The Outer Limits
DISPATCHES
PERSPECTIVE
The Outer Limits
Journeys to the farthest reaches of interactive entertainment
ALEX SPENCER
Until very recently, I’d never seen a single videogame film adaptation – at least, not all the way through. But I’ve seen a lot of films that feel like videogames. I’ve written about a couple in this column: the level-editor glitch horror of Backrooms, and Hundreds Of Beavers’ blend of silent-movie slapstick with Nintendo magic.
There’s also the looping Roguelike action of Edge Of Tomorrow, and a good chunk of Alex Garland’s filmography. From 28 Days Later to Civil War, he’s very fond of a picaresque structure – or, in game terms, a string of side quests leading to some final encounter, in a way that gives me hope for his Elden Ring adaptation. Most recently, there’s Hope, reportedly the most expensive film ever made in South Korea, featuring CGI monsters that – and I’m far from the first person to point this out – look as though they’ve been ported over from a PS3 cutscene.