Happy Monday, folks, and welcome to the Weekly Video Games Thread!

A few hours ago, I saw Resident Evil. This film is the third era of live action Resident Evil films. It’s been critically acclaimed as both a movie and as a video game movie; it’s very funny and scary in comparable measure. And a lot of this success comes from the element that is most controversial amongst Resident Evil fans, which is that it’s not adapting any real Resident Evil “content.” There are zombies and bosses and Raccoon City, but there’s no Leon or Jill or Wesker or whatever. The Raccoon City zombie apocalypse is set in 2026, during a snowstorm, how heretical. You’ll get more monster types than most of the previous movies, but they’re largely original to this story, most notably the shuffling “Katamari” zombie that’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a movie in a long time.

See, Resident Evil isn’t interested in adapting plot or character, but feel. The tension when you realize you don’t have a full clip and have shot a wall instead of a zombie’s head. The inane levels that force you to move in the most ungainly directions imaginable. The ability to make truly idiotic decisions and the pain that comes from their failure. The way the world is built on conspiracy, self-interest, and shocking corporate incompetence. Even the moment to moment gameplay is here, especially the times where the monsters come in and your confidence just collapses. It feels true to how I’ve played Resident Evil games for years. And this means that Resident Evil is a new example in one of my favorite gaming topics, which is the challenge – and value – of adapting how a game feels to play.

It’s impossible, of course, at least in the most exact or literal fashion. But it’s also something I think game adaptations cannot exist without, because games are interactive, and removing that is like cutting a sense away. It’s okay to want to experience a game without playing it, it’s okay to watch the cutscenes on YouTube, but you are losing something by design. Arguably, you’re losing the core part. And to me, the most interesting game adaptations are the ones that do try to follow that. Not in a literal sense, like J.J. Abrams’ stupid Silent Hill show where viewers voted on where the story went, or those Black Mirror episodes that have been delisted. Demanding some kind of blunt translation like that is dumb, and it’s also disrespectful to the canvas you’re using (it’s also basically how most game adaptations worked for decades, obsessively referencing tropes just to lampshade them). But finding ways to capture or present a feeling… I mean, that’s special. It’s also far from unique to Resident Evil; the first season of Fallout and, to a lesser extent, The Super Mario Bros. Movie explored this idea back in 2023. Still, as game adaptations become only more central to our media landscape, I’d like to see more of them try this. At least, in ways that are good for the medium the story has found itself in.

Now I turn to you, the readers, for today’s prompt: pitch me a video game adaptation that does this, that tries to adapt a feeling or a trope or a mechanic in a way that feels accurate but not slavish, real but not pandering. You can use this opportunity to discuss actual adaptations that did this well, and adaptations that didn’t. There are plenty of crummy films that tried in and failed spectacularly; Doom from 2005 is the first to come to mind. As valuable as I find this idea, it’s full of pitfalls. Anyway, treat this as a prompt for gushing, criticizing, and creative exercises.

And, now and forever, what did you play this weekend?