Gamers have long learned to temper their expectations when it comes to video game adaptations. From 2016’s Assassin’s Creed to last year’s Borderlands, we’ve been served absolutely abominable reinterpretations of beloved games and expected to eat it up because it’s familiar.
But with shows like HBO’s The Last of Us and Amazon’s Fallout, it seems like those fortunes have been changing. Now that we know adaptations can be good, we’re starting to expect more. We no longer shrug our shoulders when we see iconic games disrespected. We have standards now, Hollywood!
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The God of War Showrunner Hasn’t Played The Games
The God of War adaptation hasn’t been in the news for a while, but we now know that not only is it still in the works, but Amazon has already greenlit two seasons. This isn’t necessarily odd, since sequels and second seasons are often greenlit early, but it does seem to be a confirmation that Amazon is confident the series is going to take off.
More controversial was showrunner Ronald D. Moore’s statement that he tried and failed to play the games. A lot of people felt that this was an omen of doom – obviously, you’d hope that a showrunner of a video game adaptation would have first hand understanding of the source material. The Last of Us has Neil Druckmann as a showrunner, after all, which is why it’s been so great at expanding on small details of the games.
You Don’t Need To Be A Gamer To Make A Good Adaptation
But this has been wildly blown out of proportion. Moore is working closely with Sony Santa Monica, the studio behind the God of War games, so he’s going to understand the story. And honestly, the man is 60. If he didn’t grow up playing console games, he’s not going to start now. My dad is in his 60s, and I imagine even trying to get him to figure out how to use a controller would be an experience akin to pulling teeth.
Let’s also not forget that Moore is a very accomplished writer who won a Peabody Award for his work on Battlestar Galactica, wrote many episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and worked on Outlander. He also won several Hugo Awards and Emmys. Those are some serious chops, and it’s far more important there are good writers on the project than gamers. Sure, it would be nice, but it’s not integral, especially with the studio heavily involved.
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It’s important to remember that Fallout’s showrunners aren’t associated with Bethesda, and that show was still very faithful to the lore and tone of the games. It managed to capture what we loved about the world, from how it depicted Fallout’s hodgepodge aesthetic to its music and its themes. It gave us a new story in a very familiar world. Even if you weren’t familiar with the games, Fallout had plenty to offer you. It was an excellent show, which is also why it was nominated for so many Emmys.
To be fair, Amazon’s record with video game adaptations hasn’t been spotless. Its other recent project Secret Level received mixed reviews, and Like a Dragon: Yakuza was straight up bad. It’s understandable that potential audiences will want to reserve judgement ‘till they see the show for themselves.
But let’s not write the show off entirely just because its showrunner doesn’t know how to work a DualSense. It’s not a disaster just yet. Sure, it could be a Borderlands, but it could also be a Fallout, and we can still afford to hope.
Starting with the 2005 PlayStation 2 game, God of War is a series of nine games across PS2, PS3, PSP, PS4, and PS5 following Spartan warrior Kratos and his quest for revenge and redemption. The series was rebooted in 2018, shifting the setting from Ancient Greece to Scandinavia, with God of War Ragnarok following in 2022.