The high-concept characters, spectacular worlds, and thought-provoking themes of science fiction have made it one of the most popular genres for video games (in addition to being a popular genre of film, TV, and literature). A ton of great games have been adapted from sci-fi classics of the big screen, from Alien: Isolation to Ghostbusters: The Video Game to any number of Star Wars games.
But, from Christopher Nolan’s mind-boggling dream heist to Ridley Scott’s L.A.-bound future noir, there are plenty of sci-fi movie masterpieces with the potential to become fantastic video games that have yet to be tapped for the interactive medium.
10 Inception
During the press tour for Inception in 2010, Christopher Nolan said, “One thing we are looking at doing is developing a video game based on the world of the film, which has all kinds of ideas that you can’t fit into a feature film. That’s something we’ve been talking about and are looking at doing long term, in a couple of years.”
Since then, there have been no further developments on the proposed Inception video game, but the combination of Bond-level action and a trippy journey into various dream levels makes the movie ripe for a video game adaptation.
9 Looper
Although his take on the Star Wars mythos got him in a lot of trouble, Rian Johnson is generally considered a fine filmmaker. His high school-set noir Brick was a stellar debut feature, Knives Out was a terrific murder mystery, and he also helmed some of the best episodes of Breaking Bad.
One of Johnson’s original works is Looper, about a hitman who kills people that the mob sends back in time is tasked with dispatching his future self, which would make an awesome video game.
8 The Martian
After being left for dead on Mars by the rest of his crew, botanist Mark Watney has to “science the sh*t” out of his predicament in order to stay alive long enough to inform NASA of the situation and get the crew sent back to get him.
The movie was renowned for its scientific accuracy. Contrary to all the sci-fi games that require wild stretches of the imagination, a Martian video game could be a real-time survival experience.
7 Children Of Men
Set in a near future when all women are infertile, Children of Men stars Clive Owen as a heavy tasked with transporting the last pregnant woman across the country. This premise is perfect for a video game adaptation.
With all the long handheld tracking shots, Children of Men often feels like a video game. It’s one of the most visceral and intense movies in recent memory.
6 Westworld
A video game version of Westworld could combine the fun of exploring an open-world Wild West from Red Dead Redemption with the sci-fi mind games of Fallout and Half-Life.
The recent HBO series is a lot headier and less action-driven than Michael Crichton’s original film, so the movie might make a more suitable groundwork for a video game. It mostly revolves around a robotic Yul Brynner’s relentless pursuit of a human guest amid the chaos of a robot uprising.
5 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
When his heart is broken by Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jim Carrey hires a company to conduct experimental treatment to erase her from his memories. The treatment goes wrong and he ends up trapped in his own mind.
The surreal journey that Joel takes through his own fading memories in Eternal Sunshine would make for a mind-boggling playable experience.
4 They Live
John Carpenter’s satirical masterpiece They Live would make a great video game. Roddy Piper stars as a drifter who discovers a pair of sunglasses that give him the ability to see the world as it really is: a black-and-white dystopia where aliens in disguise secretly control the human race.
A video game adaptation of They Live would be a delightfully zany actioner, and players could have a choice between sunglasses mode and no-sunglasses mode.
3 Snowpiercer
Set after a new ice age, Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer takes place on a train that continually races around the snowy wasteland that remains of North America. Thematically, as with all of Bong’s movies, Snowpiercer is a study of class divide, as passengers on the higher classes of the train live in luxury while the lower classes are fed rations of dead bugs.
The journey taken by Curtis, the leader of a revolution, through the different carriages of the train would make for a riveting gaming experience.
2 Dune
The bleak, but curious world of Frank Herbert’s Dune and the complexity of its narrative threads would make it ideal fodder for a video game. The novel has proven to be notoriously difficult to adapt, but the main problem is condensing its vast narrative, which isn’t a problem with the hours and hours of gameplay in video games.
A game developer could draw from either adaptation of the book, but the trailers for Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming version look like he’s nailed it.
1 Blade Runner
The futuristic L.A. presented in Blade Runner would be a great setting for a sci-fi game. The main character could be a “blade runner” tasked with identifying replicants who have ingratiated themselves into human society. There are thought-provoking themes in spades, and plenty of shootouts and punch-ups along the way.
With a detective story in a neon-drenched future setting, a video game set in the Blade Runner universe could be like L.A. Noire with flying cars.