Movie fans worldwide were shocked to hear of influential filmmaker David Lynch’s death this week. Just 78 years old at the time of his passing–he would have turned 79 on January 20–Lynch rose to prominence with films like Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and the cult-hit TV series Twin Peaks across the ’80s and ’90s.
While his strange and surreal approach to filmmaking would inspire several other big names in Hollywood, Lynch also had an impact on video games, with numerous titles having (or claiming to have) a Lynchian feel to their design. One video game series that he has a surprising connection to? Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda games, as various key creatives behind the series cited Twin Peaks as a catalyst behind some of the weirder elements in several Zelda games.
Fittingly, several video game studios and professionals have posted tributes online to Lynch. Alan Wake 2 creative director Sam Lake shared his condolences, as the recent game starring the troubled author is heavily inspired by Lynch’s work, with the first game having a heavy Twin Peaks vibe in particular. “The internal codename for Alan Wake 2 was ‘Big Fish,'” Lake wrote, referencing Lynch’s autobiographical and self-help book. In another post on BlueSky, Lake commented on how Lynch had been a big influence in his life.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach game director Hideo Kojima also said farewell to the film legend with an X/Twitter post. Kojima’s work has been heavily influenced by cinema over the years, with his recent Death Stranding games also evoking a weird–but artful–direction that wouldn’t look out of place in a Lynch film.
The Witcher 4 narrative director Phillipp Weber commented on Lynch’s passing, praising him for the deep empathy that he had for his characters.
What I admired most about David Lynch’s work was the deep empathy he had for his characters.
It is something that I feel is rare nowadays with a lot of contemporary storytelling.
We lost a truly great auteur, and I am sad to exist in a world without him. He will be greatly missed https://t.co/MGUFqAnc26— Philipp Weber (@PhiWeber) January 16, 2025
To witness the death of an artist who was capable of transporting so much genuine love through the medium he worked in is truly devastating.
His work will live on through its power alone, but also all the people it inspired. An artist for a century.— Philipp Weber (@PhiWeber) January 16, 2025
Hidetaka Suehiro, writer and director of the Twin Peaks-esque Deadly Premonition, had this to say:
Meanwhile, Sony dipped into its PlayStation vault and posted the iconic PS2 advert that Lynch made for the console 25 years ago:
Beyond his work in film and TV, Lynch was also involved in several other projects. On YouTube, his regular weather reports ran for hundreds of videos, he was a celebrated musician, and he was a prolific visual artist.
“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole,'” Lynch’s family wrote in a Facebook post.