Why Are Video Game Adaptations So Awful?
Video game adaptations have the worst reputation in the film industry, but why is it they always fail? More importantly, how can that change?
With the release of Eli Roth’s Borderlands, an unfortunate cinema trend has crept into the mainstream yet again: the guaranteed failure of video game adaptations. Countless books have been adapted gracefully for the silver screen, but video game movies never hit the mark.
Video game adaptations have been notorious since their conception. The Super Mario Bros. film in 1993 traumatized a generation of kids with cheesy acting and terrifying animatronics, and things have only gotten worse. From Uncharted to Doom, no game is safe from a poor adaptation.
But why are they so consistently awful? The answer isn’t obvious, but if you waste enough time watching video game movies, it becomes clear. Regardless of genre, game adaptations continue to make the same three mistakes, guaranteeing an underwhelmed audience in every cinema.
1. Disregarding the source material
Borderlands trailer. Credit: YouTube/Lionsgate Movies
Video games are unapologetically bizarre. The wild, illogical worlds of video games are what make the medium compelling in the first place. In the real world, a bullet to the heart is death, but in a game, it’s barely a scratch. Most people can’t jump for long periods without hurting their knees, but in most games, jumping is more common than walking. Therein lies one of the greatest pitfalls in adaptations: they take themselves too seriously. Too many adaptations force drama where it just doesn’t belong, losing the carefree fun of what makes games worthwhile.
Beyond the minute gameplay details, adaptations are rarely faithful to the stories of the original material. The screenplays consist of generic action sequences and stereotypical characters we’ve seen a thousand times before. Alone in the Dark is the worst contender: a cinematic trainwreck from Uwe Boll that somehow messes up the simple premise of a haunted house, instead delivering an incoherent plot filled with forgettable characters and a mindless barrage of CGI. Beyond the title Alone in the Dark, the film’s relation to the game is nonexistent.
2. Reference overload
The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer. Credit: YouTube/Illumination
Look no further than 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie to see adaptations at their most soulless. Rather than delivering an engaging story, the film is a feature-length compilation of video game references with no narrative meat to chew on. One scene references Mario Kart; the next is an ode to Super Mario 3D World. Such details have the potential to be fun easter eggs, adding cute details only the biggest fans would notice, but when those references are all the film has to offer, the experience is hollow. Instead of a film, it feels like a glorified advertisement.
Unfortunately, Super Mario is not the only culprit of this. From Borderlands to Detective Pikachu, countless adaptations rely on references to win over fans. The writers rarely build on the source material, but rather, they stitch together random easter eggs in the hopes that audiences recognizing their favorite character will be enough to make the film a hit. However, beyond some mild amusement, references do nothing to improve the film experience. When a movie is dedicated to reminding the audience of a game, it almost feels like an encouragement to leave the cinema and play the game instead.
3. Removing the player
Tomb Raider trailer. Credit: YouTube/Warner Bros.
Video games are a form of escapism. They allow the player to become someone else: to jump into another world with the click of a button. Whether you’re playing as Super Mario hopping through pipes or the Doom Slayer mowing down hordes of demons, the magic of video games always comes down to one simple principle: you are in control.
Therefore, when that sense of agency disappears, the magic is gone. To watch the plot of a game unfold without any input as a player is inherently less interesting than being able to drive it yourself. A clear example of this is Tomb Raider. In the cinema, watching Lara Croft wander through a dark, booby-trapped temple feels like a cheap ripoff of Indiana Jones. Contrast that with the game, where every trap avoided feels like an achievement, and the difference is stark. Video games are made to be played; by taking that feature away, you risk removing the entire appeal of the franchise.
Are great adaptations possible?
Fallout trailer. Credit: YouTube/Prime Video
However, there is hope for adaptations. The Last of Us serves as evidence that video games can translate smoothly to the screen. The game is driven by its narrative, focused more on telling the story of Ellie and Joel than putting the player in tense situations. As a result, the game was a natural fit for TV. With a complex story already written for the game, all it needed was a team of producers and a talented cast to bring it to life.
Even more recently, Fallout has set a gold standard for video game adaptations. Rather than rehashing a tale from the games, the writers created an entirely new narrative, using the world of the Fallout franchise as the foundation for the post-apocalyptic adventure. Of course, there are references to the games, but they take a backseat to the interweaving storylines of Lucy, Cooper, and Maximus — original characters invented for the series.
How could adaptations improve?
The Last of Us trailer. Credit: YouTube/Max
With the surprising brilliance of Fallout and The Last of Us, the big-budget studios have no excuse anymore. Video game adaptations can be excellent, but as long as studios repeat those same mistakes, the genre will never improve.
The most obvious way to improve adaptations is to draw from better games. Not to say that Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog are poor games, but when your entire film is based on a franchise with a story you could summarise in one sentence, you’re doomed from the beginning. From God of War to Detroit: Become Human, there are dozens of narrative-driven games begging for a theatrical upgrade.
Audiences don’t want generic action stories, obnoxious references, and half-hearted tributes. For years, film studios haven’t cared, but with the critical and commercial failure of Borderlands, they might have no choice but to change for the better.
