The Video Game Industry Pays Tribute To Late Hollywood Legend David Lynch

Movie fans worldwide were shocked to hear of influential filmmaker David Lynch's death this week. Just 78 years old at the time of his passing--he would have turned 79 on January 20--Lynch rose to prominence with films like Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and the cult-hit TV series Twin Peaks across the '80s and '90s.

While his strange and surreal approach to filmmaking would inspire several other big names in Hollywood, Lynch also had an impact on video games, with numerous titles having (or claiming to have) a Lynchian feel to their design. One video game series that he has a surprising connection to? Nintendo's Legend of Zelda games, as various key creatives behind the series cited Twin Peaks as a catalyst behind some of the weirder elements in several Zelda games.

In honor of David Lynch (1946-2025), some quotes about how his work on Twin Peaks influenced the Zelda series.#DavidLynch #TwinPeaks #Zelda

[image or embed]
— Hyrule Interviews (@hyruleinterviews.bsky.social) Jan 16, 2025 at 8:43 PM

Fittingly, several video game studios and professionals have posted tributes online to Lynch. Alan Wake 2 creative director Sam Lake shared his condolences, as the recent game starring the troubled author is heavily inspired by Lynch's work, with the first game having a heavy Twin Peaks vibe in particular. "The internal codename for Alan Wake 2 was 'Big Fish,'" Lake wrote, referencing Lynch's autobiographical and self-help book. In another post on BlueSky, Lake commented on how Lynch had been a big influence in his life.

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