The Best Games For Tim Burton Fans, Ranked

Key Takeaways

Tim Burton‘s dark and strange style inspired many games, including the critically acclaimed
Hollow Knight
platformer.
Games like
Pumpkin Jack
and
Batman: Arkham Asylum
drew influence from Tim Burton’s iconic visuals and gothic themes.
Alice: Madness Returns
and
Fran Bow
offer dark, adult-themed adventures reminiscent of Tim Burton’s storytelling.

As a connoisseur of all things Tim Burton, I must say that these video games certainly have a whimsical charm reminiscent of the filmmaker’s distinctive style.

In simpler terms, the movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” by Tim Burton is back in cinemas, offering viewers a trip through his unique blend of family-friendly storytelling mixed with the eerie and bizarre elements that made him a household name. Over the years, Tim Burton’s distinctive style has influenced numerous filmmakers and game developers from the 80s to today.

Consequently, numerous games have adopted themes and aesthetics reminiscent of Tim Burton’s movies. These games offer an opportunity for fans of Burton and his extensive film collection to immerse themselves in the undead or fantastical realms, even when he may not be directly involved in their creation.

10 Hollow Knight

A Cute Metroidvania Game That Helped Bring The Genre Back

Although Hollow Knight boasts adorable character designs, it’s abundantly rich with monochromatic visuals and a Gothic ambiance reminiscent of Tim Burton’s films. This game is frequently lauded as a standout indie Metroidvania title, a genre that experienced a resurgence following its launch, leading to an increase in popularity for similar games.

Exploring 2D stages, fighting bosses, and its stunning graphics transformed “Hollow Knight” into a contemporary masterpiece. Known for being challenging yet rewarding, this open-ended adventure was met with great success, leading to it being highly acclaimed. In fact, it was so successful that a sequel named “Hollow Knight: Silksong” was released.

9 Lost In Random

Weird Yet Imaginative Fairytale To Save A Sister

The game titled “Lost In Random” revolves around a brave protagonist venturing into a whimsical yet ominous land governed by an evil queen, sharing resemblance with the tale of Alice In Wonderland. The heroine, known as Even, traverses this enchanting narrative realm, meeting peculiar characters and overcoming challenges to create a straightforward yet engaging 3D journey.

The captivating and whimsical imagery of “Lost In Random” evokes a sense of nostalgia for both animated and live-action Disney adaptations of C.S. Lewis’ tales, while its art style bears striking resemblance to the stop-motion animation techniques Tim Burton has employed in films like “Corpse Bride” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.

8 Pumpkin Jack

A Perfect Platformer For The Spooky Season

Pumpkin Jack takes significant inspiration from The Nightmare Before Christmas, including the fact that its main character, much like Jack Skellington, has a pumpkin-headed scarecrow appearance. Throughout the 3D platforming adventure of this game, Tim Burton’s knack for capturing the essence of Halloween is clearly reflected.

3D platformer enthusiasts from the ’90s and early 2000s will feel a wave of nostalgia while playing Pumpkin Jack. Its whimsical graphics and lively gameplay echo games like Banjo-Kazooie, but with an abundance of Halloween-themed elements that make it ideal for the spooky season.

7 Batman: Arkham Asylum

The Game That Changed Superhero Games Forever

Among all the “Batman: Arkham” series, “Batman: Arkham Asylum” most closely echoed Tim Burton’s iconic portrayal of Batman. The game’s setting on gloomy and gothic Arkham Island, along with its frightening gameplay sequences, creates a sense of foreboding. It’s no wonder that superhero games were significantly influenced after the launch of “Arkham Asylum”.

As a fervent admirer, I’d say that instead of Batman saving the world, Batman: Arkham Asylum delves deeper into the realms of claustrophobic dread and the pursuit of understanding the Joker’s intentions within the asylum. The game seamlessly blends Kevin Conroy’s iconic voice, lending a constant inner dialogue to Batman, with elements of classic noir and the daring, eccentric superhero narrative, which resonates strongly with the Tim Burton film series.

