Science fiction doesn’t get much more classic than War of the Worlds. The original novel by acclaimed author H.G. Wells was a forward-thinking glimpse at a future fascinated with the possibility of life beyond the stars, while simultaneously acting as a critique of the collapsing British Empire. First published in 1898, it emerged during a time when the world was waiting to be plunged into an all-encompassing global conflict, and much of Wells’ societal paranoia can be gleaned from the text and how he positions the Martians as a bleak inevitability.
The 1953 and 2005 film adaptations would build on these thematic elements, reflecting how we felt in the time following World War 2 and the fever-pitch anxiety that permeated much of the global landscape after 9/11. Invaders waiting just out of reach, ready and willing to rip our way of life to pieces without hesitation, is a terrifying concept, and also makes for one hell of an apocalyptic spectacle when placed into the right hands. With the original novel now found in the public domain, however, anyone is free to adapt or reimagine it. Which includes a truly awful recent film from Amazon Prime Video, which follows Ice Cube staring at desktop windows (or, as reflected in his glasses, green screens) for 90 riveting minutes. It is utterly dreadful, but also laughably brilliant in its own obscene way.
Arriving on the streaming service earlier this week, the extraterrestrial fever dream is already the victim of countless hilarious memes and online observations, with many surprised that it was even released in the first place, considering how bad its acting, visuals, and execution are throughout. It’s an adaptation of a beloved novel as much as it is awkward marketing for the brilliance of Amazon Prime. Did you know they have drones now? They even deliver USBs.
War Of The Worlds Will Always Be Victim To Mediocre Adaptations
Prime Video isn’t alone when it comes to ill-fated War of the World projects, however. Ever since it first entered the public domain back in January 2016, there have been a number of films, shows, books, radio dramas, and video games based on the novel. Take a look at the Wikipedia page, and I promise there will be dozens of things you’ve never heard of before. I want to take a look at one in particular, though, and that’s a video game called Grey Skies: A War of the Worlds Story by Steel Arts Software.
First released on PC back in 2020 and some time later on PlayStation, this low-budget affair follows a young woman called Harper who finds herself caught right in the middle of the vast Martian invasion as it sweeps across the English countryside. With the right budget or talent, I could see this being a fantastic game, especially if it took inspiration from the right sources. Imagine a narrative-driven alien invasion story with engrossing characters and a tight focus on horror and stealth that requires equal parts wits and determination to survive. Well, I hope you weren’t expecting any of those things from Grey Skies, because it doesn’t have them…
I also love how, despite seemingly taking place in the English countryside, there are an awful lot of roads, buildings, and other such things that feel pulled straight out of the US.
It also likely wouldn’t pass muster as a modern video game if your only enemies were the towering tripods who could murder you with a single glance. Going toe-to-toe with them and emerging unscathed simply isn’t realistic, so a lot of gameplay is themed around stealth or chase sequences in which being spotted sends you right back to the last checkpoint. You’ll go up against fellow humans who have been infected and/or possessed, making use of an assortment of crafted items to outsmart or sneak around them.
Even Centuries Later, War Of The Worlds Has So Much Potential
The moment-to-moment gameplay takes heavy inspiration from The Last of Us with how you are expected to craft items and sneak around enemies, attacking from the shadows only when absolutely necessary. All of these mechanics feel terrible. Even if I admire some of the creative vision on display here, Steel Arts Software just didn’t have the budget or talent to make this adaptation shine.
It’s made worse by half-baked graphics, flat voice acting, and a lack of cohesion that makes it feel like a generic asset flip. But like the recent Ice Cube film, there is something delightfully hilarious about it and the fact that it’s been brought into existence at all. The power of the public domain is something else…
But you can see how a game like this could have worked, much like how Ice Cube’s terrible film initially came from a place of genuine creative inspiration. Telling the story of an ongoing alien invasion from the perspective of a single person who only glimpses it from a handful of screens could have been an incredibly effective horror film, but it wasn’t meant to be.
With the same line of thinking, there is an amazing video game to be found in the pitch of trying to navigate the English countryside as aliens burn it to cinders, trying to hang onto some sort of hope while struggling to survive. Both are solid ideas, but fundamentally misunderstand most of the source material while leaning on the namesake for anyone to care.
War of the Worlds
- Release Date
- July 30, 2025
- Runtime
- 91 Minutes
Cast
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Eva Longoria
NASA Scientist Sandra Salas
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Clark Gregg
NSA Director Donald Briggs
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Iman Benson
Faith Radford
