Shrek 5 trailer officially brings the Ogre back, but it shouldn't be his only comeback

The Shrek 5 trailer has finally been revealed, with the film now set to hit theaters on June 30, 2027. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz are all back, giving DreamWorks' most famous ogre his first real movie since Shrek Forever After year 2010. That means Shrek 5 arriving 17 years after the last mainline Shrek movie, which is wild for a franchise that still feels like such a big part of current pop culture.

If Shrek however, is officially making his film comeback, there's no reason why his return should stop at the cinema. The franchise has been out of games for almost as long, and that absence feels extra strange now that licensed games are starting to feel exciting again. Before Shrek 5 arrives, DreamWorks should seriously consider giving the weirdest another chance Shrek game of them all, Shrek SuperSlam.

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Shrek SuperSlam was one of the franchise's weirdest gaming experiments

Shrek SuperSlam was released in 2005, between Shrek 2 and Shrek the Thirdand it wasn't just trying to retell the plot of one of the movies. Instead, it turned the franchise into a chaotic fighting game where characters from Shrek universes smashed into each other through walls, windows and fairy arenas. Players could control characters such as Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Fiona, Prince Charming and other familiar faces in a game designed solely around over-the-top fighting – similar to games like Super Smash Bros.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

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

Just that concept does Shrek SuperSlam stands out from the rest of the franchise's gaming history. Plenty of Shrek games were built as platformers, party games, racing games, or direct movie tie-ins, but SuperSlam understood it Shreks world was weird enough to support something even sillier. It essentially treated the franchise as a playground for quirky characters who wanted to destroy each other rather than a movie plot that had to be replicated scene by scene.

The main idea of the game was simple, but it fit Shrek better than it probably had any right to. Each character had a SuperSlam attack, and the environments were completely destructible during matches. That meant the appeal wasn't just winning a fight, but seeing fairy tale chaos unfold in a way that felt very good to Shreks personality.

Shrek SuperSlam however, was not a critical masterpiece, although it performed better than many other licensed games of its era. Metacritic lists the Xbox version of Shrek SuperSlam at 71, the GameCube version at 70, the PC version at 69 and the PlayStation 2 version at 67, while the handheld versions landed a bit lower. For a 2005 license Shrek fighting game, it's not exactly a disaster.

Plenty of Shrek games were built as platformers, party games, racing games, or direct movie tie-ins, but SuperSlam understood it Shreks world was weird enough to support something even sillier.

What critics and players seemed to like most about the game was its premise. Shrek SuperSlam had an instantly understandable appeal, especially to younger players, as it let them throw familiar characters into absurd battles with destructible stages and over-the-top attacks. It didn't try to be a fancy competitive fighting game because it didn't need to be one, and that actually worked to its advantage.

The problems were also quite clear. Some reviewers found the gameplay too simple, too short, repetitive or shallow, and the handheld versions did not have the same appeal as the console versions. It had the shape of a large Shrek party-fighting game, but it didn't have the depth or longevity to become a true franchise mainstay.

But that's exactly why it feels like the right kind of game to return to now Shrek 5 is on its way. The original Shrek SuperSlam had a strong enough idea to be remembered, but enough obvious limitations that a modern revival could improve almost everything about it. A new version could retain the absurdity while adding better combat, arenas, multiplayer support, online play, and a much larger roster of Dreamworks characters Shrek universe.

Shrek has also had a much longer gaming history than some fans may remember. In fact, Shrek were once ubiquitous in gaming, although not all releases were good or particularly memorable. Now that the movies are finally waking up again, the gaming industry shouldn't act like that whole part of the franchise just never happened.

The greatest Shrek video games ever released

Shrek (2001)
Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown (2001)
Shrek: Swamp Kart Speedway (2002)
Shrek: Treasure Hunt (2002)
Shrek Super Party (2002)
Shrek: Trouble at the Castle (2002)
Shrek Extra Large (2002)
Shrek 2 (2004)
Shrek 2: Beg for Mercy (2004)
Shrek SuperSlam (2005)
Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing (2006)
Shrek the Third (2007)
Shrek n' Roll (2007)
Shrek: Ogres & Donkeys (2007)
Shrek's Carnival Craze (2008)
Shrek Map (2009)
Shrek Forever After (2010)
Shrek's Fairytale Kingdom (2012)
Shrek Sugar Fever (2017)
Shrek Swamp Tycoon (2024)

Shrek's gaming comeback doesn't have to be a simple movie tie-in

One directly Shrek 5 the game could work, but only if it avoided feeling like an old-fashioned obligation. The licensed tie-in era often produced rushed games that existed mostly because a movie was about to hit theaters, and Shrek had its fair share of it. To justify its own existence, i.e. a new one Shrek The game would have to feel like a real project with its own reason to exist.

Guess the games from the emojis.

Light (120s) Medium (90s) Hard (60s)

It's there Shrek SuperSlam makes more sense than a simple adaptation. A modern one SuperSlam revival could use the excitement around Shrek 5 without being caught up in the plot of the film. It can bring back classic characters, add new characters from the sequel and fold it in more broadly Shrek and Kiss Boots universe.

One directly Shrek 5 the game could work, but only if it avoided feeling like an old-fashioned obligation.

The timing is also better than it might seem. Licensed games have become much more interesting in recent years, with Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man game that shows how powerful a quality customization can be. Marvel's Wolverine now gives Insomniac another major licensed character to tackle, and Warhorse Studios is working on an open world The Lord of the Rings RPG.

In other words, the industry isn't just throwing out the idea of licensed games anymore. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle also proved that a classic movie series can work in games when the project is built around what makes that property fun to inhabit. If studios are willing to take Spider-Man, Wolverine, Indiana Jonesand The Lord of the Rings seriously, then Shrek should not be limited to nostalgia memes and theater seats.

Of course, Shrek don't need the same kind of prestige game treatment as those franchises either. Right Shrek The game should probably be funnier, weirder and more chaotic than most modern licensed games. That's why SuperSlam is such a good starting point, because it already knew Shrek was at its best when the fairy tale rules were broken.

Although DreamWorks is never revived Shrek SuperSlam especially, Shrek 5 should still make a new game easier to justify. The franchise has the characters, settings, humor and nostalgia to support something more ambitious than a flashy mobile version. A co-op adventure, party game, open area brawler or comedy game could all make sense if the studio behind it understood the tone.

The biggest point is that Shreks comeback should undoubtedly feel bigger than a movie. Shrek 5 is already bringing the ogre back to the big screen after a long absence, and that alone will probably be enough to make longtime fans curious. But if DreamWorks wants Shreks return to feel like a true franchise revival, games deserve to be a part of it, whatever that may look like.