George A. Romero's 1993 horror film The Dark Half is based on King's 1989 novel of the same name.and takes a more psychologically dense approach to the author's dark, cynical bestseller. A year before the release of Romero's film, Capstone Software released The Dark Half, a point-and-click adventure that has become somewhat of a cult classic over the years.

To set the record straight, I think the game fundamentally misunderstands King's story about an author forced to undergo a public ritual of humiliation and confront his deepest demons. The game's treatment of the story is riddled with plot holes, and the game is convoluted enough to test your patience with the "Game Over" screen every now and then. Still, it is—in the absence of significant alternatives—the best video game treatment of a King story yet, sought after by King completists despite its obvious flaws.

We play as Tad (the author), who is framed for a gruesome murder, prompting him to help solve the mystery and clear his name. The way the game unfolds this journey is a bit nonsensical, as nothing Thad does feels justified (such as stealing evidence from a crime scene before he's even been involved in any crimes). The option to interact with other characters is clunky on a technical level, and every objective we're given is half-baked, failing to connect with the unfolding story. Basically, it's not a good game or a good adaptation.

Apart from these games, there is 1989's The Running Man, which was released as a Commodore 64 game, but it is such a loose adaptation that technically can't be considered a King video game. However, I did come across a more recent King inspired survival horror called The Fog, a 2017 indie title from Horizon Games available on Steam. Based on The Mist, the game is a first-person experience with combat and resource management sprinkled throughout. The bad news is that it's terrible: not an ounce of care has been put into creating an immersive atmosphere, the graphics are poor, and there is no save button.

It seems that the true curse of video game adaptation it has to do with the fact that we don't have a decent game based on Stephen King's amazing work. Until this curse is lifted, we can only dream.