Key Takeaways

• Novelizations can enrich lore & characters, expand game worlds and provide deeper context for games.
• “Far Cry Absolution” & “Mass Effect Revelation” offer rich backstory for their respective games.
• Gears of War, Bioshock, & Halo adaptations expand game universes in meaningful ways.

Though many great video games have originally started out as novels (Metro 2033, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., The Witcher Series), occasionally, we see the reverse happen, and a game is good enough that it even warrants its own novelization.

The different format can really help expand the game worlds and their lore, as well as give a deeper insight into the minds of certain characters.

As a writer myself, I also commit to a fair amount of reading each day, so I think I am in a good position to separate some of the wheat from the chaff when it comes to written adaptations.

It’s no secret that some novelizations read more like fan fiction than genuine books, but many are of a high enough quality that they surpass many of the trending bestsellers in bookstores around the world.

Though not all the following examples are direct novelizations of each game, they all tie in closely to the video games they have adapted and will certainly be of interest to fans of each respective game.

9 Far Cry: Absolution

By Urban Waite

Set in Hope County, Montana, Far Cry Absolution brilliantly lays the foundations for the Far Cry 5 game by introducing The Church of Eden’s Gate and explaining how the cult rose to prominence in the area.

The story follows Mary May Fairgrave and William Boyd as they seek to resist the looming threat and protect their original way of life.

If, like me, you can’t get enough of the Far Cry atmosphere, Absolution is definitely worth checking out. However, for those who aren’t huge fans of Far Cry 5 in particular, this book may not be to your liking since it ties in so heavily with the game.

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7 Crysis Legion

By Peter Watts

Another 2000s classic, the Crysis series, was famed for its cutting-edge graphics and awesome over-the-top exosuits, which granted various powerful skills.

Based on Crysis 2, this book does a great job of fleshing out the game world and is told from the perspective of James “Alcatraz” Rodriguez, the game’s main protagonist.

As a Hugo-award-winning author, Peter Watts’ style is easy to read and does a great job at explaining various sci-fi elements.

This book can certainly be read without prior knowledge of the series, but for long-time fans, it will surely enrich their experience of playing the games thereafter.

6 Mass Effect Revelation

By Drew Karpyshyn

As someone who loved the entire Mass Effect series (yes, even Andromeda), I believe this prequel book was certainly everything I could possibly want from a Mass Effect novel. Written by the game’s original writer, Drew Karpyshyn, the book perfectly conveys the tone and lore of the game world from one medium to another.

The book provides a lot of details about the interspecies politics and backstory of the games, which is certainly advantageous in a complex sci-fi setting like this.

Though the novel will inevitably appeal to fans of the series, it is a good standalone story for anyone who enjoys reading sci-fi literature. The book is also an excellent example of world-building for aspiring creatives.

5 Gears of War: Anvil Gate

By Karen Traviss

As one of the first games I played on an Xbox 360, Gears of War left a positive impression on me ever since.

The grimdark setting, combination of extreme violence, and heart-wrenching tales of camaraderie certainly lend themselves well to video games and books, as it turns out.

Gears of War: Anvil Gate is part of a larger series by Karen Traviss, and is actually the third out of eight official Gears of War books.

What makes Anvil Gate so good is the way it develops the world of Gear of War so that humans not only encounter locusts as enemies, but also a much larger threat, which increases the stakes of the narrative and the series as a whole even more.

4 Bioshock: Rapture

By John Shirley

Oh, Rapture – what a fond place you occupy in our hearts! The iconic underwater city which serves as the setting for Bioshock and Bioshock 2 is unraveled in its full glory by John Shirley in this brilliant novel which explains the history of the city through the perspective of its inhabitants.

Personally, this is one of my favorite video game novels ever due to the unique setting and world-building, which really serve to enhance the experience of the entire Bioshock series when returning to play it again afterward.

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Shirley’s novel is of a high caliber; after all, he has written many video game novelizations over the years, including several for the Halo and Borderlands series.

3 Halo: The Fall of Reach

By Eric S. Nylund

Halo: The Fall of Reach is arguably one of the best novelizations in the entire genre of video game literature.

Though technically a prequel to the events of the video game series, the story perfectly immerses you in the Halo universe and explains the true origin story of Master Chief.

Already an acclaimed writer due to his cyberpunk titles Signal To Noise and A Signal Shattered, Nylund was permitted to create the novel alongside the release of Halo: Combat Evolved, and worked closely with the creators while doing so.

As a fan of Nylund’s other work, Halo: The Fall of Reach was an excellent read and made me want to jump back on an old Xbox to play the early games all over again.

Whether you’re a die-hard Halo fan or simply looking for some dramatic and lore-rich sci-fi, this book should definitely be on your wishlist.

2 Dishonored: The Corroded Man

By Adam Christopher

Unsurprisingly, the Victorian-Supernatural themes of the Dishonored series transfer well into literature. Dishonored: The Corroded Man by bestselling author Adam Christopher expertly bridges the gap between the first and second games and completely absorbs you in the unique world.

This novel is every bit as dark, thrilling, and artistic as the games themselves, and as a long-time fan of Dishonored, it was a joy to go on further adventures with Emily and Corvo, and it made returning to the games even more enjoyable.

A further two books were also published and follow on from The Corroded Man, and for those who are complete Dishonored fanatics, a comic book titled Dishonored: The Wyrmwood Deceit may also satiate your hunger for more.

1 Assassin’s Creed Collection

By Oliver Bowden

The Assassin’s Creed Collection by Oliver Bowden is perhaps the greatest example of video game novelizations done right.

In addition to faithful adaptations of Brotherhood, Revelations, Black Flag, and Unity, the series also includes original work to expand on the franchise, such as Renaissance, Forsaken, and The Secret Crusade.

Honestly, you don’t even have to be a big Assassin’s Creed fan to enjoy these books; they are high-quality works of historical fiction in their own right.

For those who are fans of the series, particularly the earlier games, this is a must-read recommendation.

Like the game series, each book focuses on a different assassin in a unique time period and often combines real-world historical characters and events with fictional ones.

If you’re not keen on tackling the entire series, you can always pick your favorite setting or characters and start at any point in the series.