There once was a time when if a film wanted to have a successful marketing campaign, it needed a video game tie-in. Whether it was animated films, action blockbusters, or the odd horror movie, video games were seen as the go-to for studios to earn a little extra cash off a film’s release. While tie-in games were all the rage in the ‘90s and 2000s, most film studios have shifted away from developing licensed games, yet some studios still go the extra mile to develop adaptations for home consoles like the PS5 and Switch 2.
In fact, last week it was announced that a video game based on John Wick (2014) was in development, and gamers are currently gearing up for 007 First Light, the latest James Bond project since No Time To Die (2021). But which films have delivered some of the best video game tie-ins? Plenty of films on HBO Max and Disney+ have had them, but these ten games are generally considered to be a cut above the average licensed game slop. If you want some quality games based on movies, check these out!
10) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
While later Harry Potter films would be remembered for their darker plots, it’s easy to forget that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) was a whimsical and light-hearted kids' film. Thankfully, the developers at Argonaut Games remembered this when crafting a tie-in game based on the film.
Much like the film, there’s a sense of awe that players feel when exploring Hogwarts. You take classes, use spells to navigate around Hogwarts, and even play some matches of Quidditch. Fans of the film will love the attention to detail, including the ending that features plenty of great set pieces. There are some drawbacks though. It was released on the PlayStation a full year into its successor, the PlayStation 2’s lifespan, and looked dated even back then. Just look up ‘PS1 Hagrid’ whenever you get the chance. It may not be revelatory, and there definitely is some nostalgia talking here, but it was a heartfelt adaptation of the source material that delivered a solid 4-6 hour adventure. Those looking for a dose of nostalgia and a kid-friendly experience akin to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (2005) should check out this underappreciated PS1 classic.
9) The Mummy: Demastered (2017)
Remember Universal’s “Dark Universe”? During the height of the MCU, every company was trying to hop onto the cinematic universe bandwagon, and Universal announced grand plans for a shared universe before its first film, The Mummy (2017), even came out. Needless to say, that film crashed and burned, but funnily enough, the best thing to come out of Universal’s doomed franchise was The Mummy’s tie-in video game, The Mummy: Demastered.
Sporting a dark and Gothic aesthetic like Van Helsing (2004), The Mummy Demastered is a solid action platformer that had no right being as good as it was. The game has wonderful pixel art, and with a fairly large world to explore with power-ups to help aid in exploration. It slid under the radar because of the film’s poor quality, but The Mummy: Demastered is one of the rare movie tie-in games that’s actually better than the source material. The film is a positively grim and dull experience, but The Mummy: Demastered is bursting with color, hectic boss fights, and a difficulty curve that’s tough, yet fair. It takes bigger swings than Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and even if it’s a bit more obscure, it’s definitely worth checking out.
8) Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005)
There was a time when Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005) was seen as cutting-edge. The scale and special effects involved in bringing King Kong to life were unlike anything audiences had seen up until that point, and like Jurassic World (2015), revived a franchise that was all but extinct. That legacy would extend to the video game tie-in, which many fans claimed was way ahead of its time.
Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Video Game was a launch title for the Xbox 360 back in 2005, although it did release on virtually every system available at the time. Regardless of which console version you picked up, the game was a surpsiingly well crafted first person shooter that prioritized immersion above all else. Barely any notifications or distractions popped up to take you out of the action as the game was squarely focused on having you explore Skull Island and fight the various creatures living there. Peter Jackson’s King Kong was given the budget and scale one would expect from a AAA blockbuster as opposed to a licensed tie-in like The Mummy: Demastered or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, elevating it to being not just a good movie tie-in game, but a good game overall.
7) X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Good video games based on bad movies aren’t exactly uncommon. The Mummy: Demastered was a true surprise in every sense of the word, but the gold standard of great games based on bad movies is undeniably X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) had the potential to be a violent gorefest, true to the character of Logan, but with a PG-13 rating, it was very limited in what it could do. That’s not the case with the tie-in game. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the game, was M-rated and had plenty of carnage, violence, and blood to spare. The Logan in this game feels like the same Wolverine fans loved in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), rough edges and all. The action itself is easy to comprehend for anyone to pick up and play, though it can be simplistic, and both the violence and at times brain-dead combat can lose its luster after a few hours. That being said, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a great game that can be beaten in a weekend, so even if the gameplay is a bit on the repetitive side, it’s forgivable.
6) The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
Does anyone remember The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)? Chances are, you probably don’t. While Vin Diesel's sci-fi action thriller is as intense as other sci-fi action movies like Predator: Badlands (2025), it was never able to find an audience. However, the video game tie-in, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, is arguably more well-known than the film it’s based on.
