novel adaptations
Trying to avoid more indirect adaptations, i.e. ones based on a movie/tv adaptation rather than the book itself, ones based loosely around a famous character rather than a specific story, ones that are just a sequel to a previous video game adaptation (unless they're based on a particular sequel novel). I'll fudge those rules where I feel like it though.
198 Games
Metro 2033 (Dmitry Glukhovsky, 2002)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
Parasite Eve (Hideaki Sena, 1995)
The Witcher Saga (Andrzej Sapkowski, 1994-1999)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
Water Margin (Shi Nai'an, late 1300s)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy, 1998)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Chaos Legion (Tow Ubukata, 2003)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The ABC Murders (Agatha Christie, 1936)
The Invincible (Stanisław Lem, 1964)
Digital Devil Story trilogy (Aya Nishitani, 1986-1988)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett, 1989)
Never Deal With a Dragon (Robert N. Charrette, 1990)
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886)
The Bluebeard Room (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1985)
The Thirteenth Pearl (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1979) & Tour of Danger ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1992)
Nancy Drew Ghost Stories ("Carolyn Keene", 1983) & Mystery by Moonlight ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
Mystery Train ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1990)
Guards! Guards! (Terry Pratchett, 1989)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1994)
The Curse of the Black Cat ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2001)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
The Haunted Carousel (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
The Mystery of the Mother Wolf ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
Storm Boy (Colin Thiele, 1964)
The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, & The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1930)
The Treasure in the Royal Tower ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
Death by Design ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1988)
The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1931)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1989)
Whispers in the Fog ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2000)
The Mardi Gras Mystery ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1988)
The Bike Tour Mystery ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
The Phantom of Venice (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1985)
Uncivil Acts ("Carolyn Keene", 2005)
False Impressions & The Clues Challenge ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1990 & 2001)
The Secret of the Scarlet Hand ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown, 2003)
Mystery on Maui (Elizabeth Nugent (as Carolyn Keene), 1998)
The Mystery in Tornado Alley (George Edward Stanley (as Carolyn Keene), 2000)
Captive Witness (Richard Ballad (as Carolyn Keene), 1981)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams, 1979)
Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe, 1999-2001)
Stay Tuned for Danger ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1987)
Secrets of the Nile ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
Investiture of the Gods (Xu Zhonglin, late 1500s - early 1600s)
The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1964)
Secrets Can Kill ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1986)
The Broken Anchor (Sharon Wagner (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
In and Out of Love ("Carolyn Keene", 1997) & The Crime Lab Case ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
Moving Pictures (Terry Pratchett, 1990) & Reaper Man (Terry Pratchett, 1991)
The Greek Symbol Mystery (Nancy Axelrad (as Carolyn Keene), 1980)
Real Fake ("Carolyn Keene", 2007)
The Difference Engine (William Gibson & Bruce Sterling, 1990)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Thirty-Nine Steps (John Buchan, 1915)
Bedlam (Christopher Brookmyre, 2013)
The Witch Tree Symbol (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1955)
The Riftwar Cycle (Raymond E. Feist, 1982-2013) (subsequently novelized as Krondor: The Betrayal (1998))
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie, 1940)
Children's and Household Tales [aka Grimm's Fairy Tales] (Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, 1812)
The Mysterious Island (Jules Verne, 1875)
Digital Devil Story trilogy (Aya Nishitani, 1986-1988)
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone, 1982)
The Wheel of Time series (Robert Jordan, 1990-2005)
Moderato Cantabile (Marguerite Duras, 1958)
The Iliad (Homer, 850-630 BCE)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1900)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
To Hell With the Ugly (Boris Vian [as Vernon Sullivan], 1948)
TekWar series (William Shatner & Ron Goulart, 1989-1997)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain, 1876)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937)
Dracula (Bram Stoker, 1897)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
Evil Under the Sun (Agatha Christie, 1941)
Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1945)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco, 1980)
Neuromancer (William Gibson, 1984)
Below the Root (Zilpha Keatley Snyder, 1975)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie, 1934)
Water Margin (Shi Nai'an, late 1300s)
A Song of Ice and Fire series (George R.R. Martin, 1996-2011)
Azure Bonds (Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb, 1988)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
From the Earth to the Moon (Jules Verne, 1865), Around the Moon (Jules Verne, 1870) & The First Men in the Moon (H.G. Wells, 1901)
The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux, 1910)
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (Spider Robinson, 1977)
The Hidden Staircase (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1930)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence (Nick Bantock, 1991)
The Blackstone Chronicles (John Saul, 1996-1997)
11 Comments
thanks! I think it came up when I was getting the list together but I was having a hard time figuring out which specific Kenji Miyazawa works it was pulling from and whether it might be better suited for my other list, for games based on short stories? I should look into it further
Hmm yeah possibly the short stories list would be a better fit – I haven’t found much info on the specific stories it’s adapting either, and am not familiar with Miyazawa’s work
I love your list! There are novels that I didn't even know had a game.
Definitely need "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" on here!
"I Have No Mouth" is based on a short story so it's on this list instead https://www.backloggd.com/u/jakobvongunten/list/games-based-on-poems-short-stories-and-songs-1/
You missed Shannara when it comes to Legend Entertainment book adaptions.
There's also the Discworld adventure game trilogy and the Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy interactive fiction game. Also Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon and Return of the Phantom
Finally I think the Dune RTSes by Westwood would count, unlike the original Cryo adventure game which was clearly based off the Lynch film.
There's also the Discworld adventure game trilogy and the Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy interactive fiction game. Also Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon and Return of the Phantom
Finally I think the Dune RTSes by Westwood would count, unlike the original Cryo adventure game which was clearly based off the Lynch film.
have added a few of those but Shannara, Discworld Noir, and the Westwood Dune games are all original plots within the setting of their respective series afaik. Not sure why Hitchhiker's wasn't here already, perhaps when i made the list I thought it was primarily based on the radio series?
The Atlus Megami Tensei isn't actually a direct adaption on the novel, it's a sequel the the first 2 novels (before the 3rd novel released and went in a different direction). I don't know too much about the Telenet one but I believe it's a side story rather then an adaption of the novels.
I am glad someone else already did the work of compiling these. Thanks For Making it. Recently this game called "To Hell With The Ugly" was released, which is a direct adaptation of the Boris Vian novel of the same name, if you wouldnt mind adding it.
thanks! (for both the appreciation & the tip)
TeN
3 years ago