The 15 Best Video Games Based on Books

Image by MyFullGames via Turbine, Warner Bros, Frogwares and Infocom

We are living in an era where movies and books are starting to be regularly based on computer games, but books have been the inspiration for game creators ever since the first arcade games began to appear. So, to honor this fine tradition, we’ve put together our list of the 15 best video games that are based on books below.

What computer games are inspired by the books?

Whether direct adaptations of the stories or drawing inspiration from the worlds created in the minds of the authors, some of the longest-running and most memorable game series have taken their spark from the written word. They cover multiple eras in gaming, as well as genres, so please consider the arbitrary numbering. But these classic computer games are all inspired by equally classic novels and series.

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15. Metropolitan series

Now a hugely popular franchise, the first installment in this series was the 2005 dystopian novel Metro 2033 by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Since then, a wide variety of stage fiction has emerged, from several different authors and in a variety of genres. But FPS video games Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light, and 2019’s Metro Exodus have all helped make it a globally recognized brand.

14. Vampire Hunter D

While this 2000 PlayStation title didn’t receive much critical acclaim, Vampire Hunter D was an interesting take on the Resident Evil survival horror style game that tried to introduce a little more dynamism to combat. But the setting of the vampire’s castle was inspired by the vampire hunter D novels of Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchiwhich have also inspired anime and comic book adaptations over the years.

13. dune

Original by Frank Herbert Dune The novel may date back to 1965, but since then it has regularly been the inspiration for board games, role-playing games, and video games, as well as movies and TV series. the 1992 Amiga and PC game was truly epic by the standards of the time, becoming a great success. It largely follows the plot of the book, using RTS and adventure game elements to create a unique experience.

12. The Witcher Series

Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski had his first collection of short stories, The Wizardpublished in 1990. There have been six novels and 15 short stories about the anti-hero Geralt of Rivia in total, but many fans will be more familiar with the TV series and popular role playing games. The games have wowed fans across multiple platforms, with 2015’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt often mentioned in the best games of all time lists.

11. World War Z

While it is best known to many as a hit Hollywood movie, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War was first released as a novel by the American author Max Brooks in 2006. But it was not until 2019 that the multiplatform cooperative third person shooter arrive. She was inspired by both the book and the movie and was praised for its combat mechanicsselling millions of copies.

10.STALKER series

Loosely based on the novel by Soviet authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. roadside picnicthe first STALKER game was released in 2007. The survival horror fps it was a huge success, with the book’s original alien setting replaced with stark realism. Chernobyl backdrop. Two more acclaimed titles followed, with STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl currently slated for a 2023 release.

Related: Best STALKER Anomaly Mods

9. Conan Exiled

When you think of Conan, it’s hard not to picture Schwarzenegger in all his ’80s glory. But the character dates back to 1932 when Robert E Howard originally created the sword-and-sorcery hero for a series of stories published in the magazine strange tales. role playing game conan exiles was launched in 2018, creating a harsh landscape based on the lands of the printed stories and with characters who start the game being saved by conan the same.

8. Call of Cthulhu

The original call of cthulhu short story, written by HP Lovecraft, was published in 1928 in strange tales, just four years before the first Conan stories appeared in the same magazine. Virtually ignored at the time, Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos It rose to public attention in the 1980s years after his death, inspiring games of all kinds. The most recent video game title was 2018. survival horror rpg game Call of Cthulhu, which was praised by capturing the essence of Lovecraft’s vision.

7. Black Discworld

The Discworld Noir video game came to PC and PlayStation in 1999, while English author Terry Pratchett was still at the peak of his writing powers. As the noir of the title suggests, the game is based on Discworld’s only IP and parodies of the genre, including maltese falcon. pratchett himself helped work on adventure gamewith his excellent dialogue helping Discworld Noir enjoy a number of rave reviews.

6. The Lord of the Rings Online

While many games have been inspired, either directly or indirectly, by Tolkien’s novels, none have done a better job of recreating middle earth than The Lord of the Rings Online. The MMORPG sees characters progressing through the same story as the main characters but largely on a tangent from them, occasionally meeting up with the protagonists to accomplish side quests adjacent to the main plot points. The game has been online since 2007 and still enjoy regular updates today.

5. Rainbow Six Series

original by tom clancy rainbow six The novel was published in 1998, and the first link to a video game came just two years later on all platforms. He techno-thriller became a New York Times bestseller, while the game has spawned a number of wildly popular games tactical shooters they are still going strong today. In-game stories show you playing a role in the anti-terrorist organization Rainbow, offering both cooperative and solo play through a number of realistic stories set in Clancy’s universe.

4. BioShock Series

The first BioShock video game hit our screens back in 2007 and while the game concept is attributed to game developer Ken Levine, he acknowledges that the game draws heavily from the authors’ dystopian and utopian writing. ayn rand, George Orwelland aldous huxley. This helps create a compelling narrative that elevated BioShock games from standard first-person shooters to genuinely gaming. thought provoking stories in their own rights.

3. Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

The developer Frogwares has been creating Sherlock Holmes adventure games for over 20 years. The games are based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories and are very true to his themesgiving players control of Holmes and Watson and concentrating heavily on solve puzzles while putting the clues together you find on the way.

Related: Every Harry Potter Game, Ranked (2023)

2. Lego Harry Potter

While each of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels has had at least one video game attached to it, the two lego harry potter sets (Years 1-4 and Years 5-7) have been the best received. They draw heavily from the books themselves, but go the extra mile by peppering the games with comic easter eggs it shows that they are written and delivered by true Potterverse fans.

1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Few books can make a stronger claim to the Geek Hall of Fame than Douglas Adam’s classic. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. While it has proven difficult to convert the books to the screen through film and television, the 1984 books text adventure for Amiga and PC absolutely nailed the humor. the game was co-designed by Douglas Adams himself and was notoriously difficult, especially without the Internet to share solutions. You can still play it online today through various emulators.

Looking for more great game lists? We’ve got you covered at MyFullGames with the top 10 free puzzle and mystery games, the best Zelda games to play before Tears of the Kingdom, and more!