The great thing about movies is the sheer spectacle that they can provide on the big screen, but what if we could continue that adventure on PS5 and Xbox? I know that the age of movie tie-in games mostly lives in the gaming graveyard these days, but there used to be a time when a genuine banger would surprise us all, like Treyarch’s Spider-Man 2. Now, The Loadout team and I are itching for some of the best movie franchises to enter the digital realm.
We reckon that the roster of new PS5 games and new Xbox games could pay respect to the big screen. Remember Wanted: Weapons of Fate or Miami Vice on PSP? Who would have thought that Michael Mann’s underrated crime drama reimagining would get a game on Sony’s beloved handheld? We’re sure you feel the same way about other movie-tie titles, so to kick this dream list off, here’s a franchise that has dominated our screens with high-octane action for years.
5. Mission: Impossible
The espionage antics of Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt have captivated audiences since 1996, beginning with Brian De Palma’s superb debut entry. It has been great to see Christopher McQuarrie tap back into De Palma’s style in recent installments, and this style of spy thrills could be excellent in a new PS5 game. Sure, we’ve had games like the N64 tie-in or the Splinter Cell clone Mission: Impossible Operation Surma, but Ethan Hunt deserves more.
And to be honest, Paradigm Entertainment was on to something by going the stealth route with the latter game. In lieu of a proper Splinter Cell game, another crack at this with some truly outlandish action set pieces like the mountain fight in M:I Fallout or motorcycle jousting M:I 2 could be just what the Impossible Mission Force needs. The only caveat is that Cruise is famously known for not lending his likeness to games or merchandise, as well as avoiding voice-over duties. If you managed to snag a Funko Pop of his character in 2017’s The Mummy, you might want to think about listing it on eBay.
4. Scream
If there is one horror franchise that is perfect for crossing the border between mediums, it is the world of Scream. Wes Craven’s initial sharp satirical take on the genre is still a masterwork to this day, and the sequels have managed to leave considerable stamps on the horror world. Blatantly aware of the genre constrictions it is working with, while also breaking them and getting the audience in on it, this kind of flexibility is ideal for an enthralling horror game.
We wouldn’t be surprised if Scream ends up with the same treatment as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or Evil Dead The Game, as asymmetrical horror action is suitable for the muti-protagonist narratives that Scream movies play around with. Ghostface has crossed over into Dead by Daylight in the past, but this villain is worthy of their own spotlight. There are plenty of Ghostface iterations to bring into the fold too, but you can’t beat the terror of Billy Loomis from the first movie.
3. John Wick
The restraint to not put this straight at the top was hard, but we’re reserving those spots for ambitious picks. You, me, your neighbor, and your postman are all waiting on a John Wick game. While the turn-based John Wick Hex and VR-focused John Wick Chronicles have taken stabs at merging the mythos of Chad Stahelski and David Leitch’s murderous universe with gaming, we think it is fair to say that these games aren’t exactly scratching the itch for a new John Wick adventure.
The incredible lore of these movies is ripe to extract fresh stories from, though we hope that this hypothetical game wouldn’t fumble the bag like The Continental TV Show on Amazon Prime. Keanu Reeves’ other major franchise, The Matrix, set the pace on how to deliver a rousing trip through iconic movie events in The Matrix Path of Neo. Give us some Max Payne 3-style gunplay and a similar level of lore expansion akin to Path of Neo, because moments like the Red Circle nightclub shootout or the Presto Museum battle from the first two movies are begging for a faithful game adaptation on PS5 or Xbox. We’d love to see a developer tackle that stair sequence from Chapter 4, too.
2. A Nightmare On Elm Street
While we love Scream, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street is where many of us fell in love with the horror auteur. Robert Englund’s electrifying turn as the harrowing Freddie Krueger is forever etched in the annals of horror history. Paired with Craven’s blood-curdling visuals and Englund’s talent, the perils of dreaming could work in the gaming realm.
Thanks to the genius of Remedy Entertainment, Alan Wake 2 perfected the notion of traversing a living nightmare, and we reckon the same can be achieved for old Freddie Krueger now that the bar is readily set. The technology required to render ever-changing dreams is readily available, and we think the SSD speeds of the PS5 are up to the challenge.
1. Tenet
Nope, not The Dark Knight trilogy or Inception. Christopher Nolan’s 2020 sci-fi action caper Tenet is fully deserving of its own mind-bending videogame. We’re cheating a little bit here as Tenet isn’t necessarily a franchise per se, but the foundations are there for Nolan to pick up the pieces. However, the IP lies within Warner Brothers’ hands, and the Oppenheimer director is currently aligned with Universal following disagreements over Tenet’s distribution and performance upon release. Nevertheless, Tenet has it all: time-traveling forward, back, and parallel.
All of that can sometimes occur in the same scene. The premise follows a former CIA agent known only as The Protagonist, who is on a mission to prevent World War 3, as weapons from the future appear to be sent backward through time to attack the present. Still with us? Nolan being Nolan shot much of the action with as much practicality as possible, enlisting his cast to re-create sequences backward in real life, amid other filmmaking mastery. The logistics are headache-inducing for a game, but the possibilities could be unlike anything seen before, maybe even amid the best PS5 games and best Xbox games around.