UPDATE: Arcane: League of Legends won Best Adaptation at The Game Awards 2022!
Where once video game adaptations were seen as somewhat of a joke, as it was rare to see one of high quality, now there have been some incredibly well-received shows and movies that are based on games.The Game Awards 2022is looking to celebrate those adaptations in its Best Adaptation category, which might not be giving an award to a video game directly, but it is showing a level of admiration for another way in which the medium can reach audiences.
This year there have been some great video game adaptations. A few have offered deep dives into the lore of a pre-existing title, while others take inspiration from their source material and deliver something that fans weren’t at first expecting but have enjoyed anyway. At this year’sGame Awards, Netflix’s first season ofArcane, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, The Cuphead Showare in the nominees list, with theSonic the Hedgehog 2andUnchartedmovies filling it out.
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Arcane
League of Legendsmight at first appear to be a tough game to make an adaptation from. Considering it doesn’t involve the player partaking in a narrative directly, and instead focuses solely on the traditional MOBA style of gameplay, it may have come as somewhat of a shock to see the review scores for the first season ofArcane. However, for those who are familiar with thelore ofLeague of Legends, this wouldn’t be too much of a surprise.
Even still, the story of Vi, Jinx, and plenty of otherLeague of Legendscharacters that was told inArcane’sfirst season captivated those already familiar with the popular MOBA and general audiences alike. A lot of critics praisedArcanefor its unique and gritty animation style, its respect of the source material, and the story it crafted in only nine episodes. Now, a lot of fans can’t wait to see what comes next in apossibleArcaneseason two.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Another Netflix animated series that packs a lot into a small amount of episodes,Cyberpunk: Edgerunnerstransports viewers to the dystopian future of 2077. Working with CD Projekt Red throughout the production of the series, Studio Trigger created a fast-paced anime with a heart-wrenching tragedy at its core.Cyberpunk: Edgerunnerscomes packed with lovable charactersthat each have their own clear motivations for trying to make something of themselves in Night City.
Alongside getting some great reviews from critics,Cyberpunk: Edgerunnersalso proved to be a huge hit with those who had and hadn’t managed to playCyberpunk 2077. Combined with the consistent updates the game received from CD Projekt Red,Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’success is viewed as one of the main reasons whyCyberpunk 2077has seen a huge resurgencethroughout 2022.
Moving the more violent and serious shows to one side,The Cuphead Showbrings the brilliant, 1930s-inspired aesthetic of the highly successful video game and makes it its own animated series. Considering thatCupheadwas originally inspired by the animation of the 1930s, it only makes sense that the adaptation of the game would be a show that utilizes the style of that era.The CupheadShowhas more for fans to praisethan just a pleasing animation style, though.
Having just released its second season,The Cuphead Showboasts a talented cast and witty writing in each of its episodes. Also, showing its dedication to its source material,The Cuphead Showis full of references to the game, including a bunch of its bosses. Of course, the Devil appears both as the main antagonist of the show as he is in the games, but it is interesting to see how other characters interact with Cuphead and Mugman when they’re not shoved in as a boss fight. Ribby and Croaks, for example, get to run their establishment mostly in peace until Cuphead shows up.
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Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Bringing the famous blue hedgehog back to the big screen,Sonic the Hedgehog 2gives fans more of the speedster and sees Jim Carrey reprise his role as Dr. Eggman. The film received a lot of praise for building on the groundwork set by the original movie while also being afaithful adaptation of theSonic the Hedgehoggames. This time around, more characters from the franchise such as Knuckles and Tails are given plenty of time to shine as well.
There’s even a nod toShadow the Hedgehog inSonic the Hedgehog 2, which has left fans to believe he will be appearing in the third film. Considering how the originalSonic the Hedgehogmovie faced a big delay due to backlash over its original look for the gaming icon, it’s impressive to see how far the franchise has come, with the possibility for it to expand into aSoniccinematic universe down the line.
Uncharted
Rounding off the nominees for this year’s Best Adaptation award isUncharted. Tom Holland steps out of his Spidey suit in this movie for the role of Nathan Drake, one of gaming’s most well-known characters. While theNathan Drake from theUnchartedmovieand games do differ in some capacity, Holland’s performance and the film’s writing does what it can to make the actor appear as close to the inspiration for his character as possible.
Carving out its own path while following the inspiration left behind by the games, theUnchartedmovie managed to be a hit with fans of the series and those getting their first glimpse of Nathan Drake and his adventures. Considering theUnchartedmovie’s success at the box office, and the tease in its end credits, it could be possible that fans will get another Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg adventure in the future.
Final Prediction
WhileUncharteddid reach some big box office numbers, andSonic the Hedgehog 2continued setting up interesting things for the franchise’s future, it is difficult to see either of these films winning Best Adaptation this year at the Game Awards, especially considering the quality of the gaming TV shows that released. Therefore, even withArcane’sincredible successearly on this year, it seems that the Best Adaptation award is pointed more towardsCyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Those who like violent, gritty, and somewhat depressing anime and those who want to find out more about Mike Pondsmith’sCyberpunkuniverse found a great new series inCyberpunk: Edgerunnerswhen it released earlier this year. While there are no plans foranother series ofCyberpunk: Edgerunnersat the time of writing, this short but sweet feeling of the show makes it stand out from its fellow nominees. Also, considering the impact it had in returningCyberpunk 2077to glory, this series may have done more than just draw in a lot of viewers.
