When Arnold Schwarzenegger went mano a Yauatcha in Predator back in 1987, it seemed like the perfect movie to get a video game adaptation. That happened, and over the years, Predators have popped up in a ton of great games. Unfortunately, almost all of them have been in the Aliens vs. Predator franchise, which we’re excluding from this list of the five best Predator games. We wanted to focus on the Predators in their own titles, so we’ve dug through the admittedly small pile of meager offerings and ranked the top five based on contemporary critics’ reviews upon release, sales, and their overall popularity.
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5) Predator: Hunting Grounds
There aren’t many Predator games in the franchise, and even fewer that are relatively recent. The newest is Predator: Hunting Grounds, released in 2020 on all available systems at the time. It’s a multiplayer game that features Arnie reprising his role as Alan “Dutch” Shafer, alongside other characters from the franchise’s live-action films. It’s set in remote jungles where teams of elite operatives work to complete their missions while being hunted by a Predator. It was the first Predator game in a decade, and neither players nor critics loved it. Sales were poor, and reactions from critics called it unpolished and a mess, though for a modern interpretation of the Yauatcha species, it’s not bad.
4) Predator 2 (1990)
While Predator 2 wasn’t the best movie in the franchise, it nonetheless got the video game treatment … twice. The first came in 1990, and it’s a rail shooter that follows the film’s plot-ish. Players take control of Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) as he fights off the Colombian Cartel, the Jamaican Posse, and, of course, the Predator. The best port was on the Amiga, which looked great for the time, and as a rail shooter, it’s a fun game. Glover approved his likeness for the adaptation, while others didn’t care at all what their characters looked like. Regardless, it follows the plot well enough and was a lot of fun when it was released.
2) Predator 2 (1992)
The second adaptation of Predator 2 arrived in 1992 as a top-down shooter for Sega systems. It first arrived on the Genesis before being ported to the Game Gear and finally, the Master System. The game allows the player to move about the game world in any way they choose, and it features plenty of bullet hell as you make your way around, avoiding the titular monster. Gameplay involves rescuing hostages while avoiding the Predator’s attacks, and it’s a decent approximation of the film’s plot. The game’s isometric style offered up a more interesting challenge over its predecessor, and it’s a fun exploration of the lore.
2) Predator
Predator was adapted into a side-scrolling action game the same year it was released. It came out on several systems, though most players likely got their hands on the Nintendo Entertainment System port. Gameplay begins with the player possessing no weapons, so finding them is a must, making it somewhat like the opening of Metal Gear, which was released the same year. The game was mostly well-received, with praise for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum versions. It’s challenging and features great graphics for the period, so it’s a rare example of a good movie tie-in game, which were typically terrible in the ‘80s.
1) Predators
Predators is a mobile movie tie-in game released in conjunction with the 2010 film of the same name. It’s a third-person action game where the player controls the Predator as he hunts the film’s characters. It features 31 levels and multiple Yauatcha weapons, like the Smart Disc and Wristblades. You can switch between normal and thermal vision, and it even includes the Super Predators from the film. Among all the Predator games, Predators has the highest critics’ reviews, and it sold well enough at first, though it was soon discounted to entice more players to buy.
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