After debuting with massive success, Amazon’s Fallout and HBO’s The Last of Us TV shows have proven to be fan favourites. Following both these video game adaptations’ boom in popularity, most can only imagine if their favourite video games that need a TV show will ever make it to streaming platforms like Netflix and HBO.
With that said, if you loved both of those adaptations, then here are seven video games that would make a great TV show:
God of War
Like Fallout and The Last of Us, God of War is just one of those video games that needs a TV show. With its expansive lore and gigantic battles (figuratively and literally), Kratos, Atreus, and the Greek and Norse mythos would all be breathtaking to see in a live-action series.
However, what would be more interesting is the approach producers will take to the potential TV show adaptation to transfer the God of War series to screens at home.
Brief but good news from 2022 has confirmed that a God of War TV show is in the works by Amazon Studios. They also mentioned that the series will take place during the Norse era, which began in God of War 2018 and probably ends with a second season following God of War Ragnarök’s events.
Curiously, this will leave the audience with a huge blind spot to the specifics of Kratos’ departure from the Greek world. Questions like “Who is Kratos? What did he do in Greece? Why is he here? How did he get here? Why is he called the God of War?” will probably arise.
For now, though, the best thing to do is to have faith in the show’s writers and producers to hopefully give context and flashbacks for Kratos’ old life and, in turn, offer the audiences a fantastic live-action show of the coveted game series.
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda is yet another candidate for a video game that needs a TV show. It is one of the longest-running video game franchises out there, so to say that Hyrule deserves a place on television is quite an understatement.
Before moving on, though, it has to be mentioned that The Legend of Zelda already has an animated TV show. It was released in 1989 and wasn’t praised for its writing and action sequences. Many fans of the game series have turned the show into a meme thanks to its questionable voice acting and story.
Recently, it was also announced that Nintendo and Sony have been developing a Zelda live-action film, which would similarly satiate the fans' hope for a TV series.
With this in mind, Zelda fans, specifically fans of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, are still begging for an animated adaptation of the mentioned games. The idea of Link saving Hyrule from Calamity Ganon and the glory and scale of the four Divine Beasts in a beautiful, Studio Ghibli-esque animation style would make for one of the best video game adaptations of all time.
The Horizon Series
The Horizon series is undoubtedly one of the more mysterious yet fascinating video games with an enigmatic lore. Set in a post-apocalyptic world repopulated with tribal humans and robot dinosaurs, it already makes for one of the best video games that needs a TV show, as it will surely raise many questions about how humanity got there.
Suppose you have played both Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. In that case, you will know that the mystery behind humanity’s demise and comeback is one of its greatest strengths; seeing that play out on television would be a sight. Of course, it would also be cool to see Aloy mount Sunwings, slay Thunderjaws, and speak with a live-action version of GAIA.
Similar to God of War, there has been confirmation that a Horizon TV show is on the way to Netflix. Numerous sources like Dexerto have revealed that Sony has confirmed a show for the Horizon series is in the works, and its working title is either “Horizon 2064” or “Horizon 2074”.
With the years 2064 and 2074 being in these titles, it can be speculated, based on both HZD and HFW’s year timelines, that the TV show may be a prequel and a primer as to what happened to humanity before its extinction and eventual repopulation. This means Aloy may not be featured as the show’s protagonist for the first season. However, thanks to the game’s already-established lore, it will be, without question, one of the better video games to be adapted to Netflix once it releases.
Ghost of Tsushima
If you’re a big fan of Hulu’s miniseries Shōgun, then there’s a good chance that you’ve probably played Ghost of Tsushima already. These two share the same concept: both are set in Japan when war ravaged the land and samurai were everywhere. They also share the same premise of having an outside force disrupt their home’s safety and stability, which for Shōgun would be Anjin and for Ghost, the Mongol invasion.
The charm of Ghost, however, is that it is based on one of the best Sony PlayStation exclusives of all time. It is a moving story about a samurai, Jin Sakai, and his conflicted approach to driving the Mongols away from their island of Tsushima. His choice? To either abide by the honourable code and ways of the samurai enforced on him by his uncle, Lord Shimura or to assassinate his enemies like a ghost in the wind.
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Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar’s legendary Red Dead Redemption series had to make this list. Often regarded as one of the best video game series of all time due to its graphics, attention to detail, and scale, the Red Dead Redemption series is a solid choice for video games that need a TV show.
Since the games in this series are generally grounded in reality (meaning no fantasy or sci-fi elements), they would be much cheaper and easier for producers to make. As these games are primarily set during the late 1800s and the early 1900s, all the show will need are horses (a lot of them), guns (also a lot of them), and a set reminiscent of the Wild West.
All of this will then be topped off with solid casting for beloved series characters like Arthur Morgan and John Marston, and a Red Dead Redemption TV show looks like an easy homerun for its audience and producers.
Mass Effect
Like the Horizon series, Mass Effect is another sci-fi game set in the future focusing on the impending eradication of all life. However, the story makes Mass Effect one of the video games that needs a TV show. Set in space, aliens ally with humans to defend themselves against Reapers—a race of machines that haunt the cosmos for life to eradicate.
Also, like the Horizon series, Mass Effect is heavily story-driven and is constantly regarded as one of the best video game series during the 2010s. Well, except for Mass Effect: Andromeda, which was heavily met with backlash thanks to the insane amount of bugs and problems it had during release and a subpar plot. So, if there was any chance to birth a Mass Effect TV show, it is most likely that the writers would base the adaptation’s plot on the well-received trilogy instead.
Kingdom Hearts
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To close this list out decisively, Kingdom Hearts is another video game that needs a TV show thanks to its light-hearted and jolly theme. If Disney could realise the hype an animated TV show like this would generate, there would be a second season of a Kingdom Hearts series by now!
As mentioned, Kingdom Hearts is one of the few video games that remain pure and innocent, so any gamer parent who wants to introduce their kids to the world of video games to TV adaptations will find this idea compelling.
For the uninitiated, Kingdom Hearts features the protagonist, Sora, who gets taken away from his home. This sets him on a course to meet Donald Duck and Goofy (yes, the Disney characters), who are also taken away from the Magic Kingdom. They embark on a long journey to find their friends and save their respective homelands from destruction. Think Final Fantasy meets Disney, but more family-friendly and less action.
Seeing someone styled like an anime character alongside Disney characters is admittedly weird. Still, thanks to its touching story and fun gameplay, fans around the world have longed for an animated series of the franchise.
Do you know any video games that need a TV show that we missed on this list? Be sure to let us know down below!