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The Last of Us key art

(Photo by HBO)

Video Game TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

Adapting video games into films that please fans of both mediums continues to be a tricky proposition. While the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and Detective Pikachu suggests the video-game-movie curse has finally been vanquished, television has already been discovering equal, if not greater success. Netflix series based on League of Legends, The Witcher, Castlevania, and Cuphead have all connected with critics on the Tomatometer, while the most recent title, HBO’s The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, has lived up to the buzz.

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and lollipops on the streaming front. Netflix’s Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness broke the platform’s game-based hot streak with a Rotten score, followed by live-action entry Resident Evil, starring Lance Reddick. The streamer’s The Witcher: Blood Origin — which, OK, is maybe technically based on the books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski — and Sonic Prime also disappointed on the Tomatometer. And, while Paramount+’s Halo did well enough with critics, longtime Master Chief fans of the Halo games were decidedly less impressed. All that said, the Covenant-crushing sci-fi saga has been confirmed to return for a second season.

Additionally, some of the more promising upcoming adaptations are forgoing the feature-film route in favor of streaming episodic content directly to our smart devices. Multiple game-to-series efforts, from Tomb Raider and Splinter Cell to Gods of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Twisted Metal are in the pipeline.

The future looks pretty bright for game franchises turned into TV series. See all the high scores in our guide to video game tv series ranked by Tomatometer! Matt Cabral

#1
Synopsis: The origins of two iconic League champions, set in the utopian Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun.... [More]

#2
Synopsis: A street kid tries to survive in a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future; with everything to lose,... [More]

The Last of Us (2023)
96%

#3
Synopsis: Joel and Ellie must survive ruthless killers and monsters on a trek across America after an outbreak.... [More]

Castlevania (2017)
94%

#4
Synopsis: Inspired by the popular video game series, this anime series is a dark medieval fantasy. It follows the last surviving... [More]

Dragon's Dogma (2020)
83%

#5
Synopsis: Ethan sets out to vanquish the Dragon that took his heart, losing his humanity with every demon he battles.... [More]
Directed By: Shin'ya Sugai

The Witcher (2019)
80%

#6
Synopsis: The witcher Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world in which people often prove... [More]

Halo (2022)
70%

#7
Synopsis: Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier, defends humanity from the alien Covenant in the 26th century.... [More]

Sonic Prime (2022)
60%

#8
Synopsis: The fate of a strange new multiverse rests in the gloved hands of the speedy Sonic the Hedgehog.... [More]

Resident Evil (2022)
53%

#9
Synopsis: Year 2036 -- 14 years after the spread of Joy caused so much pain, Jade Wesker fights for survival in... [More]

Synopsis: Federal agent Leon S. Kennedy teams up with TerraSave staff member Claire Redfield to investigate a zombie outbreak.... [More]
Directed By: Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Sonic the Hedgehog (1993)
40%

#11
Synopsis: Sonic defends planet Mobius from the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik.... [More]

#12
Synopsis: Set more than a thousand years before the world of "The Witcher," seven outcasts in the elf world unite in... [More]