6 MediEvil

Makes Players Laugh While Playing As A Skeleton

MediEvil, originally an exclusive for the PS1, later received a remake. In both versions, we follow a skeleton who met an untimely demise before a battle even started but miraculously rose from the dead to fight off waves of zombies and other ghastly undead creatures that are terrorizing the realm.

MediEvil showcases a unique blend of strange and unorthodox elements, skillfully crafting an adventure appealing to both children and adults, similar to the work of Tim Burton in his films. Instead of instilling fear with its monsters, it makes them comical and endearing, which is further enhanced by engaging and hard-to-put-down gameplay.

5 Fran Bow

Provides A Scary Yet Intriguing Psychological Adventure

Initially, the game titled “Fran Bow” appears to be a peculiar yet generally family-friendly adventure. However, it is far from what it seems at first glance. The main character, Fran, embarks on an unsettling journey filled with both physical and psychological perils. The theme of “Fran Bow” is designed to evoke a sense of familiarity with both Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” and Henry Selick’s “Coraline”.

In the game “Fran Bow“, Fran, who has a black cat companion, seems to star in a Tim Burton-esque tale for grown-ups. The player remains tense due to its unsettling ambiance and visuals. It’s hard to discern between actual supernatural perils and those that merely reside within Fran’s troubled mind, making the journey equally whimsical as it is unsettling.

4 Don’t Starve

Surviving Shadows And Monsters With Crafting And Hunting

Regarding gameplay, Don’t Starve doesn’t present many novel aspects since it belongs to the category of crafting survival games similar to Minecraft or Subnautica. However, its unique selling point lies in its 2D animation, which is reminiscent of Tim Burton movies, featuring a gothic storybook art style, eccentric characters, ominous creatures, intriguing lore, and offbeat humor.

Enjoying Don’t Starve independently is fun, but the Steam workshop offers numerous mods for exploration, ranging from novel mechanics to unique characters. An extra perk is that the spin-off game, Don’t Starve Together, provides a platform for engaging in multiplayer shenanigans with friends.

3 Alice: Madness Returns

One Of The Darkest Retellings Of Alice In Wonderland

Initially overlooked, “Alice: Madness Returns” soon earned cult status through its unique spin on the traditional “Alice in Wonderland” narrative, which involved an older Alice revisiting Wonderland after many years. This concept bears a striking resemblance to Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” film, leading some to speculate that perhaps the game influenced Burton’s work.

People who enjoyed Tim Burton’s movie are likely to appreciate a video game with a much darker theme, as it offers a more twisted world filled with violent combat and puzzles. In many aspects, Alice: Madness Returns seems truest to C.S. Lewis’ original book, which was known for being significantly darker than the Disney adaptations that people are accustomed to.

2 Grim Fandango

Going On A Journey Through The Afterlife As The Grim Reaper

In the Realm Beyond, the game Grim Fandango introduces Manny Calavera, a character who serves as a travel agent for the Grim Reaper. This unique blend of dark and whimsical storytelling is characteristic of Tim Burton’s work, particularly evident in his movies Corpse Bride and Beetlejuice, where he crafted his own imaginative portrayals of the afterlife.

Originating from LucasArts, the game Grim Fandango is frequently hailed as a peak in the point-and-click adventure genre, boasting an intricate narrative, witty characters, and aesthetics that remain impressive even after more than two decades. The tale of Manny Calavera set within a captivating underworld filled with charm, mystery, vice, and corruption is so well-crafted that it could likely be transformed into a film or series by the likes of Tim Burton.

1 The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge

A Hack-And-Slash Musical Sequel To The Movie

Contrary to most movie-based games being less than impressive, The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge manages to buck that trend by offering a satisfying sequel to the classic film by Henry Selick and Tim Burton. The malevolent character Oogie Boogie is brought back to life in this game, and players must navigate through the enchanting holiday realms to put an end to him, combining action and platforming elements.

In the return of Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington and Ken Page as Oogie Boogie, fans of the 1993 classic were pleasantly surprised to find that Oogie’s Revenge not only delivered solid action-adventure gameplay and visuals reminiscent of the stop-motion original, but it also preserved its musical roots by incorporating rhythm gameplay elements featuring both new and familiar tunes.

2024-09-16 01:35