This Polygon feature argues that, following the box-office success of the Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog films and the streaming success of TV adaptations like The Last of Us and Fallout, gaming studios and Hollywood have a rich, underused backlog of video game properties ripe for adaptation. The piece highlights that strong storytelling, distinctive visual styles and built-in fan bases make certain lesser-adapted games particularly well suited to film or television treatment.

The article proposes 12 candidates, including the dark fantasy series Diablo, the classic JRPG Lunar: The Silver Star, PlatinumGames' sci-fi action title Astral Chain, the noir point-and-click adventure Deja Vu, and the stylised, ultra-violent Hotline Miami, each pitched with a suggested tone, format or directorial comparison (such as Edgar Wright for Hotline Miami). The full text provided covers only five of the twelve games mentioned in the headline.