Have you ever finished a game and thought, “wow! I want to know more about this world!” Or have you just wanted to know more about your favorite Hero’s adventures? Luckily many Video Games have expanded their universes and lore with books, and out of the many, many that are out I’ve tried to devour as many as I can. Out of all the ones I’ve ever read I do have my favorites. This is my totally opinionated top 10 list of Video Game books that I’d recommend anyone.
10. Tomb Raider: The Lost Cult
The Lost Cult is the second Tomb Raider Novel by E.E. Knight released in 2004. We join the busty heroine Laura Croft as she tries to retrieve a lost Iraqi artifact from a group of Peruvian gangsters in order to clear herself of the Von Troy murder. Though this seems like a lame way to get Laura’s new adventure rolling it’s a fun read, if only for the same reasons you’d go to a popcorn movie, nothing revolutionary is done with the character but it holds certain nostalgia value.
9. Mortal Kombat
Written in 1995, this prequel book expands the stories of the not yet well known characters, offering some interesting early takes of some of your favorites.
8. Alan Wake
A book based on a game about an author who might be going insane, what’s a better idea than that? The plot itself matches the game, although some details differ from the actual game. Still, if you were a fan of the game and want a novelization of it or, didn’t want to bother with the game but are curious about story, you’re going to win either way.
7. Dragon Age: Asunder
A Dragon Age book that takes place after DA2 and delves deeper into the repercussions of the Kirkwall incident. If you love the DA universe and want to delve deeper into the tension between the Mages and Templars defiantly give this one a look.
6. Dead Space: Martyr
I love horror books. I love horror video games, so of course I’m going to love a horror book about a horror video game! Acting as a prequel to the Dead Space games, it gives a deep history of the founding on Unitology and the founding of The Marker.
5. Resident Evil: City of the Dead
Again my love of horror comes through with this third book into the Resident Evil universe. This book follows Claire, Leon, Jill, and Chris as they save survivors and get out of Raccoon City. This book takes place during RE 2 but their are some noticeable differences in the story.
4. Halo: The Cole Protocol
The Cole Protocol is the 6th Halo book and one of the best ones. It can’t actually be tied to any sort of timeline within the game’s events, but really fleshes out more of the universe.
3. Homefront: The Voice of Freedom
Even though I’m 1 of 12 people who liked this game and the book won’t win any literary awards, this prequel to the game sets the scene and is crammed full of action sequences and a plot that hits very close to home for a lot of Americans. The constant threat of terrorism is really brought home in this book. If you haven’t played the game then this is a great introduction to the world and will help you connect with the in-game characters.
2. Mass Effect: Revelation
The first book in the Mass Effect universe, Revelation sheds some light on the history of David Anderson and Saren, as well as Anderson’s connection with Kahlee Sanders (a side character in Mass Effect 3). It also details how Saren discovered the Reapers and the reason for Anderson’s distrust of him.
1. The Witcher: Time Of Contempt
I kind of cheated with this one since this is a book that inspired the games, but it’s my list and I can bend the rules as I see fit. The first few of these books act as short stories, prequels to the games. But the third book in the series is where author Andrzej Sapkowski really starts exploring Geralt as a character more. I recommend reading the other books but this one is by far my favorite of the series so far.
Any books I missed? do you have any recommendations? let me know in the comments below!
