Science Fiction is easily one of the most popular genres, whether it is TV shows, films, books or video games, sci-fi is a versatile genre that resonates with a huge audience.
The sci-fi franchises in this list have proven themselves to epitomize the timeless nature of the genre, but despite reboots, remakes and libraries of expanded media these franchises have never quite made the leap to video games with the same level of resounding success. Despite having the potential to be huge, they’ve only dipped their toes into the world of video games. Here are 5 Sci-Fi franchises that would make amazing video games.
DOCTOR WHO
Okay, it’s an obvious one, and of course the Doctor Who nerd is going to put this on the list. Its here isn’t just the fan side wanting to see the long-running series in video-game form though.
With a long, long history including Guinness world record for the longest running sci-fi television series in the world, Doctor Who has an equally long and storied history with video games. With a total of 19 releases since the 1983 Doctor Who: The First Adventure on the BBC Micro to 2022’s entirely generic cut and paste mobile game Lost in Time, none have quite matched its wonder.
Despite having plenty of opportunities over the last 40 years to get it right, Doctor Who games are for the most part terrible — the world of terrible Doctor Who games is an entertaining subject for another feature — so the BBC is, perhaps understandably, notoriously picky when it comes to authorizing licensed software for their sci-fi juggernaut.
However, given the right developers and the right budget there is an incredible amount of potential to be had in a show that is famously able to throw the rules out of the window. The Doctor Who themed levels in LEGO Dimensions proved just that.
A big budget entry into the video game space is what Doctor Who sorely needs and personally I’d like to see a story-heavy, single-player, multi-Doctor experience seeing a Modern and Classic Doctor come together across two time periods to solve timey-wimey puzzles and save the universe. Give me humor, clever twists and turns throughout, and plenty of ways to creatively and non-lethally take down or escape from enemies. Give me the ability to swap between time zones at will, and an emphasis on putting brains before brawn with a protagonist that iconically never carries a gun – yet canonically has a kill count well into the billions.
Honestly, give me Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality, but if it wasn’t a VR walking simulator… and that would be good.
THUNDERBIRDS
So, this is definitely a bit of a niche one. Thunderbirds is a classic British sci-fi series that had two short seasons in the mid-60s. It was rebooted with a series that ran three seasons from 2015-2020, received a 2004 Jonathan Frakes (of Star Trek fame) directed live action movie. Then there was Thunderbirds 2086, an English dub of the Japanese anime Scientific Rescue Team Technoboyger that was loosely inspired by Thunderbirds and reused music and sound effects from Thunderbirds and other shows from the same production company.
Despite being short lived, Thunderbirds was hugely popular and influential in the UK, in no short part due to its unique aesthetic. Using a form of electronic marionette puppetry called “Supermarionation” and scale model work, Thunderbirds not only has a distinctive look that would translate well into video game graphics, but an exciting premise too.
Thunderbirds revolves around the Tracy family, who run International Rescue, an independent rescue organization that uses super advanced technology to save lives from disasters all over the world. The real world UN-registered search and rescue organization International Rescue Corps, was named for the show’s organization.
In order to do this, the family uses vehicles known as Thunderbirds, 5 unique vehicles designed to be able to handle any disaster situation in any location across the globe. In the show, things often get hairy, with disasters often being exacerbated by criminal elements intent on disrupting the status quo or getting their hands on International Rescue’s technology.
It’s a premise that I think would be an absolute blast to be at the helm of in a video game, tasking you with responding to active disasters across the world, having to research, build and choose the right equipment for the job to ensure you can save as many lives as possible. A Thunderbirds strategy game in the vein of X-COM could be a lot of fun, as could something that puts you in the pilot’s seat of the Thunderbirds as you and a group of friends work together to rescue lives before it’s too late.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Battlestar Galactica is another iconic franchise that has had only middling success in the video game arena. Tactical RTS Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock and MMO Battlestar Galactica Online have both done alright for themselves but there is still so much more than can be tapped into from the franchise.
