Opinion
These are the editorial team's favourite films of 2025
by Luca Fontana
The 15 worst video game movies of all time
20/1/2026
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Movies based on games are gaining popularity. What’s more, it’s much rarer for them to be abject failures. Still, the cliché of bad adaptations is still true, as the following fifteen examples prove.
Video game adaptations are in vogue. These days, you can even find some to enjoy unironically. However, the age-old cliché that game adaptations are almost always a disaster persists – and these 15 examples show why.
When I wrote a similar list eight years ago, game adaptations were still considered niche products to be laughed at. The epitome of idiocy back then was the still legendary Mario Bros. from 1993. Still, our mustachioed plumber, of all characters, made the biggest comeback: with box office takings of almost 1.4 billion US dollars, The Super Mario Bros. Movie isn’t just the most successful game adaptation, but one of the highest-grossing films ever point-blank. These days, more and more people working on adaptations have actually played a game, sometimes even the one the movie is about.
But even when the cash register rings aloud, most flicks are embarrassing failures – especially from a critic’s point of view. No one person has more cinematic crimes on his conscience than German director Uwe Boll. Mind you, Postal isn’t one of them – that movie is exactly as stupid as it needs to be. The fact that Boll recently announced his comeback (article in German) is an example of why bad game adaptations will probably remain the rule rather than the exception for some time to come.
With all that in mind, here are the 15 worst game movies of all time. Films that ignore the source material and trample cinematic art underfoot, organised chronologically so you can experience suffering in the right order.
Mortal Kombat 2: Annihilation (1997)
Just two years removed from Paul W. S. Anderson’s trashy, cult original came the cash-in sequel. The cast? With the exception of Robin Shou as Liu Kang, completely replaced. Without supporting characters like Christopher Lambert as Raiden and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as despicable antagonist Shang Tsung, the film feels like Mortal Kombat without Fatalities. The charm of the original has completely evaporated. Almost 20 years later, Tagawa once again slipped into the role of Final Boss in the web series Mortal Kombat – Legacy, proving you can achieve great things even on a shoestring budget.
Budget: 30 million US dollars
Box office takings: 51 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 4 per cent from critics, 24 per cent from the public
House of the Dead (2003)
Uwe Boll’s inglorious debut in the world of game adaptations. His victim: Sega’s lightgun shooter. With dubious tactics such as exploiting a tax loophole, he was able to finance major productions in the USA. This probably pleased his investors, but it didn’t make the movie any better. Even the zombies that appear in it don’t reek of rot and decay. Watch a YouTube compilation of Wii classic The House of the Dead: Overkill instead. It’s trash too, but the better-smelling kind.
Budget: 12 million US dollars
Box office takings: 14 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 3 per cent from critics, 11 per cent from the public
Alone in the Dark (2005)
The only scary thing about this film is how it misses the legendary survival horror vibe of the original by a mile. Not even Christian Slater in the lead role could save this disaster. With a score of one per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, it holds the unofficial title of worst game movie ever to hit theatres. Some scenes are so unbelievably bad that they achieve a certain cult status regardless. A real guilty pleasure for movie masochists.
Budget: 20 million US dollars
Box office takings: 13 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 1 per cent from critics, 11 per cent from the public
Bloodrayne (2005)
You definitely can’t accuse Uwe Boll of laziness. In the 2000s, he completed his horrifying hat-trick with Bloodrayne. This adaptation of the bloody action title about a scantily clad half-vampire boasts an impressive ensemble. Michelle Rodriguez, Ben Kinglsey, Udo Kier, Meat Loaf and Billy Zane, all assembled to collectively fail. According to chatter, Boll only used 20 per cent of the original screenplay, making up the rest as he went. The poster is ominously reminiscent of Twilight, and I’d still prefer that over Bloodrayne.
Budget: 25 million US dollars
Box office takings: 4 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 4 per cent from critics, 17 per cent from the public
D.O.A. – Dead or Alive (2006)
The following film also belongs in the «unintentionally funny» category. Dead or Alive offers a plot that’s even thinner than the leading actresses’ bikinis. Then there are spurts of acting from ex-wrestler Kevin Nash, which would’ve been too over-the-top even for his former employer. Just like in the original fighting game, or the even more lascivious volleyball spin-off, scantily clad ladies take centre stage. Still, if you switch off your brain and know what you’re getting into, Dead or Alive can certainly entertain.
Budget: 30 million US dollars
Box office takings: 8 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 32 per cent from critics, 36 per cent from the public
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007)
Dungeon Siege is a fantastic action role-playing game I really loved when it was released in 2002. Uwe Boll was probably in a similar frenzy when he decided to turn it into a movie. Some well-known actors were on board here too. One look at Jason Statham’s filmography reveals he probably needed little persuasion. Burt Reynolds’ career had already ended two decades prior, so his participation came as no surprise.
But despite a budget of 60 million US dollars, this movie is so generic you’ll need a good dose of fantasy to imagine yourself in this fairy tale.
Budget: 60 million US dollars
Box office takings: 13 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 4 per cent from critics, 23 per cent from the public
Max Payne (2008)
The game’s a masterpiece, you couldn’t find better inspiration: a pill-addicted cop whose family is murdered on the trail of a mysterious designer drug, accompanied by spectacular bullet-time action and cheesy quips. The movie starring Mark Wahlberg in the leading role features maybe half a scene that exudes even a hint of Max Payne. The rest is cinematic silliness, and a clear sign that the people responsible in Hollywood at most saw the cover of the game.
