Moviemaking studios have often used or relied on games as a part of their campaign to popularise or do promotions of a particular film — and earn some extra moolah in the process. In India as well, there have been a number of games which have been made along the storylines of a movie but there have been very rare instances when they have actually turned out well. Think of a great movie that you loved. For example, let’s take KGF. Now imagine that you loved the movie to a great extent and when you start playing a game based on it then it simply turns out to be a mere shooting game without much movement or any other stuff. Won’t you feel like becoming Rocky and hitting the developers with your legendary sledgehammer for ruining your experience? 

Similar has been the case a number of times that the fans have faced, however, at the same time there have been some games that have actually turned out to be good as well. Let us take a dive into seven movie-based games and let’s see how they turned out. 

Dhoom 3: The Game

It is a very simple and basic game that follows the storyline of the movie but remains limited to the chase only. So the concept of the game is that you are on a bike and the police are chasing you. Do you remember Temple Run? Yeah, same thing. So, you will be tilting your phone to collect coins and avoid obstacles. That’s it. That’s the game.

Fun fact, the motion control in this game seems a bit off though for some strange reason whereas the motion sensors work perfectly in other games. Dhoom 3 had a decent plot with some twists as well and it was sad to see its game just being limited to a police-thief chase.

Mahabali Jungle Run 3D

This game was inspired by Baahubali. Again, very similar to Temple Run, except for the swipe motion control part which makes it closer to Subway Surfers. But, the concept is again the same.

Run endlessly, collect coins, dodge obstacles or a lion that is chasing you will eat you up. Both movies of the Baahubali series had an amazing plot with so much happening but, this game might make you feel like drawing out your sword (Not in an exciting way though). The graphics also seem off. 

Little Singham Cricket

There are around six to seven games that were based on the movie Singham. We chose a game that was based on Cricket otherwise, the other games were… let’s just say very much ‘inspired’ by Temple Run and Subway Surfers.

So, in Little Singham Cricket, you will be getting a dial through which you will time your shot perfectly and then hit. That’s pretty much it about the game. There’s not much to do so it might not be unusual for you to shut the game within two or five minutes. 

Saragarhi Fort Defense

This game is based on the movie Kesari. The concept of this game very closely follows the storyline of the movie which makes it a good example of how a game based on a movie should be made. The movie Kesari’s storyline was basically Sikh soldiers defending the Saragarhi fort and this game captures that essence perfectly. Though you will be standing at one point only and shooting at enemies or throwing grenades to eliminate them, but the way this game plays out, it will hook you to it.

You will actually be invested in it. When an enemy gets too close to the fort then you yourself will feel a tinge of fear and you will try to eliminate him immediately. There are many stages, in some stages, you will be defending the fort, in some, you will be defending the villagers and so on. The graphics are not that great but still, you will feel like playing it. 

Krish 4 Adventure

According to the thumbnails posted with this game on the Google Play store, this game is very similar to Jetpack Joyride. You will be running, jumping, collecting coins, etc. However, it would have been a lot better experience if the game had actually opened up.

According to the Google Play store listing, the game was last updated on April 9, 2023, but it seems like the developer forgot to eliminate the bugs. 

Pathan: Max Sniper Shooter 3D

The storyline of SRK-starrer Pathaan is that a secret agent is on duty to save his nation. The game somewhat follows the gist it seems. You will be playing in two modes alternatively, in one you will be flying in the air with the help of a jetpack and shooting the bad guys, and in the other mode, you will be running around inside a property and shooting the bad guys.

The game is pretty simple. You continue doing that till you get bored and uninstall it eventually. The bad graphics might end up becoming an ick for you. 

Little Krishna

Little Krishna was an animated cartoon TV series but we are adding it to the list because many of the people belonging to the millenial or early gen-z generation used to love that show. It follows the concept of Subway Surfers with the only difference being that you are the one who is chasing the other person in this game.

So, you will be chasing demons and once your power meter gets full you will kick that demon away and another will appear. Though the game in itself might not be that interesting to hook you for a long time, you might just end up feeling good and taking a trip down memory lane to remember this cartoon and its scenes.

Are Movie-Based Games Worth Your Time?

Bollywood games, under the current scenario, serve just the purpose of marketing. There are very few games that are actually good. Other than those very few, the remaining are the same copy-paste of other famous and successful games such as Temple Run or Subway Surfers. It is unfortunate that the makers of the game don’t even spend much time to actually make the game play-worthy. They are usually good for 5-10 minutes only. 

If Bollywood or the film industry in general wishes to rely on games to popularise their movies then they need to do justice to it. Otherwise, the people who play the game might decide to not watch the movie just because the game was bad.