10 RPGs that Would Make Chilling Movie Adaptations

The relationship between video games and films is long-standing but uneven, as it has yet to solidify into a branch of cinema whose representatives are widely praised and admired.

Nevertheless, the fact that adaptations of interactive experiences to the big screen haven't reached their peak doesn't mean they shouldn't continue; on the contrary, it's one of the reasons why ways to connect these two worlds should continue to be explored

Playing it safe is common in initiatives still in their early stages, and although video game movies have existed since the last century, their development is still in its infancy, leaving room for experimentation.

Therefore, to imagine what that experimentation might look like, I share with you this list of ten RPGs that would make chilling movie adaptations.

10 Fear & Hunger

A Categorical Nightmare

Fear & Hunger is a Dantean adventure I will treasure forever for the trauma it inflicted upon me, as it is, honestly, one of the most brutal creations I can remember.

The idea of ​​a group of questionable individuals with completely different backgrounds being swallowed up by a labyrinthine, ever-changing dungeon with ancient gods lurking within its corridors is the stuff of nightmares from the mere reading of its premise, though the execution is even more ominous.

Seeing the kind of abominations that dwell there, coupled with their dehumanizing rituals and obscene traditions, produces a palpable revulsion despite being a title made in RPG Maker, so I don't even want to imagine what it would generate if it were brought to life with real people.

I've put it last because it's by far the most difficult material to adapt on the entire list due to its murky and delicate nature. However, if someone, with knowledge of the original work and enough respect to know what to omit and what to leave in, were to adequately turn it into a film, it would simply be incredible.

9 Avowed

A New Perspective on Eora

Pillars of Eternity was built upon a marvelous world that once again demonstrated Obsidian's unerring talent for worldbuilding, but Avowed made me see Eora in a way I hadn't appreciated before.

Despite being a colorful and fantastical open world, the tropes that drive the main and side stories are genuinely frightening, ranging from dead deities interacting with each other through corporeal vassals to a dreamlike illness that turns them into fungal zombies.

Add to it the political and territorial disputes that take place among the inhabitants, which add a layer of harsh hopelessness where there's neither law nor guarantees of survival beyond one's own power, and you have a perfect recipe for a dark fantasy with the studio's usual ambiguous morality.

Perhaps I'm reaching, considering both Avowed and Pillars of Eternity have a very different tone, though if this approach to the world of Eora is unlikely for video games, I would perfectly see it managed through film.

8 Vampyr

Continuing Dr. Reid's Story

Along with the firm opinion that Vampyr is one of the most underrated RPGs of the past decade, I'd raise the stakes and declare it among this century's most outstanding vampire experiences so far.

Although its mythology has been extensively explored in film over the years, Dr. Reid leads a fascinating cast of characters in a setting rife with organized crime, corruption, and a decaying morality, where he serves as the ultimate antithesis (if the player so chooses).

The game's ability to force the user to choose between prioritizing their thirst for power over the common good, or vice versa, is a practical exercise that only works within the interactive context, though Dontnod Entertainment crafted a magnificent world that can stand on its own.

Continuing to explore the affable protagonist's story after the game's ending seems increasingly unlikely in our industry, so a vampire film that elevates the subgenre once again would be a phenomenal outcome.

7 Pentiment

The Deceptions of Art

I don't know how common the fusion of detective narratives with medieval settings is, though Pentiment delivered one of the decade's most wonderful stories, one that could easily be adapted into a film.

Although it would lose its exceptional art design in the process, Andreas Mauler's journey is more than just a beautiful facade, as his tale of enigmatic murders and misplaced blame in an era of heightened biblical beliefs lends itself to chilling imagery and sequences.

The combination of uncertainty, injustice, and pain experienced throughout the game leaves a truly unsettling feeling, not because it's inherently scary, but because of such heartbreaking themes as loneliness, loss of direction, isolation, and, above all, the manipulation of power from the shadows.

That constant recognition that what is happening is beyond you, but that you cannot ignore it because it directly affects you, is such a common constant in the present day that seeing it reflected in Pentiment is as masterful as it is painful.

6 The Outer Worlds

Going Beyond Satire

In a similar vein to Pentiment, I believe you don't need indefinable beasts or gloomy settings to instill fear; you can also do so through settings like The Outer Worlds'.

This being the third time I've included an Obsidian title on this list for its ability to create contexts where its vibrant aesthetic contrasts sharply with its underlying messages, the Halcyon Colony lends itself to bleak and realistic narratives that resonate deeply with our current life experience.

Given it's a universe ruled by inhuman elites and criminal factions to the point of commodifying everything from newborns to consciousness itself, it's unsettling in the same way a cyberpunk work does: presenting a distant and unpleasant future toward which, nevertheless, we are all headed.