Budget: 35 million US dollars
Box office takings: 86 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 16 per cent from critics, 29 per cent from the public
Far Cry (2008)
Was the hat-trick really not enough? With Far Cry (then still made by Crytek), Uwe Boll dragged his next series into the fray. Til Schweiger as Jack Carver lent a helping hand. He should’ve used Gordon Freeman from Half-Life as an example and simply kept quiet. Then you wouldn’t have to ask yourself why a former member of the US Special Forces is yapping in the roughest German dialect. At least it distracts from the insipid acting performances and action scenes, which I could’ve put together more dramatically as a kid in the sandbox.
Budget: 30 million US dollars
Box office takings: just under 1 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: too few critics’ ratings, 12 per cent from the public
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (2009)
The first Street Fighter starring Van Damme from 1994 is undoubtedly bad as well. Still, snappy quips and wonderfully exaggerated acting provide plenty of entertainment. The Legend of Chun Li, on the other hand, takes itself far too seriously. The colourful spectacle from the games featuring illustrious characters gives way to a shallow, pale story.
Budget: 50 million US dollars
Box office takings: 13 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 3 per cent from critics, 18 per cent from the public
Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)
Maybe Revelation simply based itself on the wrong Silent Hill. After all, the game series has more misses than hits. The iconic Pyramid Head pops in, but like most of the actors in this movie, he seems to be phoning it in.
Still, the only truly terrifying thing for most moviegoers was the torturous special effects. Starring Kit Harington and Sean Bean, two Game of Thrones stars were involved too. Anyone wanting to see Jon Snow and Ed Stark reunited has their chance here. You’ll have to find out for yourself whether they have a better chance of survival this time.
Budget: 20 million US dollars
Box office takings: 56 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 8 per cent from critics, 35 per cent from the public
Need for Speed (2014)
Remember the game remake of the same name that was released a year later? There, the word «Bro» is used an estimated 512 times in the first five minutes. Its cool racing homies down one Monster energy drink after another and bump their fist at every opportunity. Still, unintentionally, it was a thousand times more entertaining than this snorefest starring Aaron Paul in the lead role.
Six successful Fast and the Furious releases were already out at the time, but the formula was already worn out. Or wait, maybe not? We got five more films, each more stupid than the last, but all still highly entertaining. Need for Speed, on the other hand, is just boring.
Budget: 66 million US dollars
Box office takings: 203 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 23 per cent from critics, 56 per cent from the public
Assassin’s Creed (2016)
This movie definitely didn’t fail for a lack of top-class actors. Ubisoft signed up Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Irons and Marion Cotillard. But instead of sending Desmond Miles back into the Animus machine, a new main character was invented. And that isn’t even the biggest problem. This movie is simply boring.
The story never gets going, the action falls flat and, as in the games, scenes set in modern day are snoozeworthy. Okay fine, in this respect the movie actually comes closest to the original. Still, it feels like someone fed a chatbot with all the key elements of the games and had it spit out a script. That probably would’ve been better too.
Budget: 125 million US dollars
Box office takings: 241 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 18 per cent from critics, 42 per cent from the public
Monster Hunter (2020)
Alongside Uwe Boll, Paul W. S. Anderson is the most productive video game filmmaker out there – albeit a lot more successful. But he makes mistakes too. Alongside increasingly unimaginative Resident Evil adaptations, Monster Hunter is one of his biggest disappointments. You’d think the script would write itself. Huge, otherworldly monsters are pursued by Hunters with equally weighty weapons through colourful fantasy worlds. Instead, it’s a generic, weak action flick involving uninspiring American military units. The movie has more in common with Transformers than Capcom’s role-playing games.
Budget: 60 million US dollars
Box office takings: 48 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 44 per cent from critics, 70 per cent from the public
Uncharted (2022)
The movie was in limbo for so long that Mark Wahlberg took on the role of Nathan Drake’s mentor and surrogate father Sully instead of the main character. Instead, Drake is played by Tom Holland, the new Spider-Man superstar. Apart from one or two snappy remarks, the two never reach the charm of their game counterparts, the true heart of the games. And aside from a few pretty scenes on old galleys, the movie offers little visually. If I want to watch a loveless adventure flick, I’ll go for the fourth Indiana Jones first.
Budget: 120 million US dollars
Box office takings: 407 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 41 per cent from critics, 89 per cent from the public
Borderlands (2024)
Not even Jack Black, who starred in the two most successful gaming adaptations of all time, could save Borderlands from going under. Many already called time of death after the first trailer. Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and the like seem less like serious actors and more like cosplayers looking for their next photo shoot. Mind you, a Borderlands movie really doesn’t need much seriousness. But a complete lack of interesting, let alone likeable characters and a plot with the complexity of a Borderlands collection quest results in an absolute waste of time regardless.
Not even the most obvious trait of the games – an unbridled hunger for collecting and ridiculous weapons – are given any attention in the movie. Don’t waste your time on this one.
Budget: 110 million US dollars
Box office takings: 33 million US dollars
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 10 per cent from critics, 48 per cent from the public
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chAs a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.
Opinion
This is a subjective opinion of the editorial team. It doesn't necessarily reflect the position of the company.
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