T5W#506-Top 5 TV Video Game Adaptations

The Last of Us is back and it’s once again a good reminder of how much of a better time its become for Video Game Adaptations on the big and small screens.  Yes, there are still massive duds and mistakes like Halo, Monster Hunter and Borderlands.  But there’ve been more successes like Sonic the Hedgehog, Detective Pikachu and heck when we the last time it was ok to be hyped for a Mortal Kombat Sequel?  Anyway, we’re here today to talk about Video Games on the small screen/streaming services, which are becoming a new hot commodity, with Amazon greenlighting projects for God of War and Mass Effect.  But more importantly, as I mentioned, The Last of Us is back so that’s as good an excuse as any for me to talk about my favorite Top 5 TV Video Game Adaptations.  NOTE: These will only be shows I’ve seen personally…so no Arcane is not on this list and neither is Twisted Metal (though I’d really like to check that one out if Peacock ever lets it stream somewhere else).  Also, this is a mix of both Anime and Live Action projects cause if it’s based on a Video Game and it’s good, it deserves a spot on this list.

 
#5-Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Picking up where the (mostly) excellent “Survivor Trilogy” left off, The Legend of Lara Croft continues Lara’s evolution into the no nonsense and confident Tomb Raider we know she eventually becomes.  While the villain might not be the most memorable, the animation and excellent action keep things entertaining.  Plus as much as it sucks not having Survivor Lara’s voice actress, Camilla Luddington, taking part in the project, the MCU’s Hayley Atwell is just as capable at delivering Lara’s fierceness, vulnerability and bad ass powerhouse attitude.  I’m pretty excited for Season Two as well since it’s confirmed Lara’s BFF Sam will be playing a vital role and those of us who ship them are long overdue for a possible romance.
 

#4-Fallout

Knowing very little about Fallout besides its dystopian setting, I know it’s not the easiest game series to adapt.  But holy heck, from the first scene alone, somehow Amazon got things right.  The setting is nailed to perfection and so’s the franchise’s dark humor, so many laugh out loud moments at all the wrong things.  Best yet, the cast is absolutely amazing.  Ella Purnell is both sexy and adorable as Lucy and the always awesome Walton Goggins get to add The Ghoul to his long list of exciting bad ass roles.  There’s so much of this world begging to be explored and if the end of Season One is any indication, Season Two will be taking us to the Fallout location everyones wanted to visit since the show was announced.

 
#3-Castlevania

This is one of the gold standards of Video Game Adaptations.  Brilliantly written, incredibly well acted and animated to as close as perfection as you can get, Castlevania is more than just a blood soaked Vampire action romp.  It dares to get deep and test how far it can take every single character.  The incredible journeys of characters like Alucard and Isaac are the stuff of legends and by the time you get to Season Four you have no idea how everything is going to play out but you’re well along for the ride.  And yes, the action is beyond first rate, staying true to the video game source material but taking it to a whole other level.  Save for the slight missteps in Season 2, I almost gave this series a Perfect 10 (a 9.5 is nothing to sneeze at though).
 

#2-Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

For those, like me, who have shied away from Cyberpunk 2077 because of it’s disastrous launch, Edgerunners is a huge surprise.  It may lack the dulcet tones of Keanu Reeves but makes up for his absence by letting Studio Trigger tackle their craziest, bloodiest and darkest series to date.  Edgerunners is a series that runs the entire emotional gauntlet from the highs of being ungodly cybernetically enhanced to the lows of the toll all that power and fame takes on an individual.  Throw in some of Triggers signature bonkers action and one of the best love stories in Anime in the last decade and this might convince you give Cyberpunk 2077 a chance…once you’re done crying that is.
 

#1-The Last of Us

Well I started this list because of this and hell yeah, it’s my #1 pick.  As a guy who only has second hand knowledge of The Last of Us, I was curious to check out the series and by the end of the first episode, I was hooked.  Again, the writing is superb and I feel like they’re doing a good job expanding things beyond the scope and story of the games.  The terror is terrifying, the feels are real and the action is first rate.  But none of it would work without the right Joel and Ellie and Game of Thrones alums Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey ARE Joel and Ellie (I mean on TV, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are just as much the characters in game for a reason).  Season Two has gotten off to a big start and I’m super excited to see where it takes our protagonists next…and how I’ll feel when we get to a certain big moment from The Last of Us Part II (wont say but if you know it, you know it).