10 Times Video Game Sequels EMBARRASSED Movies
When the games go hard and the movies phone it in - 10 sequels that totally stole the spotlight
For years, video games were seen as the awkward spin-offs - clunky tie-ins, rushed adaptations, or desperate cash grabs riding on the coattails of bigger, flashier movies. But somewhere along the way, the roles flipped.
While Hollywood franchises bloated into nostalgia-heavy legacy sequels or collapsed under bad scripts and studio interference, games quietly stepped up. They told tighter stories, took bigger risks, and, in some cases, delivered the exact experience fans had been begging for. Want a proper Future War in Terminator? The games nailed it. A true third Ghostbusters outing? Already happened. A Bond adventure that actually feels like Bond? Look no further.
This isn’t just about direct adaptations. Some of these games took the vibe of a franchise and outclassed the movies entirely, delivering more excitement, character, and emotional weight than their big-screen counterparts could muster with ten times the budget.
Whether continuing a beloved universe or just doing what the films never could, these video game sequels didn’t just outshine the movies - they embarrassed them.
10. Ghostbusters: The Video Game > Every Movie Sequel
After the original Ghostbusters, all we really wanted was to see the gang back together — proton packs fired up, wisecracks flying, and spectral chaos erupting across grimy New York streets. Ghostbusters II didn’t quite stick the landing, and every attempt at a true third film - with the original cast intact - kept falling apart. Then came the reboot era, legacy sequels, and timeline juggling, all with mixed results and diminishing returns.
And with Harold Ramis’ passing, the dream of a proper reunion seemed gone for good.
But a video game had already stepped up and quietly given us everything we’d been asking for.
Released in 2009, Ghostbusters: The Video Game brought back the entire original cast - Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, Hudson - for one last proper case. With a script co-written by Ramis and Aykroyd, it wasn’t just a throwback; it was a true follow-up. Funny, creepy, fast-paced, and packed with lore, it felt like Ghostbusters 3 in all but name.
You suited up as the rookie, chased ghosts through museums, hotels, and the streets of Manhattan, and it all just worked. No studio interference, no tonal confusion - just pure Ghostbusting bliss.
The movies fumbled it. The game nailed it.