7 Best Games Based on Spielberg Movies, Ranked

STV Spielberglatest movie, Revealing daywill be released on June 12, marking the director's long-awaited return to sci-fi. So far, early press has been incredibly positive, suggesting this could be one of the best films of 2026. Although it was obviously a secondary venture for him, Spielberg still managed to etch his name in gaming history through the creation of Medal of Honorwith the first entries ranking among the best World War II games of all time. Also, he technically played a role in the 1983 crash due to Atari severely overestimating the thirst for a ET the alien video game.

Speaking of video games based on Spielberg films, we've received quite a few over the decades, but none of them seemed to leave a lasting impression. Given the director's broad appeal and variety in filmography, surely there must be a couple of really good games out there? Sure.

7

The jaws are released

“Good” is relative

Jaws: Released

Released

May 23, 2006

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

Developer

Novotrade

Let's start with one of the exceptions. While technically an adaptation of a book by Peter Benchley, Steven Spielberg's Jaws not only does it completely overshadow the source material, but it also changes the characters and story quite a bit. Jaws: Released is directly inspired by the 1975 film and not the book, which takes place three decades after the former Amity Island became a bloodbath. Even if Manatees is the biggest shark game, Jaws: Released is the best attempt at adapting the franchise into video game form. That said, this is still not very good and exists very much as a guilty pleasure.

From technical bugs to a terrible camera and just plain weird puzzles, Jaws: Released doesn't get much right… except maybe the most important thing. For all its flaws, the game makes the legendary White White feel as powerful and dangerous as in the movies. As long as the controls don't completely ruin the experience, Jaws: Released letting you tear people and boats apart with ruthless abandon. I can only really recommend this game to true die-hard shark fans who want to embody the ultimate ocean-based 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 the most forgotten Spielberg games, The Adventures of Tintin is mostly an average early 2010s movie game. This means a short campaign, periodically rough image, interesting but not entirely concrete ideas and a hasty production. Mostly a 2.5D platformer, The Adventures of Tintin doesn't shine in any one area, but it doesn't fail in any notable area either.

The platforming is tight and responsive, but also far too light to actually be memorable. Tintin's simple combat benefits from only sporadic use, which helps break things up a bit; Unfortunately, Haddock's sword fighting sections are surprisingly bad, even compared to Tintin's fight sequences. The vehicle sections 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 come to the actual good games based on Spielberg movies

Hook

System

Released

March 27, 1992

ESRB

N/A

Developer

Ukiyotei

Finally, we can move past the “well, it could be worse” section and actually talk about some solid games. During the SNES and Genesis era, every moderately successful movie seemed to get half a dozen adaptations, and about 5% of them are worth crap these days. Although it's probably not the first edition that comes to mind, Hook does an impressive job of translating the charm and magic of the film.

While the SEGA CD version directly includes John Williams' score, the SNES and Genesis versions include it incredibly well, given their limitations. Gameplay-wise, the core platforming is pretty typical of the era, but it's enhanced by a flight system that you trigger occasionally and zoom through the vertical levels. These days, this mechanic might not seem so incredible, but it was cool in 1992.

4

The Dig

The Lost Spielberg Story

Time for the second exception. Instead of adapting a movie, The Dig brings to life an unused idea Steven Spielberg had for Fantastic storiesan anthology series that ran for two years in the 80s. Developed by LucasArts, the point-and-click game really comes across as a long-lost Spielberg sci-fi masterpiece, and a pretty good one at that.

Rather than the comedic tone of LucasArts classics that Monkey Island, The Dig leans towards hard sci-fi and mystery while maintaining a serious tone, which may not be to everyone's taste. Personally, I prefer LucasArt's cheesier stuff, though The Dig is still great. Even more so than the next two titles, this is the one I'd recommend tracking down, and it's readily available on Steam. While the other connections exist as footnotes in their source material's legacy, The Dig found its definitive form in gaming.

3

Jurassic Park (Sega Genesis)

A cinematic marvel that lets you play as a bird of prey

Jurassic Park Games aren't hard to come by and have never really gone away, but most of the modern ones don't directly adapt Spielberg's films. However, plenty of tie-in games were created when the original film and The lost world sequels were released, many of which have the same name, making them extremely annoying.

Anyway, the Sega Genesis version of the Jurassic Park is just a great cinematic platformer, similar to something like Flashback, Another worldor Prince of Persia. While I don't think it reaches the heights of those games, that doesn't take anything away from its quality. Jurassic Park looks pretty good for its era, with the more realistic art style fitting the source material well. The sound design also rocks, arguably among the best on the Genesis. But you want to know the best? You get to play as a bird of prey. Yes, the game has two campaigns, one for Grant and another 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

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Results

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Highest score: 0

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Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

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

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Results

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High score: 0 —

2

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure

Lives up to impossible standards

Adapting the original trilogy, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures came out right after Star Wars game, and it proved that this formula could work across franchises. These days, Indy's rampage tends to be considered minor items on the LEGO resume, but that's more due to the underwhelming and unnecessary sequel than the first release.

Unsurprisingly, an action-adventure adaptation of three of the greatest action-adventure films of all time is packed with top-notch set pieces, and you get to play through all the famous scenes from the source material. The cooperation is also good, as is usually the case with Lego games.

1

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Arcade Game)

The best game based on a Spielberg movie

• Release year: 1997

• Developer/Publisher: Sega

I miss rail shooters. Sure, they're still in arcades, but we rarely get any new ones. Even worse, most of the classics were never ported to consoles, dooming 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 wiped out of existence, frustratingly so, since a Dreamcast port was originally put into development.

This shooter is by far the best game based on a Steven Spielberg movie. As with all 90s rail shooters, the graphics were impressive for the era, and they still impress all these decades later. The gunplay mostly sticks to the standard formula, instead choosing to rely on massive set pieces that more than do the blockbuster justice. If you find a way to play this, play it.