I’ll be honest, I have really fond memories of the 2003 Xbox/PS2 Battlestar Galactica game. It was a middling starfighter game based on the 1978 series that followed a young William Adama in his career through the First Cylon War, and I for one would love to see a new space combat game in the same vein as 2020’s ill-fated Star Wars: Squadrons. Any new Battlestar Galactica game would likely be set in the revival era due to the that series’ popularity far exceeding the 1978 cult classic and, while I’d love to see a new game in the iconic style of the original series, I’d settle for some skins.
Battlestar Galactica is a franchise that has a lot going for it as it explores what it means to be human as the last remnants of humanity limp across the stars to find their lost home. While I’m eager to recreate my childhood excitement of being a viper pilot, the revival series introduced a lot of amazing concepts for the series that provide a plethora of different starting points for a video game entry. There’s potential here for large sweeping space-based romps as you try to avert the course of the Cylon wars, or tense battles for survival as you lead your survivors through the Oregon Trail of space.
BLADE RUNNER
Blade Runner is a franchise synonymous with Sci-Fi and represents the primary source of inspiration for a large swath of video games that have come since the 1982 film adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Despite its heavy influence on the genre and much of the Sci-Fi aesthetic that has come to be popular in dystopian and cyberpunk settings since, there have only been a small number of official Blade Runner video games.
With the recent news that a new adaptation of the iconic franchise had been canceled and Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth still in development, there is at least some good news on the horizon. The world of Blade Runner is a deep and provocative one, with huge reservoirs of untapped potential for rich narrative titles in the same vein as many of the games that the film has gone on to inspire.
Roleplaying games similar to Cyberpunk 2077 or Disco Elysium are obvious choices for the franchise with both of those games taking clear inspiration from the franchise. While any Blade Runner game is likely to follow the film’s example and explore deeper philosophical meanings of what it is to be human as an eponymous Blade Runner hunts down replicants to “retire”, there’s more to explore in the dystopian Blade Runner universe should developers dare to strike out and do something different.
SUPERMAN
Superman is a character that has both had a lot of his own video games and also featured in plenty of others. While probably remembered for some of the worst video games of all time, I think that we are finally ready for a new Superman game.
When discussing a Superman video game, its often bought up that Superman would be difficult to build a game around. Is he too powerful? Too much of a good guy for interesting gameplay? I don’t think so, and I don’t think that means we’ll necessarily get a bad game if we got one now.
Open world superhero games such as Sony’s Spider-Man and Prototype are standout examples of how this can work. Provide a sprawling Metropolis with the same level of detail as Spider-Man’s New York for Supes to fly around in, add a fluid combat system that allows you to mix up Superman’s various abilities for creative ways of taking down Superman level foes, and side missions that see Superman helping other heroes or saving cats from trees and I really think we have a winner on our hands.
The power levels of Superman also give ample opportunity to have some crazy cool fight scenes that gives players exactly what they want, the power fantasy of being Superman, and there are plenty of foes in Superman’s rogue gallery that can provide a challenge as the game’s antagonist while also being a story built for game mechanisms like Superman taking damage in fights.
Perhaps even include some levels as Clark Kent in order to uncover information and investigate leads to a nefarious plot and a solution that requires more than just as heavy beat down from the Man of Steel.
What’s more, a Superman game has the potential to branch out into bigger things, with sequels bringing together video game versions of The Justice League to go bigger and more action packed, or even teaming up with Superman’s super-best friend Batman for a video game adaptation of World’s Finest.
The Arkham series has shown that there’s an appetite for DC games and superhero games in general, and it’s hard to deny the appeal of the power-fantasy. Superman as a concept and character for a video game is far more versatile than you might think and a new video game entry for the Big Blue Boy Scout is long overdue.
Do you think these franchises would make good games? Are there any franchises out there that I missed? Leave your video game pitches in the comments below or on our social media!
