Anyone who was forlorn about Stranger Things finally ending with its series finale last New Year’s Eve, after almost a decade, was likely elated to hear that Netflix would soon be bringing it back (just not how they might have thought, and with Stranger Things’ body not even being cold yet, at that). The animated spin-off Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 was announced before the live-action series had concluded, and it stunned many fans who believed they were looking at a reveal trailer for a video game.
This belief was not unfounded, however. It was learned that Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 was originally a Telltale game, or at least born from the ashes of how a Telltale Stranger Things game could have taken shape, and fans of the nostalgia-infused, coming-of-age sci-fi IP have wondered what a AAA, multi-platform Stranger Things game would look like for a while now.
Stranger Things Fans Crave A Big-Budget Game
Besides a VR game and Dead by Daylight DLC Chapter collaborations, Stranger Things failed to strike while the iron was hot. Its hype was palpable while Season 5 was airing, but, without a new release beyond the animated spin-off show, it is unknown how long Stranger Things will remain relevant, assuming nothing else is currently in development.
As such, a mistake it has made is not making a bigger splash in the video game landscape. Telltale’s Stranger Things game might have been phenomenal, given that Stranger Things’ emphasis on character drama and relationships would have paired well with the studio’s choice-focused, bread-and-butter gameplay, and yet fans all across Reddit have since discussed what their personal dream for a AAA Stranger Things game would be.
Rather than simply role-playing as one of Stranger Things’ established characters, like Eleven, Steve, or Lucas, user deanopud69 would love to see custom characters: “100% I would have a create your own character! Would be super cool having 1980s clothing presets and hairstyles.” On the other hand, users like Icy-Purple-6500 would like it to formally adapt Stranger Things’ seasons and characters with “a story mode that covers all the show and maybe even the play.”
A AAA Stranger Things Game Could Be Huge
User HappyMike91 makes a brilliant note of how comparable the Persona franchise’s high school/social sim features could translate to a Stranger Things game, but that Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden, specifically, share a lot in common with Stranger Things, such as “it being set in a small town (or a village) where strange things happen. And the fact that people disappear. Detective Dojima is also fairly similar to Hopper.” Moreover, it is fairly easy to see how this style of game could include some semblance of Social Links and turn-based combat with unique abilities for each character in players’ selected parties, maybe even adopting Baldur’s Gate 3’s fifth-edition tabletop-RPG gameplay to create an explicit Dungeons & Dragons tether and honor the show’s source material further.
Alternatively, users like Unfair_Golf2363 and canatlas99 have a more particular request, and it is fairly odd that no such game has been announced: a Stranger Things LEGO game.
The dream Stranger Things game for user Frank-Rush-9485 and many others would be “an open-world RPG set in Hawkins with free-roaming access to all the locations we know, as well as the Upside Down.” Overall, it is clear that fans adore Stranger Things’ world and long to be immersed in it via a big-budget game, no matter the gameplay genre.
Stranger Things risks losing the hype that continues to simmer for it if it does not indulge in the video game industry on a massive scale, committing wholly to a AAA, open-world game where players can spend hundreds of hours interacting with beloved characters and exploring iconic locations from various seasons. Meanwhile, fans thankfully have Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Season 2 on Netflix to look forward to.
- Release Date
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2016 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
