George A. Romero’s 1993 horror, “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 best-seller. A year before Romero’s film was released, Capstone Software published “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 humiliation ritual and confront his innermost demons. The game’s treatment of the story is rife with plot holes, and the gameplay is convoluted enough to test your patience with the “Game Over” screen every once in a while. However, it is — due to an absence of meaningful alternatives — the best video game treatment of a King story to date, sought after by King completionists despite its glaring flaws.

We play as Thad (the author), who has been framed for a ghastly murder, which prompts him to help solve the mystery and clear his name. The way the game unravels this journey is a bit nonsensical, as nothing that Thad does feels warranted (such as stealing evidence from a crime scene even before he is implicated in any crimes). The option to interact with other characters feels cumbersome on a technical level, and every objective given to us is half-baked, failing to connect with the evolving story. In essence, not a good game, or a good adaptation.

Apart from these games, there’s 1989’s “The Running Man,” which was released as a Commodore 64 game, but it is such a loose adaptation that it cannot be technically considered a King video game. However, I did stumble upon a more recent King-inspired survival horror titled “The Fog,” a 2017 indie title by Horizon Games, available on Steam. Based on “The Mist,” the game is a first-person experience with some combat and resource management sprinkled in. The bad news is, it is horrendous: not an ounce of care has gone into crafting an atmosphere for immersion, the graphics are poor, and there is no save button.

It seems that the true video game adaptation curse has to do with the fact that we do not have a decent game based on Stephen King’s astounding body of work. Until this curse is lifted, we can only dream.