The Outer Worlds is the acceptance of disaster, with an extremely absurd tragicomedy that's laughable on the surface but disturbing at its core, which I think is a superb dichotomy.

5 Darkest Dungeon

The Psychology Behind the Epic

Darkest Dungeon doesn't need subtext or underlying analysis of its world, because what it offers, both directly and indirectly, is a descent into madness that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.

In terms of gameplay, aesthetics, atmosphere, and narrative, this turn-based marvel presents many of the most terrifying situations an adventurer could find themselves in, with the added benefit of acknowledging the mental toll these situations take on the protagonists.

Exploring a cursed estate with psychologically tormented mercenaries offers such an intriguing vastness of narrative scenarios that it could create an entire cosmos of stories, considering human decay is a bottomless pit when confronted with eldritch horrors.

Dark fantasies aren't as popular as they once were, though this decline opens the door to bolder experiments, and few things would seem as daring to me as attempting to adapt a work like Darkest Dungeon.

4 Disco Elysium

The Mask of Humanity Falls From the Capital

Replaying Disco Elysium several times over the past few years has allowed me to appreciate its many facets, including the one that underlies the ultimately hopeful yet melancholic tone with which it culminates.

By presenting a broken protagonist in an even more fractured world, the story has the opportunity to build upon the ruins because, in a way, there is nothing left to destroy, which gives it a somber yet ultimately enchanting tone that feels both realistic and fantastical.

Regardless, Disco Elysium's critique of contemporary power structures is fierce, reflecting on the dehumanization and alienation of individuals, the exploitation of vulnerable communities, and the corruption of social chains of command, all of which are far more terrifying than a ghost or a monster.

Ultimately, it's a classic RPG created in a former Soviet republic with a seventies aesthetic, and that brings with it an inescapable aura of lost futures and systematic depressions that, when you analyze it carefully, can become truly harrowing.

3 Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Facing the Fears of Transhumanism

Body horror is among the genre's most impactful branches, both within and beyond video games, but Deus Ex: Human Revolution approaches it with a more realistic, though no less daring, perspective through its transhumanism.

Deviations from the natural order are constants in the genre because of the way they subvert our understanding of the tangible world, and Eidos Montreal fully delivers on its promise to explore society in light of new social divisions resulting from technological advancements.

Political lobbies, corrupt rulers, rogue gangs, treacherous police officers, invisible elites who control everything... The world of Deus Ex presents an incredibly vast backdrop for creating one of the most compelling yet tense detective stories in the world, without losing sight of the human body and its transformation.

Given the IP's current relevance, it's also one of the most far-fetched possibilities on this list, but I won't let anyone take away my dream of seeing Adam Jensen extend his wonderful legacy to the big screen.

2 Dragon’s Dogma

A Less Traditional Hero's Journey

The Lord of the Rings left an indelible mark on millions of people through one of the most wonderful interpretations of the hero's journey in modern entertainment, which I believe can serve as a magnificent foundation for Dragon's Dogma.

Considering the tone of its anime adaptation, considerably more mature and dark than its contemporaries and even the original material, the idea of ​​a mission to save the world where facing ogres, chimeras, cockatrices, dragons, and the like is actually dangerous and has palpable consequences seems glorious to me.

Fantasies of this type tend to be restrained regarding human corruption, loss, and visceral violence, though a movie that showcases the authentic brutality with which these mythologies have been disseminated throughout history would truly do justice to the grand scale of the video game.

I essentially imagine J.R.R. Tolkien's structures with the relentless tone of Berserk, as I believe they represent the most appropriate way to synthesize what Dragon's Dogma, without any barriers, could achieve in film.

1 Look Outside

Horrors Beyond Your Comprehension

Perhaps surprisingly to many, I decided to reserve the most special spot in this entire article for Look Outside: one of the few horror video games in history that has sent chills down my spine with a single line of text or a static PNG.

When creativity is this unrestrained and vivid, the absence of photorealism, ominous soundtracks, or jump scares out of nowhere doesn't matter; what's more than enough is a world-building brimming with detail and the right inspirations.

The way Look Outside translates H.P. Lovecraft's written horror into an interactive experience is simply phenomenal, and replicating that process step by step in a cinematic format seems both straightforward and potentially superb.

The mastery of turning a single building into the epicenter of a cosmic invasion, understanding the fundamental premise of entities beyond our comprehension to the point of shattering the very fabric of our existence, oozes from every pore, and that's a feat in itself.

Even if we don't take into consideration the decision-making and exploration, Look Outside's tone, atmosphere, and themes are perfectly reproducible, and nothing would make me happier right now than witnessing Sam's own footsteps without my guidance.