Best Video Games Based On Adult Animated Shows

Animation is a genre constantly being overhauled for the better due to the vast technological improvements. However, the biggest change to this format came in 1989, when the first episode of The Simpsons aired on Fox. This new animated show aimed to provide audiences with normal sitcom plots, but the main difference was that the characters were cartoons. The show was a hit with children and adults, leading to a genre that is now known as adult animation.

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By  David George Morten

The Simpsons wasn't the only show to try and use animation to appeal to adults; the show has inspired many other projects since. When these adult animation TV shows are successful, the people who own them want to create merchandise based on that IP. As such, one of the most common forms of merchandise is a licensed video game.

6 Rick And Morty: Virtual Rick-alilty

Metacritic Score: 70

Rick and Morty is a different kind of adult animation show that ignores the traditional family sitcom setup to follow the mad scientist, Rick, and his grandson as they go on strange adventures while also adding a satirical look at sci-fi and fantasy tropes. The show was a massive success and the wider world that the show represents made it perfect for a video game adaptation. However, as is traditional for a show like this, the developers side-stepped making a normal triple-A action-adventure game to give fans a VR experience instead.

In Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, players take control of a Morty clone who was created to perform the chores that the real Morty does not want to do. As a VR game, Virtual Rick-ality plays like a simple set of instructions. However, when viewed as a new episode, the game shines as many of the original writers and voice actors return.

5 The Simpsons Arcade Game

Metacritic Score: 72

The Simpsons was a hit right out of the gate, which is why the people at the studio looked to create merchandise for the show immediately. Everyone from the early 90s remembers the swathes of Bart Simpsons t-shirts and toys, but one of the most successful pieces of merchandise was The Simpsons Arcade Game.

Set in Springfield, this pay-to-play cabinet was a classic side-scrolling beat-em-up game for up to four players that sees the rest of the family fighting through waves of goons after Maggie is kidnapped by Mr. Burns. Much like the early seasons of The Simpsons, the arcade game is very much of its time. Still, it is plenty of fun, and many young gamers remember this staple of the arcade.

4 Futurama: Game Of Drones

Metacritic Score: 78

• Platform(s): Mobile
• Released: November 23, 2015
• Developer: Wooga
• Genre(s): Puzzle

With The Simpsons becoming a runaway hit for Fox, one of its primary creators, Matt Groening, then went on to develop a new animated show for the next millennium. Futurama is set in the year 3000 and follows a delivery crew as they have some satirical adventures in space. Using the same art style as The Simpsons, Futurama has a similar style of humor to the hit show but chooses to poke fun at sci-fi tropes rather than family sitcoms. As a result, this hit show was not as popular and has bounced back and forth from cancelation over the years.

However, much like The Simpsons, people behind the show also sought to make more money from Futurama merchandise. The show has had a few licensed games over the years, but the most popular is the mobile game and Candy Crush clone, Futurama: Game of Drones. This simple game tasks players with matching identical drones on a screen and that is it. The game is simple enough, but the returning voice cast was able to tide fans over until Futurama was renewed on Hulu in 2022.

3 The Simpsons: Hit And Run

Metacritic Score: 78

When the Grand Theft Auto series made the jump to 3D with GTA 3 for the PS2, gaming changed forever. Almost every developer was looking to create the next open-world video game phenomenon. Meanwhile, The Simpsons was still one of the most popular shows on TV, and so licensing the show to create a new open-world game seemed like a no-brainer.

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By  Ewan Lewis

The Simpsons: Hit and Run takes place in Springfield, and allows players to walk, run, or drive around the map to complete missions and races as principal family members of the main cast. This game served as a great introduction to open-world games for younger audiences and has enough jokes and references to appease fans of the show. It may not have been as shocking as GTA, but The Simpsons: Hit and Run still serves as a great child-friendly clone of the series.

2 South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Metacritic Score: 79

After the success of The Simpsons, the creators behind South Park took adult animation to another level. Using only construction paper, Trey Parker and Matt Stone brought to life a world where four young boys spout filthy language, act violently, and disgrace any celebrity that becomes newsworthy. As is the norm, the South Park franchise spawned many video games of varying quality. However, the most successful of these has been in the RPG genre.

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By  Jason Wojnar

South Park: The Fractured But Whole allows players to construct a team of characters to explore the town from the show, and use their new superhero identities to fight enemies in turn-based combat while also mocking the current superhero media landscape in a great sequel to The Stick of Truth. Sadly, the humor in this game does not land as well as in the first due to many other outlets making similar jokes at the time.

1 South Park: The Stick Of Truth

Metacritic Score: 85

The first game to take the South Park show in this new RPG direction was South Park: The Stick of Truth. Poking fun at the biggest show at the time, Game of Thrones, this game takes the protagonists of South Park on a new role-playing adventure that knows exactly how to satirize pop culture and video games as a whole.

Balancing the highly inappropriate humor of the show with some new gameplay functions, The Stick of Truth gives South Park fans a new immersive way to interact with that universe. Also, the game still manages to sneak in some trademark jibes at current events and celebrities. Overall, South Park: The Stick of Truth is a game that is hard to ignore for fans of adult animation.