InDoctor Who, space and time are just a phone box away. Though it’s not really a box, it’s a Tardis, a secret spaceship that can travel anywhere in the universe. With so many stories following various incarnations of the Doctor, it only seems natural that the franchise would lend itself well to video games.
Unfortunately, the franchise has not had the greatest track record when dipping its feet into the world of gaming. Regardless, some Doctor Who games are better than others, while others at least give you that nostalgic campy feeling that the show has to offer. So here are the eight best Doctor Who games.
Nothing feels more like a classic Doctor Who adventure than playing on a campy-looking computer from the 80s. This console is known as the BBC Micro, and it has the first-ever licensed Doctor Who game. This is Doctor Who: The First Adventure.
The game featured clones ofpopular arcade gamessuch as Pac-Man and Frogger, which are separated into four episodes. These are; The Labyrinth of the Dead, The Prison, The Terrordactyls, and The Box of Tantalus. Complete all four episodes, and you’re able to collect the Key to Time and start the Second Age of Time. While the game is old, it is still available to play as a browser game.
Dalek Attack is a huge step up from The First Adventure. Certain ports featured multiple Doctors but primarily focused on the Seventh Doctor. It also allows him to use a gun to blast enemies, which is a rarity in the modern show but not as much in the original series.
This game was available for systems such as MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum, and the Commodore 64. The gameplay is also true to the Doctor’s character. You do plenty of running as you explore buildings, defeat Daleks, and save civilians who are caught in the crossfire. The game also takes you to Skaro, the Dalek’s original planet.
During the 11th Doctor’s run, his companions get lost in the Tardis, resulting in a surprisingly terrifying plotline. If you ever want to try exploring the labyrinth, then this is the place to do it. Destiny of the Doctor features the player going after several incarnations of the Doctor by exploring various locations, including the Doctor’s Tardis, the Master’s Tardis, and a few planet surfaces.
While the gameplay is a little slow, the best reason to play is that most of the classic Doctors reprised their roles for this digital installment. There are also a few classic enemies, such as the Sontarans and the Daleks, that get rendered in classic 3D graphics.
Doctor Who: The Mazes Of Time is a surprisingly good Doctor Who game released on mobile. While the game is small in scope, it features plenty of the Doctor’s most nefarious enemies, such as the Weeping Angels, the Cybermen, and the Daleks.
You play as either the 11th Doctor or Amy Pond as you navigate through mazes, solve puzzles, and avoid enemies that are patrolling the area. Each one also has unique traits that make puzzle-solving harder. Daleks can blast you from afar and Weeping Angels move when you look away. It has all the iconic sound effects and music you would be familiar with if you watchedthe 11th Doctor’s era of the show.
One of the biggest problems with Doctor Who games is that they often don’t feel like games at all but rather interactive episodes. While this is fine, it does make you wish there was a more ambitious Doctor Who title you could play. Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock is as close as you can get to playing a modern Doctor Who game.
As far as presentation goes, the game didn’t look half bad when it was first released. Multiple enemies made an appearance, such as the Cybermen and the Daleks. You could also play as two characters, the 11th Doctor and River Song. With a 2.5D perspective, it will at least keep you entertained as you solve puzzles and collect hats.
3Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time
It’s Bigger On The Inside
Blink is one of the best episodes of Doctor Who. Rather than focusing entirely on the Doctor, it focuses on two humans who must survive the Weeping Angels while following advice from VHS tapes. Doctor Who: The Edge of Time kind of captures this energy as you play as a human who takes advice from the 13th Doctor to stop an entity known as The First.
With all of reality under threat of being wiped out, the Doctor will instruct you in the retrieval of different objects. What makes this game interesting to play is that it’sa VR game. So you can pick up objects, turn them over, and even experience walking into the Tardis for the first time.
Doctor Who works best when it focuses on stories and puzzles over action. Doctor Who: The Adventure Games has similar gameplay to that of the average Telltale game. You mostly walk around and interact with objects in the world. Now and then, you will need to find certain items to clear obstacles or be given a choice of dialogue when interacting with other characters.
The Adventure Games excel at feeling like exclusive episodes of Doctor Who, with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan reprising their roles as The Doctor and Amy. There are five episodes in total with each episode featuring a new story.
While the writing for the 13th Doctor never really reached the same levels of peak as the other Doctors that came before her or afterward, Doctor Who: The Runaway showcases just how good Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor could be if given the proper writing.
This VR experience doesn’t try to have realistic graphics but plunges you deep into an almost Disneyesque world. In only 13 minutes, you will help The Doctor return the emotionally driven Volta home while playing around with the environment and even steering the Tardis. The only downside to this game is that there isn’t a follow-up even though she will invite you for another trip at the end.
