Solo Leveling Games Make The Case For More, Better Manhwa Adaptations

It was Japan’s Manga and Anime that started it all, but you can’t deny that China and Korea are doing some great work in these mediums now. To Be Hero X is better than many modern anime these days, and Korean Manhwa have really stepped up their game lately. Japan no longer has exclusive rights, and personally, I think a little competition is great for the medium’s evolution as a whole.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about their gaming implications today. For years now, Japanese anime and manga have received game adaptations. Some amazing, some not so great, but for diehard fans, the extreme fanservice alone is reason enough to ask for more of these. But what about Manhwas? If you read manhwa comics regularly, you know full well there are some great stories out there. Solo Leveling isn’t the only manhwa in existence.

Solo Leveling Is A Good Start

Well, I say that, yet there’s no denying Solo Leveling is responsible for a lot of this Manhwa popularity. Sung Jin Woo’s aura farming and overpowered grandeur just hypes you up so much you don’t even notice all the story issues. Solo Leveling isn’t perfect, but it certainly has a very strong fanbase, and the anime adaptation just multiplied that by infinity. It’s no wonder multiple game adaptations were greenlit for this series.

That’s right, Solo Leveling has not one, not two, but three major video games (well, the third is still on the way). You’ve got Solo Leveling: ARISE, the mobile gacha game from Netmarble with all your usual IP gacha fanservice and original content. Gachas like this, if done right, can sustain the series for years. Just look at Bleach Brave Souls and its incredible wealth of content. ARISE has some very glaring monetization issues, though, so not really a good example.

It seems they sort of learned their lesson and followed in the footsteps of Granblue Fantasy: Relink, coming up with Solo Leveling: ARISE Overdrive, a complete single-player game which is honestly a step in the right direction. And now, we’ve got an action Roguelite called Solo Leveling Karma. They even got Troy Baker as VA just recently. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely excited. It’s something different, and more original fanservice is always great.

Antares’ VA has been revealed! Troy Baker
byu/TravelerBrat insololeveling

There’s Better Stuff Out There

This brings me to my next point: why not more video game adaptations for other deserving manhwas? No offense to Solo Leveling fans, but beyond hype scenes and adrenaline-fueled battle matchups, the story lacks a certain depth and execution. Plus, ARISE was really not what I’d like other games to try and imitate. I hope Karma is a better Solo Leveling game and delivers engaging original content with canon adaptations, but again, it already has three games while many others stand at zero.

The only other Manhwa with a mainstream game that I know of is Tower of God, which is once more a very well-known name. And besides, I’ve had enough of long-running live service IPs based on these popular works. Why can’t a manhwa have a good single-player game? Tower of God is definitely a very interesting read. I remember its art style used to be pretty bad in the early days, but it really evolved, right in front of my eyes. Seeing the entire saga presented in a proper single-player action game tops another hollow gacha any day.

I played Netmarble's Tower of God for about 3 hours. Here are my first impressions as a decade-long fan of the original webtoon.
byu/_METALEX ingachagaming

Besides, it’s time to think outside the popular box. Stuff like Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint can make a pretty solid story-driven RPG, and I’d love to see a Bastard adaptation someday. Thing is, video games with indie-level production quality can be great to gauge current and future interest in these manhwas. Plus, there is definitely a dedicated fanbase here who’ll love any form of visual representation, be it animation or a fanservice-filled video game. Safe choices with popular titles only is no way to evolve the medium.