Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels would make an outstanding series of video games, if done properly. After one failed attempt at adapting the novels into film in 2007 with The Golden Compass, HBO has recently aired the start of its own adaptation into a series that appears to be a hit with critics and viewers alike.
The worldbuilding and premise of the story would lend itself perfectly to the exploration of a world within a video game. The trilogy exists within a multiverse of parallel worlds that range from Victorian London to the snowy cold environment of Svalbard, Norway, to places that look entirely like our own world, and yet also distinct in their differences.
The relationship between humans and their daemons would be a high point for gameplay. The protagonist of the story, Lyra Belacqua, is of a young enough age for most of the story that her daemon constantly shifts depending on the circumstances, and this would be a great way to air in exploration. Her daemon could shift into a bird for an aerial view, or into a small rodent creature to poke around unseen and gather information.
Combat, if such a thing were to exist in the game, would be interesting from a cinematic point of view because of the daemons. It would be possible to create a battle system in which the daemons fought rather than the humans, though if the goal were to remain true to the text, the difference in power between the humans would need to be relatively similar for such combat to work.
With that said, the game could focus instead on the incredible story that unfolds across the trilogy, with worldbuilding, information gathering, and character development as the main drivers for the game. Combat could certainly be a part of the game, but it would be more fitting in scenes with Lord Asriel, Lee Scoresby, the Witches, and of course the panserbjørne Iofur Raknison in his quest to reclaim his position of king among the armoured bears.
This would not be the first attempt to adapt the books into a game. Along with the poorly received film of 2007 was a game tie-in titled The Golden Compass. Unfortunately, it was poorly received for being bland in its level design, riddled with bugs, and the plot being poorly explained and only understood by those with an understanding of the books.
Such mistakes could easily be avoided now by making exploration and worldbuilding a key part of the game with the goal of storytelling above trying to sell associated merchandise with a Hollywood film release. There are so many well-made visual novels and point and click adventures made today, and an ambitious project on a far larger scale for His Dark Materials trilogy might be a big hit if done properly.