Mary Shelley’sFrankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheusis a story that has remained relevant past its date of creation and deals with themes and concepts relating to the human condition. Therefore, it is unsurprising that these ideas can prove inspirational for game developers and that the imagery summoned by Boris Karloff’s 1931 performance has survived into modern fiction.
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There have been multiple attempts at creating a Frankenstein game through board games, text adventure, and platformer-style games, though few have been popular past their original release. Other developers have focused on creating their own games that included themes, plot elements, or imagery from this iconic creature.
10Fable 2
The quest Love Hurts inFable 2allows the player character to interact with a grave keeper by the name of Victor and assist in his obsession with the now-deceased Lady Grey. While she may have been a prospective wife for the main character in the original hero inFable, its sequelreveals more about hernature than may have been presented at the time.
In the quest to piece together the fragments of Victor’s desire, the protagonist will assist in her ultimate resurrection. Lady Grey returns to the land of the living and is even someone that can be married, should the hero be willing to end the grave keeper’s plan and not think too much about their wife being literally a resurrected corpse.
9Darkstalkers
Professor Victor Von Gerdenheim created a monster named after himself however died shortly after. Victor, lacking knowledge of what death meant for his creator, decided to prove his strength byfacing down other creaturesof the night and defeating them one by one.
Victor takes his design from the classic horror movie Frankenstein, though it exaggerates these elements to a somewhat goofy effect. WhileDarkstalkerstakes a more lighthearted look at the Frankenstein story, it still takes inspiration from both the character’s form and background to create one of the few monsters that could be considered good.
8Castlevania
The Creature is a recurring villain in theCastlevaniaseries and this resident of Dracula’s castle can proveformidable to the unprepared. While there is little to no backstory provided for the inclusion of the character, it is not uncommon in pop culture to find the classic movie monsters beside one another when they appear.
The Creature is strong and tough and usually appears as a sub-boss for various sections within the castle. Although the methods of attack and allies can vary between game iterations, The Creature appears frequently enough to be considered a staple of the adventure series.
7Final Fantasy 7
Vincent Valentine can be easily missed in the originalFinal Fantasy 7but as his past is revealed,the JRPG character’s abilitiesgradually make more sense. Vincent once worked for Shinra as a member of the Turks until his concern for a certain doctor resulted in a bullet to the chest by Dr. Hojo.
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Though not dead, Vincent was experimented upon and became a monster after being infused with Chaos-tainted mako and a unique materia. If Vincent joins Cloud’s party, he will use his monstrous powers to transform his various Limit Breaks into powerful creatures including the Frankenstein-themed Death Gigas.
6World Of Warcraft
Warcraft 3introduced the Abomination unit, a monster formed of stitched flesh that is both tough and dangerous.World of Warcrafttakes the Abomination as a regular mob but upgrades the concept with Thaddius, the monster created from body parts of the dead in the halls of Nazxxramas.
Thaddius is an experiment specifically crafted from women and children by necromancers and their leader Kel’Thuzad. This serves more than anything to reinforce thethoroughly evil natureof toying with the resurrection of the dead and to serve as a powerful boss to the Construct Quarter.
5The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
In the ever-growingworld of The Elder Scrolls, and specifically, the expansion DLC forTES: Oblivion, the Hero of Kvatch visits the Shivering Isles and encounters the Gatekeeper to the realm of Sheogorath. Like other Daedric creatures encountered, the Gatekeeper is a type of Atronach though instead of being formed from fire, frost, or a storm, the Gatekeeper is similar to a golem carved from flesh.
Though the Gatekeeper can be defeated, it can be challenging early in the DLC; however, once destroyed, the Hero of Kvatch can aid in the construction of a new, superior Gatekeeper. Doing so is required to complete the Shivering Isles expansion, but a player building their own Frankenstein’s monster can be a very interesting experience.
4House Of The Dead
While many of the monsters encountered in theHouse Of The Deadseries are predictably zombies, the Magician is a recurring villain that appears in each main iteration of the series though only in a flashback in the third installment.
The Magician is Dr. Curien’s masterpiece creation that immediately turns upon its creator. While the Magician dealt with Curien in the firstHouse Of The Deadgame, the creator returns in future installments in progressively worse condition, indicating that Dr. Curien should possibly have spent a little more time on his creation.
3Kingdom Hearts
When Sora visits Halloween Town, he and his companions resemble a trio of monsters. Sora looks like a vampire, Donald is the mummy and Goofy takes on the look of Frankenstein’s Monster. This seems perfectly in line with thecharacters encountered in the area, including Doctor Finkelstein.
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WhileKingdom Heartstakes primarily visual inspiration from Frankenstein and other horror icons, it is still good to see famous Disney characters taking on a more haunting aesthetic. While characters within pop culture continue to use the Frankenstein imagery, it continues to build its legacy.
2Overwatch
TheOverwatchHalloween Terror event takes Mary Shelley’s story and gives it a distinct,Overwatch-colored makeover in October and November around Halloween. Junkenstein’s revenge pits four heroes against waves of Junkrat’s creations, including Junkenstein’s Monster, a Halloween-themed Roadhog as the second boss.
What some gamers may not be aware of, however, is that theOverwatchcomic’s first anthology includes the storyJunkenstein. Reinhardt tells otherOverwatchmembers of the supposedly true story of how Junkenstein’s monster rampaged through the town of Adlersbrunn.
1Tekken
Bryan Fury was a US soldier killed in the line of duty and brought before his very own Frankenstein in the form of Doctor Abel. Fury is reborn as a cyborg and sent on a mission that he subsequently fails during the thirdKing of Iron Fist Tournament; consequently, Abel abandons his creation and leaves Fury to expire.
Fury recognizes his abandonment from Dr. Abel and despises his creator for it. While Frankenstein’s monster was shown to be in many ways innocent and caring, Bryan Fury is aggressive and chaotic. While the novel’s monster is shown to be sympathetic, Fury is shown to be a far greater monster.
