If your 2020 has been anything like my 2020, a lot more of your evenings have been spent inside than not. It's been a rotten time for socialising - but hey, it's important that everyone does their bit. Crucial, indeed. Imperative message of social distancing delivered - and please, do stick to it - staying in has meant way more Netflix use in my house. I've watched a load of TV, is what I'm saying.
And I can't turn off my work brain when I'm watching, either (a problem many WFH-ing sorts can relate to, I'm sure). Which inevitably leads to thoughts of: hey, wouldn't this particular thing work well as a game. And since I can't have a creative itch without scratching it, here are five Netflix shows that I think could translate to the world of video games pretty darn well.
DARK
Netflix's German-language thriller is simply some of the best viewing that TV has given us in recent years. Its sci-fi, time-bending plot drags its characters kicking and screaming from one place in history to another, and right across dimensions, too. If you needed to make notes as you watched - or relied on one of several online timelines to keep track of which character was where, when, and why - honestly, I don't blame you.
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Taking in the present day, the 1980s, 1920s, 1950s, post-apocalyptic 2050s, and the late 19th century, there's a wealth of inspiration here for any studio's environmental designers to get creative. And the time-travel element of the show, or at least the bending of time, is certainly a mechanic we've seen put to great use in gaming stories over the years, from Chrono Trigger to Life is Strange.
A puzzle-focused, semi-open-world game based on Dark would, I reckon, be quite the beguiling experience, if crafted with the meticulous attention to detail of the show. Finding answers to questions at different points of time in the same part of the world; finding new friends in alternative-dimension versions of companions you once held dear. The deadly mysteries of Dark are intoxicating, and I'd love to be able to play my way through something like them.
KINGDOM
Set in Joseon-period Korea, in the early 17th century, Kingdom is a 12-episode (so far!) show of epic vistas, stunning locations and incredible costume design... and a whole army of bloodthirsty zombies. And look, if that doesn't sound like a brilliant recipe for a modern-day action-RPG, IDK what does.
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Rather like Game of Thrones, Kingdom's great strength is that the fantasy elements of its story aren't the sole driving force of what plays out. Birthrights, power struggles and class wars run right through the heart of the show, as a queen does everything she can to hold onto the throne, bending and breaking traditions as the country around her is collapsing into ruin. The zombies? They make things harder for everyone trying to uncover a conspiracy or two - but they're sure not the greatest evil in this land.
Kingdom has something of a solo protagonist already, in the shape of Crown Prince Lee Chang. He's helped by a handful of faithful friends - not all of whom begin on his side - but he's got all the easy hallmarks of a playable hero, should Kingdom ever make the leap from TV screens to gaming machines. And if not an RPG, then a big ol' strategy game over huge maps works, too. Gimme, gimme.
GLOW
What could a video game based on the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling look like? Well, what about not a wrestling game, in an action-sports capacity - but a management sim with visual novel overtones? Yeah? You in? Cool, cool.
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Fold in a great 1980s soundtrack, vivid graphics that melt your retinas, and all kinds of relationships veering from wildly romantic to recklessly unstable, and GLOW has the makings of a cult hit - much like the Netflix show, really. Get Stan Bush's 'Dare' in there, and it's the icing on the cake.
Let me play as Zoya the Destroyer and Liberty Belle as I drive GLOW into the mainstream, one local TV network deal at a time. Let me hang out with Ellen Wong and Kate Nash in dive bars and strip malls. This is the dream. Right?
SNOWPIERCER
The Snowpiercer movie was pretty much a video game in film form anyway, with its carriages as levels, its wildly varied environments, the always-moving-forward progression towards an end point and final showdown, and its classic lower vs upper class tensions underpinning outbursts of savage violence. And the TV show pretty much carries those same themes across several episodes, albeit without quite the same spark as its Bong Joon-ho-directed predecessor.
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A game, based on Snowpiercer, then? It'd be BioShock, basically, wouldn't it. If you wanted to keep things closer to the TV show, you could fold in some back-and-forth travel between carriages, and a little murder-mystery spice. But the everyday people and universal problems in exceptional circumstances and fantastical environments thing? That's BioShock, through and through.
And I would play that thing, no doubt about it. I'm not sure I'd enjoy it - but then, much about Snowpiercer, the show, isn't that enjoyable. Truthfully I think any video game adaptation would have to veer closer to the perpetual progression up the train of the movie, not the ins and outs of Netflix's show - but perhaps there's an unexpected successful middle ground to find?
BOJACK HORSEMAN
It's a point-and-click-ish narrative adventure full of self-deprecating put-downs, to-the-bone treatments of very real-world issues, and the ostracising of friends, isn't it? Which has no happy ending, and is an emotional rollercoaster the whole way through. A game of BoJack Horseman couldn't go any other way, nowadays. If the studio were still active, you'd expect a developer like Telltale to pick it up, and turn it into a tearjerker of a five-part series. It's that kind of IP.
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Of course, back in the day, when licensed games came thick and fast, BoJack Horseman would inevitably have been some kind of colourful platformer that totally missed the tonal point. Collect all the, um, vodka bottles; and crash the cars in the bonus round! Spin the wheel to see which NPC you're going to alienate next. What fun! But, mercifully, those days are gone. Much like BoJack Horseman is gone. What a show, guys. What a show.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: Feature