Books have long been adapted into other forms of media. In the past few months alone, Stephen King’s Carrie premiered as a seven-episode TV show adapted by Mike Flanagan, and Colleen Hoover’s book-to-movie adaptation of Verity hit theaters. But when it comes to gaming, there are surprisingly few book-to-video-game adaptations. It’s a territory rarely explored by developers or authors, which is a shame, because exploring the worlds your favorite books create has its own charm.
Below is a list of some of the best video games out there that were inspired by literature. There’s no need to read the source material before playing these games, but it would definitely elevate your gaming experience.
1
BioShock (2007)
Despite being nearly two decades old, BioShock is still praised for its atmospheric storytelling. In this first-person shooter, you assume the role of Jack, who survives a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean and discovers the ruins of an underwater dystopian city called Rapture. BioShock writer and lead director Ken Levine has spoken extensively about the influences behind the game — Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, two philosophical novels by author Ayn Rand. Even the primary resistance leader in BioShock is named Atlas — a homage to Rand’s work.
“Atlas Shrugged is much less of a great story. At one point, it has this like 40-page speech in it,” Levine explained in a 2022 interview with DualShockers. “But The Fountainhead was more of a potboiler than a political book. It’s the story of this guy and you have this ‘big enemy’, this critic, all these conflicts, there’s this sexy romance story. It’s kind of silly in a lot of ways, but I think the reason it’s so popular is that, like BioShock, it works in this purely potboiler way.”
There are three main games in the BioShock series, and a complete BioShock Collection is available for purchase on multiple platforms. If you favor some light reading material after your playthrough, you can read BioShock: Rapture, the official tie-in prequel novel written by John Shirley.
2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
The Witcher games as a whole are based on fantasy novels of the same name by author Andrzej Sapkowski, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which first came out in 2015 and was remastered in fall 2026, is a masterclass in book-to-video-game adaptation. The Witcher 3 perfectly embodies the fantasy world first created by Sapkowski and draws players in with engaging quests and a real-time battle system, while dropping Easter eggs for fans of the book series to find along the way.
Francesco Cacciatore, in his opinion piece for Polygon, wrote of the game: “From the first title in the series, CD Projekt Red showed great understanding and respect for the source material, along with a knack for using it to weave a compelling new story that rarely openly contradicts Sapkowski’s writing.”
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered is currently listed as the fourth-best game of 2026 on Metacritic, where it boasts an impressive 92 Metascore.
3
Hogwarts Legacy (2023)
Hogwarts Legacy may not feature iconic Harry Potter characters like Harry, Ron or Hermione, but you’ll remain fully immersed in the wizarding world inspired by the work of J.K. Rowling. The game itself takes place 100 years before the events of the first Harry Potter novel, and in it, you assume the role of a fifth-year Hogwarts student. The Sorting Hat ceremony determines which of the four Hogwarts houses you’ll belong to, and throughout the game, you learn and unlock a total of 34 spells.
There are many nods to the book series as you play, including being able to explore familiar locations like the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade. You’ll also meet characters connected to the most recognizable wizarding families, including professors Phineas Nigellus Black, an ancestor of Sirius Black, and Matilda Weasley, a relative of Ron Weasley.
Hogwarts Legacy has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo. In summer 2026, Warner Bros. announced that a Hogwarts Legacy sequel is in the works, so there will soon be even more connections to the book series to be discovered.
4
Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest (2026)
More than two decades after the first Warrior Cats book was published in 2003, you can finally take on the role of a feline and explore the forest on four legs. Clans of the Forest, a relatively new release, lets you customize your own Warrior Cat down to body size and fur color and length. You can choose from one of the book series’ four iconic clans — ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan — and your choice directly influences the game’s storyline.
Clans of the Forest is not a direct retelling of any one Warrior Cats book — a feat that would be nearly impossible, as there are more than 100 published books in total. The game’s narrative does remain grounded in author Erin Hunter’s world, exploring themes of clan survival and territorial conflicts. There are also several notable felines from the books that you’ll meet along your journey, including Brightheart (recognizable by her battle scars) and Cloudtail (the nephew of Firestar, the first-ever protagonist in the Warrior Cats book series).
Clans of the Forest holds a Metascore of 78 and critics have given generally favorable reviews, with Cal of GameSpace writing: “It was incredibly fun to actually be able to visualize all of the different places I read about when I was younger.”
5
Parasite Eve (1998)
In 1995, Hideaki Sena published a horror novel that would help set the tone for future Japanese horror: Parasite Eve. The book won the first-of-its-kind Japan Horror Novel Award the same year it was published. A few years later, Sena’s novel also served as the direct narrative foundation for Squaresoft’s 1998 survival horror game Parasite Eve, which transposes the novel’s sci-fi nightmare to New York City. You assume the role of police officer Aya Brea, who finds herself in a nightmarish battle against a mysterious organism that causes humans to spontaneously combust.
Built using the same engine as Final Fantasy VII, Parasite Eve features a turn-based combat system and survival horror elements such as inventory management and scavenging for medicine, ammunition, and other items. The game holds a Metascore of 81 with mostly positive critic reviews.
Polygon writer Ashley Oh revisited the game in 2018, writing of her experience that: “Playing Parasite Eve in 2018 was like stumbling upon a time capsule. As someone who will go to the grave defending my love for Final Fantasy 8, I found so much joy in exploring the backlog of Squaresoft’s other late ’90s titles.”
6
Lies of P (2023)
Lies of P is loosely based on the 1883 tale The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian author Carlo Collodi. You play as P (Pinocchio), a special puppet with the free will of a human, who must fight his way through the plague-ravaged Gothic city of Krat in search of answers. The game goes as far as to honor the author directly within its lore: Puppetmaker Geppetto’s real human son is named Carlo, and a developer’s note in-game reads, “In honor of the great writer Carlo Collodi.”
As far as gameplay is concerned, Lies of P takes the classic tale of Pinocchio and turns it into a soulslike action RPG with fast-paced combat reminiscent of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. In his 2023 review of the game, Polygon writer Diego Nicolas Arguello said: “The game surprised and engulfed me with its grim tale, in which greed and obsession for power turned a city against itself. Despite a clear obligation to pay homage to its pioneers, it carves its own reality — one in which you decide which illusions to believe in.”
