Video games and comic books have a lot in common. They were both relatively niche media which the mainstream thought was mainly for children, but have slowly gained proper respect throughout the years and are now enjoyed by people of all ages.. This shared bond has crossed over in many ways.
Various comic book characters have become video games, like Spider-Man and the Batman: Arkham Series. More subtly, some games used comic book panels for the cutscenes. Some of the games mentioned below are based on comic book properties, making the use of comic book panels appropriate, while others do so as a stylistic choice.
10 Max Payne
The amount of story, voice acting, and narrative depth was unprecedented upon Max Payne's 2001 release. Fully animated cutscenes were still a rarity and prohibitively expensive, so Remedy opted for comic book panels when crafting the cinematics. The dark, noir-inspired story fit the tone of the comic book cutscenes and lent to the overall stylized feel of the classic title. Lead writer Sam Lake portrayed the titular character in these sequences. The sequel followed suit and Max Payne 3 split the screen up occasionally, but the cinematics were fully animated.
9 Spider-Man 64
Spider-Man has had several highly acclaimed video games, including Spider-Man 2 and 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man. Before those, Neversoft made Spider-Man for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64.
The PS1 version featured CG cutscenes, but Nintendo's console could not fit all the necessary data onto a cartridge. To solve this issue, the cutscenes took some inspiration from the source material and told the story through still images like a comic book.
8 Infamous
Sucker Punch Productions is riding high off the recent release of Ghost of Tsushima. Before their thirteenth century samurai epic, the developer crafted the Infamous franchise, which was basically the company's own superhero. To pay homage to the comic book inspirations, the cutscenes were stylized images with Cole narrating the plot. Some may have preferred in-engine cutscenes, but the art style of these moments made them appealing.
7 Freedom Force
Irrational Games will forever be known for the iconic BioShock franchise and System Shock 2. However, not all of their output was dark science fiction. In between those two landmark first-person shooters, they made a tactical role-playing game called Freedom Force, which clearly wears the influence from the golden age of comics on its sleeves. To further drive its inspiration home, some of the cinematics are told through narration over still images.
6 Motorstorm Apocalypse
The third game in the PlayStation exclusive racing series switched up the formula in several ways. The environments switched from natural landscapes to a city after it suffered a cataclysmic event, and the single-player mode added a more in-depth story. The pulpy narrative was told through uniquely-animated cutscenes. While the characters in these move, the inspiration from comic books is still clearly seen. Unfortunately, the series has not seen a mainline entry since this 2011 title.
5 Ultimate Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2's game adaptation revolutionized the character in gaming by putting him into an open-world. Ultimate Spider-Man took several cues from it and put the character into a more stylized world, while also letting players control Venom. To keep in line with the cel shaded graphics, many of the cutscenes split up the screen to resemble a comic book, though it does not become still images.
4 Comix Zone
This is by far the oldest game on the list. Released on the Sega Genesis in 1995, Comix Zone follows a comic book creator whose creation comes to life and traps him inside the pages of his own book. Not only are the cinematics based on comic book panels, but the whole game takes place within them. The game is seen as one of the more memorable entries into the Genesis' catalog, which is an impressive feat considering the classics released for the system like Phantasy Star, Sonic, and Streets of Rage.
3 XIII
This early aughts shooter distinguished itself from the crowd with a cel shaded art style inspired by the Belgian comic book on which it is based. To go even further with the inspiration, many of the cutscenes split up the screen in the style of a comic book. While many fans felt the game was largely forgotten and its cliffhanger ending was never resolved with a sequel, a remake is currently in development for modern consoles.
2 Gravity Rush
The PlayStation Vita has many naysayers, but none of those detractors ever touched Gravity Rush. As if the mechanic of traversing the world and defeating enemies using gravity was not enticing enough, the adorable aesthetic and charming lead character make players never want to leave the world.
Adding to the vibe are the cutscenes, which are told purely through comic book panels where characters' voices are incomprehensible.
1 Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops/Peace Walker
The two canon Metal Gear games on the PSP follow Big Boss after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3. Fitting a full Metal Gear experience onto the portable system was no easy task, but turning the cutscenes into comic book panels certainly must have helped free up space. It also gave the games a unique style distinguishing itself from the console counterparts. The art was done by Ashley Wood, who also illustrated the graphic novels.