Let’s Netflix and chill-out with game adaptations; they reflect the insecurities of the gaming indus

Video game stories have never been as engrossing as they are now, but the need to see them adapted shows how paranoid we are that games move beyond their current art form

We’re huge fans of video game stories. Recently we wrote about how gaming figures are more than what they are, and the same goes for the games themselves. With the gaming industry being worth $108.9 billion in 2017, more than both the movie industry and TV industry combined, why do gamers get so excited to see their favourite games being adapted onto the small or big screen?

Whether it’s the new Tomb Raider movie, or the upcoming Witcher series, gaming is infiltrating the mainstream. But has any adaptation truly lived up to the original? Like how the book is always better than the movie, in this case, nothing captures the brilliant and engaging moments from our favourite games.

So why do we care so much about these adaptions? Why do we want to see them reimagined? Partly, because we love the characters and story so much that we want to see it from a different point of view. But a more worrying trend, is because we want to justify just how fantastic our beloved games are. We feel that great stories, voice acting, or action in games are not fully appreciated by the mainstream, and that if we want them to be acknowledged we need others to see them as a great TV show or movie.

Sadly, the gaming industry still hasn’t progressed enough in the mainstream’s limelight. This means that the masterpieces we know and love aren’t fully appreciated, and won’t be unless they make it to the big (or small) screen. It’s a huge shame, and something we know isn’t right, yet it’s something we know to be true…