One of Sci‑Fi’s Best Franchises Still Needs a Game That Lives Up to Expectations

One of the best science fiction franchises of all time has yet to feature a truly entertaining video game adaptation, and at this point, it’s more than a little unusual. Stargate launched a franchise when it was released in theaters in 1994, but it didn’t continue as a series of feature films. Instead, Stargate: SG1 launched in 1997 as a direct sequel to the movie. That show ran for 10 years and spawned two spin-offs: Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. There have been direct-to-video movies that tie into the series, an animated show, and a web series, so there’s no shortage of content.

Despite this, if you look through all of the video games based on the franchise, you’ll find a handful that don’t live up to expectations. As of writing, there have been only a small number of completed games and nearly as many cancelled ones. In fact, one of the best games based on the franchise is Stargate pinball, released by Gottlieb in 1995. Of course, that’s not a video game, and several pen-and-paper role-playing games and a board game join it. For video games, the pickings are quite slim, and it seems that every great idea that garnered the fans’ attention was ultimately cancelled.

There’s Perhaps Only One Stargate Game That Lives up to Expectations

If you dig through the franchise’s history to uncover its lackluster library of video game adaptations, you’ll find 1994’s Stargate for the Game Boy and Game Gear. It’s loosely tied to the movie and is essentially a Tetris clone, and isn’t a terrible game, but it’s not what you might expect from the franchise. It was followed soon after by another movie tie-in game for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. The action game puts players in control of Col. Jack O’Neill, and it’s not a great game by any measure. Stargate SG-1: The Alliance was the first game based on the hit TV series, but it was cancelled before getting off the ground.

This one had a lot of fans interested in the game, but staff layoffs and a legal battle over rights (which the developers lacked from the jump) killed it. An MMORPG called Stargate Worlds appeared to offer the franchise’s best option, as it is ideally suited for vast exploration and questing, thanks to its titular travel mechanic. Unfortunately, it too was cancelled after being put on hold and never released. Stargate SG-1: Unleashed is a mobile game for Android and iOS released in two episodes. The company that controlled it went out of business, so further development was abandoned.

Read Next

Netflix Announces The Return of A Classic Sci-Fi Series After 3 Years

Finally, Stargate: Timekeepers was released in 2024 as a real-time tactics game developed by Slitherine Poland. Gameplay involves controlling a squad of SG-1 soldiers, drawing on elements from the show’s seventh season. Using stealth mechanics, the player must navigate through various missions against a variety of deadly enemies. Timekeepers was divided into two seasons, each containing seven chapters, and it’s a pretty good game with well-crafted mechanics and an engrossing story. In fact, it’s about the only good Stargate game that’s currently available and arguably the best the franchise has yet to produce since it began more than 30 years ago.

Stargate: Timekeepers Should Propel the Franchise Into New Directions

Stargate: Timekeepers is carrying a heavy load, seeing as the franchise is such an immense multimedia empire. Still, while the movie is great and most of the shows are excellent, getting a single good game in 30+ years is ridiculous. Stargate should explore MMORPGs, RPGs, and adventure games. There are so many ways to explore its complex history and religious factions that it frankly doesn’t make sense that there isn’t another title in the franchise I could recommend. If you’re not into overhead real-time tactics games, you’re out of luck with Timekeepers, but there is hope … ish. Amazon MGM now holds the rights and is developing new projects. No word of a new game has come out, but with any luck, we’ll see some development in the near future, possibly via Amazon Game Studios.

What do you think about the lack of amazing Stargate games? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!