10 musician-inspired video games you can play for free right now
The connection between music and video games is a long and storied one whether it’s the inclusion of our favorite musicians’ songs in a game, small references to their careers or a band having a complete release based on themselves.
Going all the way back to the ’80s, artists such as Journey, Michael Jackson, Prince and plenty of others have had digital versions of themselves brought to life by developers. In modern times, there are so many different ways to release a game, and we have a multitude of options available beyond paid games for a console.
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Take a look below for 10 bands with their own video games that you can play for free right now.
Weezer
While people are staying at home during the pandemic, Weezer gave fans a sweet way to waste a ton of time with a game that’s impossible to beat. Inspired by difficult boss battles in old school games, they named it after their song “The End Of The Game.” You can play the game here.
Ice Nine Kills
Horror metalcore crew Ice Nine Kills made a sick 8-bit retro game for their Christmas themed song “Merry Axe-Mas.” The song was inspired by slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night and is simple to understand but hard to perfect. You can try the game out here.
PUP
PUP threw it back to the choose-your-own-adventure games with their video for “Old Wounds.” The music video is an interactive game with over 90 minutes worth of content. With dozens of endings, viewers play as the band members and get different outcomes based on decisions.
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Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold gifted fans with a mobile game developing the backstory of their famous bat skull logo. With tons of references to their songs and albums scattered throughout the game, it’s a perfect way to spend some time if you’re a dedicated fan. Luckily, the vast majority of features in the game are free through the Apple app store.
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden have multiple video games dating all the way back to Ed Hunter in the ’90s. With 2015 album The Book Of Souls, they gave fans a game where you can play as their iconic mascot. Speed Of Light features a retro look calling back to ’80s and ’90s arcade games and can be played here.
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Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne went all out with the release of his latest album Ordinary Man. The album saw the Prince of Darkness dropping some of his best musical material in the past 20 years. But he also had an extra little treat for fans shortly after its release. Legend Of Ozzy is a pretty straight forward web game with the new album as a backing track. Players guide a bat with Ozzy’s head through obstacles while collecting blood droplets to score points. You can try the game here.
BTS
If there’s one thing that’s clear about BTS it’s that their fanbase is incredibly dedicated to every facet of what the members do. Luckily for superfans, a mobile game called BTS World is available on app stores. Here, you can act as their manager with rewards including new music.
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Marshmello
Marshmello has proven video games go hand in hand with his music, and Marshmello Music Dance brings that full circle. The beat maker has previously performed concerts in Fortnite, but his mobile game gave fans a way to play along while checking out his album Joytime III. You can download it for free on iOS and Android devices.
Punktendo
While this isn’t dedicated to a single band, punk fans are going to be stoked about Punktendo. Game creator Jeff Hong created Nintendo-styled games on classic bands such as NOFX, Descendents, Misfits and more. Titles include “Fat Mike’s Golf,” “Masked Intruder’s Alley,” “Milo Fu” and “Dan Zig.” The games are free to play and you can check them out here.
Alkaline Trio
While this Alkaline Trio game isn’t an official release, it’s pretty funny to play through. Game developer Jason Oda created Emogame, which was a series of Flash games based on ridiculous ideas around emo music. One of those games included Alkaline Trio vs. Hell, which saw the band having to fight Skeletor following their arrival at the gates of heaven after being run over while bringing Rose McGowan home from a bar. The original homepage for the games isn’t running anymore but they’ve been archived and can be played here.