Thanks to heavy involvement from the film’s directors and Vin Diesel himself, Escape From Butcher Bay felt like a meaningful installment in the franchise, serving as a prequel to the original film, Pitch Black (2000). The game was a melding of different genres, including first-person shooters, stealth games, and even elements from brawlers. While that may make the game seem busy, thanks to the game’s short length, the developers were able to make sure that what was present was polished enough to make a mirror shine. Like Peter Jackson’s King Kong, immersion was prioritized above all else, which made escaping from the maximum security prison that Riddick found himself in feel like a character in itself. It takes a lot of effort for a tie-in game to be remembered more than the film it’s based on, but that should speak to the quality of Escape From Butcher Bay.
5) Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006)
Making a sequel to Scarface (1983) is a bad idea. How can you possibly continue the story of Tony Montana in a way that is not only respectful to the original film but warrants its own existence? Well, leave it to Scarface: The World Is Yours to not only make a compelling case, but a convincing one.
Scarface: The World Is Yours is an open-world game in the same vein as Grand Theft Auto, but goes well beyond the scope of that series. Yes, you are a criminal who does plenty of illegal acts, but you also are the head of a criminal empire and manage all elements of it, including controlling territory, selling drugs, and buying off cops to turn the other cheek. In many ways, Scarface: The World Is Yours feels more like a video game based on The Godfather (1972) than the actual Godfather video game. It’s violent, but never tasteless, and thanks to the involvement of several of the original film’s actors, there’s an air of authenticity to the game. If you’ve grown numb to the wanton mayhem of Grand Theft Auto, or are just waiting until Grand Theft Auto VI, Scarface: The World Is Yours is a great little forgotten gem.
4) Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024)
In the modern era of gaming, most movie-based video games are now relegated to app stores with a whole host of predatory microtransactions aimed at capitalizing on a film’s popularity. It’s not often that gamers are given a movie tie-in game with genuine effort put into it, but leave it to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to show that a little bit of effort goes a long way.
Set as a sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Great Circle does a great job at making the game feel like a globetrotting adventure. The game simply understands what makes the Indiana Jones franchise so much fun. Yes, there’s a story that feels exciting in the same way that National Treasure (2004) was exciting, but there’s also a fair amount of wit that helps to rehabilitate the franchise after the disappointment that was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). There’s a healthy amount of action in the game, but the puzzles are also equally well handled and can be genuine brain scratchers that test even the most well-versed gamer. Nothing beats a simple adventure game, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is that and then some.
3) Spider-Man 2 (2004)
There have been plenty of Spider-Man games before and since Spider-Man 2, but it was the first Spider-Man game that offered a concise and fully realized simulation of what it would be like to play as the old web head.
The game expands upon Spider-Man 2 (2004) by not only adapting the film’s plot, but also adding in other fan-favorite comic book characters that never got their time in the spotlight in Sam Raimi’s trilogy, like Mysterio, Shocker, and Black Cat. Comic fans will geek out over that in the same way they geeked out over all the cameos in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), but more importantly, you’ll love the freedom of movement that the game provides players. The momentum you feel while swinging across New York City flows so wonderfully, and the world itself, while big, isn’t overwhelmingly so like Insomniac’s take on the series. Sometimes, less is more, and the refined focus on physics and replicating that Sam Raimi charm helps make Spider-Man 2 stand apart from the crowd. That, and it has the pizza theme. That alone makes it fantastic.
2) Alien: Isolation (2014)
There have been plenty of horror movie tie-ins over the decades, but none have been as terrifying as Alien: Isolation. Carrying the same spirit as Alien (1979), it works as well as it does for one reason and one reason only: the Xenomorphs.
Xenomorphs have always been the apex predators in the Alien series, and Alien: Isolation truly makes them some of the most dangerous monsters in all of the video games. When you hear the Xenomorph or, God help you, see it, the terror is immediate and visceral. Thanks to smart environmental designs, as well as the variety of tools you’ll acquire, you’ll be able to survive each encounter, but just barely. The Sevastopol itself is a terrifying setting that feels truly isolating, and those who felt paranoid watching The Thing (1982) will likely be checking around every corner not just for the Xenomorph roaming around, but for the Working Joes that can be just as dangerous as the supposed perfect organism. Alien: Isolation stands tall as not only one of the best movie tie-in games, but one of the best survival horror games, period.
1) GoldenEye 007 (1997)
Alien: Isolation may stand as one of the greatest survival horror games of all time, but it didn’t change the industry as much as GoldenEye 007. GoldenEye (1995) may not be the best Bond film, but its impact on video games was nothing short of revolutionary.
At the time, first-person shooters made their home on PCs and not consoles, but GoldenEye 007 was the first console FPS that felt fun to play. While the campaign was great and featured plenty of gadgets, stealth segments, and frankly, awesome music, it was the multiplayer mode that made GoldenEye 007 into the legend it is today. Thanks to the Nintendo 64, four players could partake in split-screen matches themed after different Bond films, play as numerous characters from the movie, including the infamous Oddjob, and have nearly two dozen weapons to choose from. Fans of spy thrillers like The Bourne Identity (2002) will definitely find that GoldenEye 007’s more grounded approach helps make it stand apart from fantastical FPSs of the era like Doom. Goldeneye 007 genuinely changed the industry, and that alone makes it the best video game based on a movie.
