Video Game Crossovers That Need To Happen - Part 2

God Of War x He-Man

He-Man is another franchise that surprisingly has never really had a good and faithful video game adaptation. For some reason, the franchise still continues to live on here and there in cartoon reboots on Netflix and continues to do well. Just as with many of the cartoons in the 80’s, He-Man had a rich lore with tons of great heroes and villains. This followed the common format of providing a fantasy world with great characters that could be sold as action figures. With He-Man and Skeletor as the standard rivalry of the franchise, other characters that are followers of each could be sold and added into the storylines as needed.

The thing that made He-Man so interesting back in the day was that the cartoon was light hearted and comical. Despite the imposing look of all of the combatants, He-man approached his battles in a confident way. He knew he was stronger than everyone else and he would eventually use that strength to ‘defend the secrets of Greyskull’ (whatever those secrets were).

God of War, on the other hand, is spiritually the polar opposite of He-man. He basically uses his strength and ability to destroy every god in Greek mythology in the most gruesome way. While that isn’t the format that would be best for He-man, the perspective certainly is. God of War as a game was great not only because of the gameplay and its violent take on Greek mythology, it managed to weave a great storyline that made Kratos one of the most iconic heroes in video game history.

He-man could certainly use that kind of treatment. To avoid the ‘reskin’ treatment, however, it would be ridiculously interesting if the action was less ‘violent’ and more ‘comical’. The result could even become a marriage of old school Dragon’s Lair-style comedy.

The real catch would be that the writing in this game would require the greatest of comic stylings. God of War’s appeal oftentimes would be in its amazing and huge boss battles. He-man could still pull those battles off but it would require the flair of using the environment to ‘shoo away’ those who would attempt to enter Greyskull. I’m sure someone well versed in the Masters of the Universe lore could pull this off.

For Honor x Lord Of The Rings/Game of Thrones

For Honor is a game that is near and dear to my heart. In a way, I’ve always seen For Honor as the realistic version of a melee weapon fighting game. There are individual ‘characters’ or fighters that specialize in one weapon. They have their unique combos that you must learn and there are defensive moves that must be mastered to win duels against one or more foes. The almost tactical way these battles can play out in a game is visually appealing and quite fun.

Even so, there has always been that feeling that the game is missing ‘something’. Friends who would play the game would be turned off by the fact that the game is primarily online multiplayer. Also, there is a frustration factor around the defensive technique versus the ‘unblockable move spam’ that many people can’t get over either. Regardless, it is clear that Ubisoft has a dedicated community that it can build from going forward.

In my eyes, For Honor would be light years better if it were merged with a licensed property. Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones are two that come to mind. Since For Honor is based upon ‘hero characters’ for you to play as and master, being able to tie these heroes to more than just what type of weapon they wield would do WONDERS for the For Honor format.

As it stands, the campaign mode is little more than a tutorial for players to get a short introduction to each of the base heroes. You fight through various linear battles that feel little more than bot filled versions of the multiplayer modes. This would most assuredly change if say Lord of the Rings was applied to the franchise.

Imagine taking on the role of one of the legendary Fellowship of the Ring heroes. Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn would easily fit into the For Honor structure. There could even be a tie back to the combos and such used in the previous hack n slash games published back in 2002 and 2003 (The Two Towers and Return of the King).

If that franchise seems a bit too ‘overdone’ considering the amount of games the franchise has seen, Game of Thrones is definitely ripe for adaptation. While Game of Thrones has traditionally been seen as a franchise that requires more of a focus on story than action, the For Honor template would allow for people to rehash legendary duels such as The Mountain vs The Viper or any battle that Khal Drogo was in!

Aliens x Darkest Dungeon

Darkest Dungeon is one of the most inventive hardcore RPGs that ever made. With a structure that is based upon permadeath and the mental stress of dungeon exploration, Darkest Dungeon is one of the most challenging core turn based RPGs in recent memory.

The mental stress aspect of Darkest Dungeon is the feature that sets it apart from most games. As your party explores and battles, the stress of repeated battles, wounds, and even darkness progressively weighs on each party member. When they reach a certain point, they snap. More often than not, that breaking point leads to a debuff that affects that party member or even the entire party! If they lose hope, they may even refuse to obey your orders! Other times, that breaking point could lead to enhanced focus that is represented in a positive way. Either way, the stress of battle weighs heavy on even the most battle hardened troops.

In between missions, you are expected to rest your heroes and some may even require counseling or divine help to rid them of phobias, negative traits, inflictions, or diseases.

The framework of this game is absolutely perfect for the Aliens franchise. Oftentimes we are given an Aliens game that is action based so that it can take full advantage of the jump scares are horror elements that the movies are known for. Well, Darkest Dungeon provides an excellent framework for a great Aliens RPG.

Fear is a constant and ever present part of the Aliens franchise. Whether the missions is to explore the Engineers' ships or colonies or it is to destroy a Xenomorph hive, fear and stress will eventually take hold. Various types of party members could be commissioned to lead each expedition depending on the nature of where you go and what you expect. As each mission continues and dangers are encountered, the stress of trying to survive will put each party member to the test!

This could be a much more enjoyable way to explore narrative Aliens games by delving into a whole new genre of games to do it in!

Let the madness continue! Comment on what games you feel could excel with a fresh coat of licensed material paint!