The 7 Best Games Based on Spielberg's Movies, Ranked

WITHeven Spielberguser's latest movie, Date of publicationis released on June 12, marking the director's long-awaited return to sci-fi. Early press so far has been incredibly positive, suggesting it could be one of the best films of 2026. While this was clearly a secondary venture for him, Spielberg still managed to etch his name into gaming history by creating Medal of Honorwith the first few entries ranking among the best WWII games of all time. It was also technically involved in the 1983 crash due to Atari severely overestimating the thirst for ET extraterrestrial video game.

Speaking of video games based on Spielberg films, we've received quite a few over the decades, yet none of them seemed to leave a lasting impression. Considering the director's broad appeal and diversity in his filmography, surely there must be some genuinely good performances? Sure.

7

Jaws released

“Good” is relative

Jaws: Relaxed

Released

May 23, 2006

ESRB

Older 17+ // Blood and gore, Intense violence

Developers

Novotrade

Let's start with one of the exceptions. Technically, it is an adaptation of Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg's book Jaws not only does it completely overshadow the source material, it also changes the characters and story quite a bit. Jaws: Relaxed is directly inspired by the 1975 film, not the book, set three decades after Amity Island becomes a bloodbath. Although Maneater is the biggest shark game Jaws: Relaxed is the best attempt to adapt the franchise into video game form. That said, it's still not very good and largely exists as a guilty pleasure.

From technical glitches to horrible camerawork and just plain weird puzzles, Jaws: Relaxed it doesn't work out very well… except for probably the most important thing. For all its flaws, the game makes the legendary great white feel just as powerful and dangerous as in the movies. If the controls don't completely spoil the experience, Jaws: Relaxed allowing you to tear people and ships apart with reckless abandon. I can only really recommend this game to true die-hard shark fans who want to embody the ultimate sea power fantasy.

6

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Passable, but nothing more

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Released

October 20, 2011

• 

Probably one of Spielberg's most forgotten plays, The Adventures of Tintin is mostly an average game tied to the films of the early 2010s. That means a short campaign, periodically crude visuals, interesting but not fully fleshed out ideas, and rushed production. Mostly a 2.5D platformer, The Adventures of Tintin it doesn't shine in any single area, but it also doesn't fail in any significant area.

The platforming is tight and responsive, but also too easy to be truly memorable. Tintin's simple combat benefits from only being used sporadically, which helps break things up a bit; unfortunately, Haddock's sword fight sections are surprisingly bad, even compared to Tintin's fight sequences. The vehicle parts look good, but that's pretty much it. There's no real reason to play this game, but if you pick it up because you like the movie, you'll probably have a decent time.

5

Hook (SNES, Genesis, Sega CD)

Now we get to the real good games based on Spielberg movies

Hook

Systems

Released

March 27, 1992

ESRB

ON

Developers

Ukiyotei

We can finally move past the “well, it could be worse” section and actually talk about some solid games. During the SNES and Genesis era, it seemed like every moderately successful movie got half a dozen adaptations, and about 5% of them still hold up pretty damn well today. While this probably isn't the first release that comes to mind, Hook does an impressive job of translating the magic and charm of the film.

While the SEGA CD version directly features John Williams' score, the SNES and Genesis versions incorporate it incredibly well considering their limitations. In terms of gameplay, the basic platforming is fairly typical of the era, but it's heightened by a flight system that you'll occasionally launch and zoom up vertical levels. This mechanic might not seem that incredible these days, but back in 1992 it was great.

4

Dig

The story of the lost Spielberg

Time for the second exception. Rather than adapt the film, Dig brings Steven Spielberg's unused idea to life Amazing storiesanthology series that ran for two years in the 1980s. Developed by LucasArts, the point-and-click game really feels like Spielberg's long-lost sci-fi masterpiece, and a damn good one at that.

Rather than the comedic tone of LucasArts classics like Monkey Island, Dig it leans on hard sci-fi and mystery while maintaining a serious tone that may not appeal to everyone. Personally, I prefer the sillier LucasArts stuff, though Dig it's great though. Even more than the two upcoming titles, I would recommend this title to watch and it is easily available on Steam. While other links exist as footnotes in their source material reference, Dig found its definitive form in the game.

3

Jurassic Park (Sega Genesis)

A cinematic marvel that lets you play as a Raptor

Jurassic Park The games aren't hard to come by, and they never really went away, but most of the modern ones don't directly adapt Spielberg's movies. However, a lot of tie-in games were created when the original movie and The lost world sequels have been released, many of which have the same title, making finding them extremely annoying.

The Sega Genesis version anyway Jurassic Park is simply a great cinematic platformer, similar to something similar Flashback, Another worldor Prince of Persia. While I don't believe it reaches the heights of those games, it doesn't take anything away from the quality. Jurassic Park it looks pretty good for its time, with a more realistic art style that matches the source material well. The sound design also rocks, probably some of the best on the Genesis. But do you want to know the best? You can play as a predator. Yeah, the game has two campaigns, one for Grant and one for the dinosaur.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

Start

Restart
Rear

The results

0

Highest score: 0

—

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)Start

RestartRear

The results

0

Highest score: 0 —

2

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure

Living by impossible standards

An adaptation of the original trilogy, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure came out right after Star Wars games, and it turns out that this formula can work across franchises. These days, Indy's antics tend to be considered minor items on a LEGO resume, but that's more due to the intrepid and pointless sequel than the first release.

Unsurprisingly, the action-adventure game, which adapts three of the best action-adventure films of all time, is packed with top-notch scenery and you can replay all the famous scenes from the source material. The co-op is also great, as Lego games tend to be.

1

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Arcade Game)

The best game based on a Spielberg movie

• Year of publication: 1997

• Developer/Publisher: Sega

I miss rail shooters. Sure, they still exist in the arcades, but we rarely get any new ones. Even worse, most classics were never ported to consoles, condemning them to obscurity or even death. The Lost World: Jurassic Park serves as a prime example as this arcade masterpiece has been more or less erased from existence, which is frustrating since a Dreamcast port was originally in development.

This shooter is by far the best game based on a Steven Spielberg movie. As with all rail shooters from the 90s, the graphics were stunning for the time and still amaze all these decades later. The shootouts mostly stick to the standard formula, opting instead to rely on massive set pieces that more than match the blockbuster movie. If you find a way to play it, play it.