George A. Romero’s 1993 horror film The Dark Half is based on King’s 1989 novel of the same nameand is psychologically closer to the author’s dark, cynical bestseller. A year before the release of Romero’s film, Capstone Software released The Dark Half, a point-and-click adventure that has become something of a cult classic over the years.
To be clear, I think the game misunderstands King’s story about an author who must undergo a public humiliation ritual and confront his innermost demons. The game’s handling of the story is full of plot holes and the gameplay is so complicated that you’ll have to test your patience every now and then with the “Game Over” screen. However, due to the lack of meaningful alternatives, it is the best video game version of a King story to date, and one that is sought after by King completionists despite its glaring flaws.
We play the role of Thad (the author), who is framed for a terrible murder, which leads him to help solve the mystery and clear his name. The way the game handles this journey is a bit nonsensical, as nothing Thad does seems justified (like stealing evidence from a crime scene even before he’s involved in a crime). The ability to interact with other characters feels awkward on a technical level, and any objective given to us is half-baked and doesn’t fit with the evolving story. Essentially not a good game or adaptation.
Aside from these games, there’s 1989’s The Running Man, which was released as a Commodore 64 game, but that’s it such a loose adaptation that technically cannot be considered a King video game. However, I came across a more recent King-inspired survival horror called The Fog, a 2017 indie title from Horizon Games available on Steam. Based on The Mist, the game is a first-person experience with some combat and resource management elements. The bad news is, it’s terrible: not the slightest care has been taken to create an immersive atmosphere, the graphics are poor, and There is no save button.
It seems so the true bane of video game adaptation has to do with the fact that we don’t have a decent game based on Stephen King’s amazing body of work. Until this curse is lifted, we can only dream.
