Sometimes the games we all want made just don’t make it to the console or PC level. Particularly when it comes to movies and TV series, and popular characters, there just tend to be too many possibilities and too few major games to be funded and created. In many cases though, these same concepts inspire smaller games – flash arcade experiences, themed casino arcades, and minimalist mobile games. It’s always nice when you see an opportunity to play through a setting or embody a character you’ve enjoyed. But these games can also leave you wishing you had something bigger and better, even if they’re great for what they are.
Really, a list such as this one could involve hundreds of titles if you really scoured the internet and did your research. But these are five online and mobile games that could inspire major console hits (and we wish they would).
1. Achilles
It’s actually remarkable that the action and adventure film Troy never led anyone to make a serious video game. But Achilles is a subtly enjoyable flash game that’s based at least in part on the film. In the game you control Achilles and essentially make your way along Trojan beaches taking on enemies of increasing ferocity and in growing numbers. The game was actually good enough to inspire a sequel, which is more than most flash games can say, but what would be really cool is to see it turned into something bigger. A similar game with console quality gameplay and graphics would be a ton of fun.
2. Marvel: Contest Of Champions
In its own way, this is actually a fairly advanced video game. It’s a frequently updated mobile title with excellent graphics and classic brawler gameplay, and it feels modern in every sense. However, its counterpart is the DC Injustice series, and it’s hard not to be a little disappointed that it does not – as Injustice does – have a console version. A version of this game built for consoles and with fewer in-app payment schemes would truly be Street Fighter for a new generation, featuring the best heroes and villains from the Marvel universe.
3. Dracula
There are probably a dozen games called “Dracula,” but we’re referring specifically to a slot-style casino game. The different themes and backgrounds that accompany such games have actually become very important in the last few years, in large part because they help people decide where to play. The chance to play some exclusive games is mentioned as one of the top factors in choosing an online casino, which has led to competition and innovation in development. And this game, revolving around the original literary vampire, just highlights the fact that there really isn’t a great console game featuring the same character. One combining the gothic elements of the original tale and the action of the relatively recent film Dracula Untold would be ideal.
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
This is another online arcade game not entirely unlike the Achilles one, though with platformer elements and a choice between characters. There have been other games like it, and even a few on earlier consoles. But the fact that the top-tier consoles don’t have beautiful, retro-style platformers based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a travesty. The four turtles could be designed with different fighting styles, unique missions, etc., and the game could be designed to go on for ages’ worth of levels and adventures given what would be fairly simple graphical demands.
5. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
“Nothing but a forgettable trend” is how one devoted Potter site described this mobile game, and unfortunately a lot of people seem to feel the same way. It’s a clunky, slow-going, and frankly aggravating RPG that botches what could have been one of the most detailed playable Harry Potter experiences ever. There really isn’t a leading Harry Potter game, but Hogwarts Mystery could at least serve as a blueprint for the general layout of a console-based RPG handling the series. Removing the episodic format and the focus on wait time and in-app purchases would make for a good start, and beyond that a console game could simply do more. It’s about time we get a game like this for Harry Potter.
