Currently in its 13th season of its rebooted run,Doctor Whois one of the BBC’s longest running TV programs, and has amassed quite the fan-base over the years, both in the UK, and internationally. WhileDoctor Whohas had a few cinematic releases,a range of successful books, comic books, and audio books, the video game medium has never really seen a goodDoctor Whoadaptation.
Over the last 40 years, since the firstDoctor Whogame released, there have been plenty of attempts to put the Time-Lord in a video game. However, despite trying at least once every year or so, there’s never been a critically or commercially successfulDoctor Whogame. That said, it’s not been for a lack of trying.
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Doctor Who: The First Adventure (1983)
Releasing in 1983 for the BBC Micro, the veryfirst officialDoctor Whogame, appropriately titledDoctor Who: The First Adventure, was a bit of a disappointment back in the day. Even for its time, the extremely pixelated graphics and eye-warping colors were very off-putting.
The gameplay didn’t do much to win back fans, with the game just being a collection of four simple mini games,Doctor Who-themed clones ofPac-Man, Space Invaders,Frogger,andBattleship. The entire game had a time limit of just 60 minutes, leading to a severe lack of replayability.
Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror (1985)
Doctor Who and the Mines of Terroris a marked improvement over the previous entry in the franchise, perhaps due to it originally being a sequel to the incredibly successfulCastle Quest. Players take control ofColin Baker’s Doctoras he side-scrolls his way to defeat The Master.The Mines of Terrorhas pretty bright visuals, and uses some iconic series foes to keep fans interested, but that didn’t stop it receiving fairly low scores at the time, with many outlets pointing to its low audio quality and repetitive gameplay as key criticisms.
Doctor Who and the Warlord (1985)
Perhapsa natural fit for aDoctor Whogameof the time,Doctor Who and the Warlordis a 1985 text-based adventure. Unfortunately,Doctor Who and the Warlordsuffered from some weak writing, and scenarios that were remarkably simplistic considering the often absurd nature of the source material. The puzzles within the game were also fairly lackluster, leaving fans with another disappointingDoctor Whogame, just in a different genre.
Dalek Attack (1992)
One of the onlyDoctor Whogames to actually receive a solid critical reception,Dalek Attackis a 2D side-scrolling action platformer that features some pretty solid combat mechanics and has a wealth oficonicDoctor Whovillainsto fight, and companions to assist. On the PC versions of the game, players could choose between the Fourth, Fifth, or Seventh Doctors. The game also featured co-op, allowing a second player to pick from Ace or a UNIT soldier to aid the Doctor in their adventure.
Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors (1997)
A game that is littered with fan-service, but still received widespread critical-panning,Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctorsbrings together all seven of the Doctors at that point in time, featuring voice work from the respective actors who were still alive. The game features all of theDoctor Whovillains a fan could want in a game, fromCybermen, to Daleks, to Zygons.
However,Destiny of the Doctorshas some extremely flawed gameplay, that barely lets the player take control of the action. While it presents like a3D adventure game,Destiny of the Doctors' main gameplay loop only really allows the player to run between consoles in the TARDIS, and watch or listen to the action unfolding around them.
Doctor Who: The Adventure Games (2010)
The age of classicDr.Whohad ended, andMatt Smith had just taken over the role. 2010 is the busiest year forDoctor Whogames, but it’s far from being the best. However,Doctor Who: The Adventure Gamesdid at least attempt to stand out. These 3D adventure games were released for free to those in the UK, and were later available on Steam for a limited time.
While the gameplay was fairly simple, being just a standard 3D adventure game with very limited action, the narrative, writing, and voice work were the real draws. Phil Ford and James Moran, veterans of theDoctor Whowriting team, penned the story for these games, and Matt Smith,Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill all lent their voices to the game. The final product was a simplistic, but very authenticDoctor Whoexperience that actually managed to add something to the franchise.
Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth (2010)
A Nintendo DS title,Doctor Who: Evacuation Earthoffered some pretty okay puzzle gameplay, but was definitely aimed towards a younger demographic. Older fans will zoom through the game’s extremelysimple logic puzzleswith barely a thought, which isn’t necessarily a slight on the game, but it does limit its appeal.
Doctor Who: Return to Earth (2010)
Released alongsideEvacuation Earth,Return to Earthwas a Wii title that earned an exceptionally great critical panning upon release, with many outlets scoring it in the 2-3/10 range. The graphics were a large part of the game’s criticism, with many outlets pointing out that they looked likea Nintendo 64 game. The gameplay wasn’t much of an improvement, with many considering it to be frustrating and half-baked, leading many to assume that the game was a simple cash-grab.
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Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time (2010)
Surprisingly one of the better reviewedDoctor Whovideo games,Doctor Who: The Mazes of Timewas aniOS and Android 3D puzzle game. The gameplay was pretty rudimentary, but for a 2010 mobile game, it did the job, and critics gave it a solid score of around 3-4/5, even despite not having any voice work from Matt Smith or Karen Gillan.
Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock (2012)
By far the biggestDoctor Whovideo game at the time,The Eternity Clockcentered around Matt Smith’s Doctor andAlex Kingston’s River Song, who both voiced their characters in-game. This 2D action/puzzle platformer was generally considered fine by most critics, but still lacked a few layers of polish on both its presentation and its gameplay mechanics, but critics could tell the development team was at least trying with this entry.
Doctor Who: Worlds in Time (2012-2014)
An MMORPG running onAdobe Flash,Doctor Who: Worlds in Timesounds more exciting than it actually was. In practice, the game was a simple collection of mini games, disguised by the presence of other players and their own uniquely created avatars. The game didn’t last long either, being shut down in 2014, seemingly for no reason.
Doctor Who: Legacy (2013)
Doctor Who: Legacycan be summarised in three (technically two) words: Match-three game. That’s really all there is to this title. While players do collect and level up a cast ofDoctor Whocharacters, the gameplay boils down to a simplematch-three puzzle game, much likeBejeweledorCandy Crush.
Doctor Who: The Edge of Time/Edge of Reality (2019/2021)
The latest games released using theDoctor Wholicense,Doctor Who: The Edge of Timeis a VR title that puts the iconic Sonic Screwdriver directly in the player’s hands. While the plot of the game is fairly standard for aDoctor Whostory, and the gameplay is incredibly simple, boiling down to pointing and clicking, and grabbing items, the Virtual Reality aspect really helps to elevate the experience. Fans cancome into close contact with the Weeping Angelsand face off against the Daleks themselves, all while Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor guides them.
Last year,Doctor Who: Edge of Realityreleased, which is a reimagining ofEdge of Time, with some new puzzles and plot elements thrown in for good measure. This game can also beplayed outside of VR, but this does shine a brighter light on just how mediocre the original title actually was. The real reason for fans to check this one out, though, is that David Tenant reprises his role as the Tenth Doctor, and he’s as brilliant as ever.
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