 2077. Working with CD Projekt Red throughout the production of the series, Studio Trigger created a fast-paced anime with a heart-wrenching tragedy at its core. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners comes packed with lovable characters that each have their own clear motivations for trying to make something of themselves in Night City.

Alongside getting some great reviews from critics, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners also proved to be a huge hit with those who had and hadn't managed to play Cyberpunk 2077. Combined with the consistent updates the game received from CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' success is viewed as one of the main reasons why Cyberpunk 2077 has seen a huge resurgence throughout 2022.

The Cuphead Show

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Moving the more violent and serious shows to one side, The Cuphead Show brings the brilliant, 1930s-inspired aesthetic of the highly successful video game and makes it its own animated series. Considering that Cuphead was originally inspired by the animation of the 1930s, it only makes sense that the adaptation of the game would be a show that utilizes the style of that era. The Cuphead Show has more for fans to praise than just a pleasing animation style, though.

Having just released its second season, The Cuphead Show boasts a talented cast and witty writing in each of its episodes. Also, showing its dedication to its source material, The Cuphead Show is full of references to the game, including a bunch of its bosses. Of course, the Devil appears both as the main antagonist of the show as he is in the games, but it is interesting to see how other characters interact with Cuphead and Mugman when they're not shoved in as a boss fight. Ribby and Croaks, for example, get to run their establishment mostly in peace until Cuphead shows up.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2

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Bringing the famous blue hedgehog back to the big screen, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 gives fans more of the speedster and sees Jim Carrey reprise his role as Dr. Eggman. The film received a lot of praise for building on the groundwork set by the original movie while also being a faithful adaptation of the Sonic the Hedgehog games. This time around, more characters from the franchise such as Knuckles and Tails are given plenty of time to shine as well.

There's even a nod to Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which has left fans to believe he will be appearing in the third film. Considering how the original Sonic the Hedgehog movie faced a big delay due to backlash over its original look for the gaming icon, it's impressive to see how far the franchise has come, with the possibility for it to expand into a Sonic cinematic universe down the line.

Uncharted

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Rounding off the nominees for this year's Best Adaptation award is Uncharted. Tom Holland steps out of his Spidey suit in this movie for the role of Nathan Drake, one of gaming's most well-known characters. While the Nathan Drake from the Uncharted movie and games do differ in some capacity, Holland's performance and the film's writing does what it can to make the actor appear as close to the inspiration for his character as possible.

Carving out its own path while following the inspiration left behind by the games, the Uncharted movie managed to be a hit with fans of the series and those getting their first glimpse of Nathan Drake and his adventures. Considering the Uncharted movie's success at the box office, and the tease in its end credits, it could be possible that fans will get another Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg adventure in the future.

Final Prediction

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While Uncharted did reach some big box office numbers, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 continued setting up interesting things for the franchise's future, it is difficult to see either of these films winning Best Adaptation this year at the Game Awards, especially considering the quality of the gaming TV shows that released. Therefore, even with Arcane's incredible success early on this year, it seems that the Best Adaptation award is pointed more towards Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

Those who like violent, gritty, and somewhat depressing anime and those who want to find out more about Mike Pondsmith's Cyberpunk universe found a great new series in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners when it released earlier this year. While there are no plans for another series of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners at the time of writing, this short but sweet feeling of the show makes it stand out from its fellow nominees. Also, considering the impact it had in returning Cyberpunk 2077 to glory, this series may have done more than just draw in a lot of viewers.

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