Mad Max has become one of the most iconic post-apocalyptic franchises in pop culture, and as the release date for the upcoming Furiosa spin-off film draws closer, developer Avalanche's Mad Max game from 2015 may come into the minds of a few. The Mad Max video game released in 2015 may have had some mixed reception from critics, but it was still hailed as the best attempt at bringing the movie franchise's world to gaming.

On paper, Mad Max and its lore seems like perfect material for a video game adaptation, but there have been many Mad Max game attempts through the years, and 2015's entry is the most notable. Although the attempts to adapt Mad Max into a video game haven't succeeded in the way one might originally think, the key could be in a game setting itself apart from the movies instead of trying to connect to them.

A screenshot of George Miller's character and his pet cat creature in Death Stranding 2.
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A Mad Max Game Should Find Its Own Voice

2015's Mad Max game tied directly into Fury Road, and now with the game being connected to the Furiosa movie, the adaptation is now canon in the overall franchise. However, if a new Mad Max game were ever to become a reality, then it should be focused on separating itself from the movie canon and creating its own unique story.

A New Approach to the Mad Max Franchise

Just because the franchise is called Mad Max does not mean that Max has to play the starring role in another game. There are so many compelling facets of George Miller's post-apocalyptic wasteland that need to be explored outside of Max. That's one of the main reasons the upcoming Furiosa movie is so exciting. It offers a completely new perspective outside the long-running protagonist, and this should be the same route future games take.

When it comes to video games, one of the first franchises that comes to mind when talking about the post-apocalyptic genre is the Fallout series. If another Mad Max began development, taking some notes from a franchise set in the same genre would be a great start. An open world RPG version of Mad Max where players could customize their own characters and craft unique backstories would be an intriguing new way to explore such a bleak, but fascinating, world.

The events of Avalanche's Mad Max take place after Fury Road , which was released in theaters four months before the game.

The Perfect Ingredients For An RPG

Thanks to there already being so much established lore in the Mad Max series, there is an ample amount of material to work with in order to craft a fantastic RPG. Getting to take on the role of a War Boy or becoming a member of The Buzzards would be just the tip of a sandy, deserted iceberg. Mad Max boasts an unforgiving world that showcases a horrifying worst-case scenario for the future, but that also makes it almost too perfect as a survival action RPG.

The impending release of Furiosa has some revisiting 2015's Mad Max, and although it was a fun game in its own right, more games based around the movie franchise need to just take inspiration from the world, not the characters. Max's name may be the heart of the series, but building beyond the character and his stoicism may open the door for some heart-pounding action that players can bring to life through their own unique characters.