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Best book-to-game adaptations: 8 games based on famous stories
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Stephen Wilds
Dracula: End of Days
The classic gothic horror novel from Bram Stoker has been such an inspiration to artists of all types throughout the decades, and will continue to do so for years to come. There are plenty of direct adaptations of the story, and those that stick closer to the movies, but seeing something fresh that tries to expand the source material can be a real treat. End of Days is a visual novel where players make choices to help a father who is slowly turning into a vampire, and you can use his new abilities to protect his daughter and make a few final memories before he turns into a beast. Too bad all of that is happening in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. It's an ambitious story based on a tried-and-true epistolary epic.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Comic books are wonderful, and they act as a kind of halfway point between books and video games, so these paperbacks make for the perfect medium to adapt. Marvel comics are full of great stories and a slew of interesting characters. Guardians of the Galaxy excels at being a story-driven powerhouse with superb writing that shows passion and explores a lot of space feelings. There are some awesome world-building flashbacks here to break up the action and drama that’s full of dark themes and energetic tunes. The game offers a lot for longtime fans, exploring lesser-known characters and finer plot points that many players won’t know and will hopefully look into. Wrap all of that up in a colorful and visually gorgeous bow, and we think you'll agree that GotG is a killer trip through outer space.
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments
Good ol’ Sherlock Holmes has had numerous adventures in the video game realm, but this might be one of his all-around best assortments of murder and mystery. There are six cases to tackle that feel loosely connected at best, but some are adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories. It’s time to put our thinking caps on like proper sleuths and snoop around crime scenes looking for clues before questioning suspects in Holmes’ typical dismissive tones.
There’s a detective vision to help us seek out anything of interest, often leading to lock picking or research mini-games before trying to piece together who the elusive culprit could be and deciding if the crime fits the punishment. Parts of this process can be challenging, and some aspects are irreversible, but the game can also be forgiving in certain areas. The overall presentation is solid with basic action sections, visuals that still hold up, and wonderful voice acting with accents that don’t sound too over-the-top.
Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars
Not everyone is familiar with Suikoden, and even fewer know that the series is loosely based on Shui Hu Zhuan, or as it is better known, Water Margin. This Chinese tale inspired an excellent and ambitious RPG before producing an even better sequel. Now both have been remastered to introduce a new generation to the games, and maybe the book too. Recruitment is the name of this fight, as we can gather up to 108 allies and build relationships with most of them. It might sound like a lot, but the games are mostly straightforward and easy to journey through. These titles are known for having amazing stories, especially the second, with Luca Blight as its villain, full of political intrigue, revolution, and betrayal. These modern releases revitalize the art while keeping each character’s charm, also adding new spell effects, exquisite backgrounds, tweaked UIs, and cleaned-up translations. Don’t pass up such an incredible adventure.
Conan Exiles
Embrace Robert E. Howard’s harsh Hyborian Age, where everything wants to kill us in the cruelest of ways. Whether it's beasts, giants, avatars of the gods, or the elements themselves, this is a survival game stacked against the players, where bad things can happen even when we’re logged out. The world is very demanding, requiring us to plan out drinking, eating, and crafting, but it also scratches the base-building itch for those who get focused on that. Sure, this experience is much more punishing than the books and refuses to hold the players’ hand, but its Exiled Lands are well worth traversing. There are plenty of beautiful sites to observe in our journeys, along with some intriguing details that make the world feel more alive and mysterious as we attempt to conquer it. This is also a tough grind, from being a naked nobody to claiming our piece of the kingdom, but that fits the tone of the source material, even down to that quite explicit character creator.
Alice: Madness Returns
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a creative tale that’s ripe with intrigue, as the world that Lewis Carroll created feels like it has much more to offer than just what was on the page. Welcome to American McGee’s twisted version of this classic, or at least its sequel. The follow-up, Madness Returns, is arguably the better game, with improved combat and wily platforming through maze-like levels as Alice shrinks to find secrets and figure out what really happened. Everything here is atmospheric, and Wonderland itself has a timeless art style of trippy environments. There’s a visual variety around almost every corner, with a corrupted gothic flair and an intrusive steampunk quality. All things beautiful here have been damaged, and that shines through with some incredibly dark themes that the game explores. The visuals and writing are helped along by solid sound design and engaging voice acting. This is an underrated adventure, as long as players mind their sanity.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher games take place after the events of the main saga from author Andrzej Sapkowski (so be careful of spoilers) and expand on that world and lore in such a tremendous way. Here we have a strong and determined hero, Geralt of Rivia, a living legend with a love of hot tubs. He’s on a quest to find his adopted daughter Ciri and hunt a ton of monsters in the process, which promises to be an amazing tale. The writing is superb, not only in the main quest, but in the tragic and moving side stories as well, which force players to make moral choices to change their adventure. There’s so much content available, always something new to explore or a task to complete, and that’s before we even try Gwent. It’s so easy to become immersed in this gorgeous world with wonderful graphics and combat, or by simply traveling on Roach and taking in the rich sights and exquisite music. It might be tempting to just try the show, but the real epic is in this game or the pages.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
The Web-Head is one of comics’ greatest superheroes, with decades of incredible tales and characters to pull from. He’s about high-flying acrobatics, web-swinging action, clever quips, and helping people. Peter Parker is the best of us, someone who has earned the praise, and it’s no surprise that his friendly neighborhood adventures have done well in video game form. This incarnation doesn’t tell a specific story from the pages, crafting its own impressive narrative, full of sympathetic, deep villains, and heartfelt moments. This is a game that immerses players into the world of Spider-Man, bringing Marvel’s version of New York to life in extreme, vibrant detail. It’s hard not to get lost in the flow of just swinging around this amazing metropolis. It’s a real treat for the fans, especially with all the lore and Easter eggs, but this game has also converted several players into new readers—that’s how well it’s executed. This is one of those experiences where even the side quests are enjoyable on your mission to collect everything and unlock some spectacular costumes. And there's so much content here, with enjoyable DLC and scenes that set up a sensational spinoff and sequel.
Check out one (or more) of these great book-inspired games on Epic Games Store today!