These TV Shows Would Make Incredible Video Games

A few weeks ago, I decided to highlight some video games that deserve the Hollywood treatment. Here’s a link if you’re interested in reading my thoughts. But what if we flipped the idea completely? It’s time to highlight some TV shows that desperately need a gaming adaptation.

Given the right amount of development time and an AAA budget, the following adaptations could have a lot of potential!

CHOICE 1: BREAKING BAD

Breaking Bad’s grounded and cinematic universe is absolutely perfect for a video game adaptation, and it’s surprising that no studio has attempted it previously. In the best-case scenario, a development team like Rockstar would lead a project of this scope. They have already proven themselves capable of designing games with cinematic and brutal narratives, and Breaking Bad would be no exception.

Ideally, a Breaking Bad game would follow the storyline of the show in an open-world setting. The general gameplay loop would include growing and distributing your product as Walter White, all while steadily building your (digital) criminal empire. Rockstar could expand on this idea by allowing players to choose and design where Walter cooks. Rockstar’s trademark gunplay would also play a key role. Although Walter does not fire many guns in the series, it would be very interesting if this adaptation featured scenarios where lethal force was required. Specifically, I’m imagining scenarios where you have the decision to negotiate with your competition or simply eliminate them.

Alternatively, for an idea smaller in size/scope, an Ace Attorney-like Saul Goodman game would be interesting. In this hypothetical adaptation, you can generally play by legal standards. However, for an added twist, you are allowed to defend legally dubious clients, as long as you “prove” their “innocence” by any means necessary. You would do this by using text choices, which would lead to many branching storylines. This gameplay would allow you to potentially misrepresent the actions of others in order to benefit your case.

As you win more cases, you generate cash, which can then be used to upgrade your law office and hire others to improve your workflow. That twist would certainly help it stand out from other courtroom games. Maybe it could even feature voice acting talents from the original show! If Breaking Bad would thrive as a grounded, cinematic experience, the next pick goes in the exact opposite direction.

CHOICE 2: INVINCIBLE

Some could argue that a video game based on this narratively complex epic already exists with the fast-approaching arrival (no pun intended) of Invincible VS. However, regardless of VS’s critical reception, it is not the genre of game that most Invincible fans, including myself, were hoping for. Ultimately, what most fans really want is an open-world action game set in the world of Invincible.

Like Breaking Bad, the game’s campaign should follow the long and complex line of Invincible comics, combined with all spin-off issues as DLC. Because of the large scope of Invincible’s world design (literally including other planets), this would likely be a large undertaking. However, I could see an adaptation like this being the DBZ Kakarot of Invincible (as long as a reputable studio is developing it). My top choice would obviously be Insomniac, due to their extensive history with superhero games.

Admittedly, Invincible would be somewhat different than the average Marvel game, both in tone and gameplay. Many studios have tried (and failed) to represent other powerful heroes in the gaming sphere, such as Superman and The Flash. However, with enough time (and a big enough budget), I believe Insomniac could pull this off. For the sake of this hypothetical adaptation being somewhat realistic, I would assume that Mark would be the only playable character. At the most, characters like Atom Eve and Oliver could function as support. Considering there are not a TON of alternate costumes for Mark to wear throughout the game, Insomniac could focus more on these support characters instead.

Like DBZ Kakarot, players would “live through” all 144 issues of the comic story, with major boss fights -such as Omni-Man, Conquest, and Thragg – along the way.

It would be ideal if Insomniac were able to develop free-roam flying and crime-fighting, similarly to Spider-Man 2. Additionally, a detailed, varied, and violent combat system is essential for the game’s tone and general gameplay flow. This could resemble an even more brutal version of the infamous Arkham series combat. Finally, as for the art style, something similar to Invincible VS’s presentation would be acceptable.

Clearly, both of my picks have a lot of potential in the video game medium. However, these picks are just scratching the surface. Do you agree with my choices? If so, which one would you prefer? If not, let me know what TV show you think deserves a video game in the comments!