The best part of playing video games is getting lost in a world outside your own while exploring the depths of the human condition. Hopping into the POV of a new character and sharing their experiences for many hours is one of the most cathartic experiences we can experience as an audience. The same could be said for a great television series. That’s why the combination of the two goes together like peanut butter and jelly.
Adapting a beloved game as a prestige series gives the creators the room to innovate and unfold the stories at a pace that matches the source material in order to expand the worlds we’ve come to love for a new medium.
Here are the best video game shows that truly embrace the strengths of scripted series.
For more recommendations, check out our list of the best shows to binge-watch or the best movies on Netflix.
‘Last of Us’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% | IMDb: 8.7/10
Game of Thrones alums Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey take the lead in this gripping adaptation of the post-apocalyptic game centering around a lone wolf and cub pair as they journey through a world infested with fungal zombies. And before you yell at me, I know they’re not technically zombies…chill, baby — lemme cook. Craig Mazin, creator of the award-winning series Chernobyl, teams up with Neil Druckmann, the co-creator of the original hit video game series, and together, they produce one of the most faithful adaptations of a video game put on screen. The story elevates the core thesis of love being a double-edged to showcase the best and worst that humanity has to offer. This list isn’t ranked, but this is my number one recommendation.
‘Fallout’ (2024 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 8.4/10
Again, not a ranked list, but Fallout is the second in a short line of award-winning adaptations of post-apocalyptic video games, though creators Graham Wagner (Portlandia) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel) take the less traveled route: creating a whole new story set in the world of the game instead of trying to adapt it beat-for-beat. In case you’ve been living in a vault, the series takes place in a world devastated by nuclear fallout…eh? You get it. Anyway, in the wastelands of what remains of Los Angeles, numerous factions are vying for control of the area, and the series uses the ensemble cast to explore what’s left of the world through the eyes of a group of Vault dwellers emerging from their bunkers after 200 years.
‘Arcane’ (2021 – 2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 9/10
Netflix’s Arcane tells the story of two fan-favorite characters from the League of Legends universe in an animated series that redefines what video game adaptations can be. Many online battle arena games have bits of lore scattered throughout as flavor for the characters to make them feel like more than dolls made of pixels that you smash against each other, but series creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee take the little bits that players knew about the sisters Vi and Jinx to build an immersive world steeped in themes of betrayal, manipulation, and sacrifice. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the stellar performances of Hailee Steinfeld (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) and Ella Purnell (Fallout) as they bring the sisters to life.
Rotten Tomatoes: 67% | IMDb: 7.3/10
Based on the edgy vehicle shoot ‘em up franchise that kicked off in the early 2000s, Twisted Metal takes the brutal, explosive sense of humor from the game and smashes it into a post-apocalyptic wasteland setting that’s reminiscent of the Mad Max franchise. Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) take the lead as their characters embark on a treacherous journey to deliver a mysterious package across the US while taking on car gangs of marauders packed to the gills with guns, rocket launchers, and chainsaws. The loose lore of the video games allowed creators Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Michael Jonathan Smith to craft a whacky, gore-soaked world that lets the cast play as big as they want.
‘Castlevania’ (2017 – 2021)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 8.3/10
Creator Warren Ellis (Dead Space) takes everything fans love about the game franchise — great storytelling, compelling characters, and kick-ass whips — and elevates it with unique animation, top-tier voice acting, and tight themes. Castlevania takes many of the story elements of the third game and fleshes them out into a gothic tale of loneliness, legacy, and liability surrounding an odd trio who must band together to stop Dracula’s reign of terror. As I mentioned, the voice acting is phenomenal, and the main three, played by Richard Armitage (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), James Callis (Battlestar Galactica), Alejandra Reynoso (Pokémon Horizons: The Series), inject these characters with incredible nuance and deep emotion.
‘Halo’ (2022 – 2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 7.3/10
Halo, starring Pablo Schreiber (American Gods) as elite Spartan supersoldier Master Chief, falls into the category of video game adaptations that I call “just the tip” reinterpretations — taking the top-level aesthetics and iconography of the massive iceberg of Halo lore and crafting their own story about the intergalactic struggle against the Covenant. Showrunners Kyle Killen (Mind Games) and Steven Kane (The Last Ship) set out to create a parallel canon for the series that they felt was more suited to linear storytelling, so they created an immersive world of high-budget sci-fi that is becoming rarer over time. The series is insanely cinematic, and even if you’re a die-hard fan of the original stories, there is a lot in this show for you to enjoy.
‘The Witcher’ (2019 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 8.0/10
Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (The Umbrella Academy) combines elements of the original Andrzej Sapkowski novels and the hit game series to craft a thrilling fantasy series that truly captures the magic of the franchise. Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), who was a huge fan of the series even before taking on the role of the titular Witcher, brings his passion to the screen as the lone wolf monster hunter Geralt of Rivia. As he fights his way through the Continent, he meets a whole host of dangerous creatures, bureaucratic witches, and even a catchy yet clingy bard. However, the core of the story is his surrogate fatherly relationship with the lost princess, played by Freya Allan (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), and the way it changes them both for the better.
‘Knuckles’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% | IMDb: 6.2/10
Release DateApril 26, 2024CastIdris Elba , Adam Pally , Jaimi Barbakoff , Alice Wren Tregonning , Tony Coughlan , Colleen O’Shaughnessey , Daniel Singh , Alfredo Tavares
Listen, Knuckles — unlike most of the other titles on this list — isn’t an adaptation or a reimagining: it’s just straight-up goof’em ups with the Sega characters that let them have a great time in the human world. The series takes place shortly after Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and follows Idris Elba’s Knuckles as he goes on a journey of self-discovery, along with his new ward Wade, played by Adam Pally (Happy Endings). Anyone who enjoys the movies will be thrusting their knuckles into the air for this extra silly six-episode buddy road trip miniseries. I can’t stress how fun this show is, and if you don’t watch it, your life will never be complete. I don’t make the rules — that’s just the way it is.
‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 8.3/10
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Release DateSeptember 13, 2022CastAoi Yuki , Kenichiro Ohashi , Kenjiro Tsuda , Kazuhiko Inoue
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a prequel set in the futuristic dystopia of the recent hit game Cyberpunk 2077 that also takes elements from the original tabletop RPG. The series does an amazing job of building on the world through the perspective of a young kid named David Martinez, who lives in the dregs of society and decides to make a living as an Edgerunner mercenary. The story is a stunning balance of tragedy and triumph that will keep you glued to your seat from start to finish. Also, the animation was done by famed Japanese studio Trigger, who created Kill la Kill and adapted Delicious in Dungeon, so you know every frame of the show is straight FIRE.
