Today we give you eight games that are based on novels, sometimes they’re a direct remake, and others are more of a retelling of the novel. Be prepared to be shocked and awed at these eight surprising adaptations.
The events in Age of Conan: Unchained take place one year after the events in Robert E. Howard’s book The Hour of the Dragon. It may not be a direct adaptation but the spirit of the game is still in line with the book and series that inspired it.
The Witcher and its offspring are all based on the epic book series of the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series has also inspired comic books, movies, television shows, and a tabletop RPG. If you can think of another venue for this story please contact Andrzej Sapkowski so it can conquer every medium.
The classic horror FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl got it’s start as the sci-fi novella Roadside Picnic. The book takes place in the aftermath of an extraterrestrial event, they just replaced aliens with massive amounts of radiation and the creations it spawned.
Metro 2033 is the aptly named video game adaptation of the Dmitry Glukhovsky novel Metro 2033. The author of the novel decided that a video game adaptation of the book was a better choice than a film version as the game gives him more artistic freedom. With that being said they are developing a movie version of the novel as we speak.
Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword is the video game adaptation of the 1884 novel With Fire and Sword by Henryk Sienkiewicz. The plot of the game is loosely based on the novel and its sequels, it helps the adaptation process that the books and its themes are easily ported to video games.
The controversial best seller Spec Ops: The Line is loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness. The book also inspired the massive Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now – if something is really good it tends to infect multiple mediums. Some still say that his novel inspired the next entry in our list.
Did you know that the sweeping epic of an MMO that is Lord of The Rings Online was based on a series of books by J.R.R. Tolkien. This MMO took a series of books that no one had heard of and turned them into something so much more with their game. They also made a series of movies that you should really check out, they really didn’t get much attention on their initial release.
The video game version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is more of a literal adaptation. It’s a platformer that takes you through the events of the book, it keeps the giant pair of glasses that tries to swoop down and kill you, definitely the most riveting part of the novel.
