Shrek might be known for peeling onions and outwittingfairytale villains, but over the years, he’s also had a surprisingly eventful run in video games. From chaotic brawlers to kart racers that somehow exist, Shrek’s digital legacy is equal parts absurd, endearing, and genuinely fun.
Not every game got things right—some were clunky, some were cash-ins—but a few managed to bottle the magic of the movies and deliver something worth remembering, whether it was through laugh-out-loud writing, inventive level design, or just sheer, swampy charm.
Back when the GameCube was just finding its feet,Shrek Extra Largedropped like a fever dream someone scribbled on a napkin during lunch break at TDK. It was a remaster of the originalShrekgame for Xbox, but more unhinged. Shrek’s mission? Rescue Princess Fiona by collecting 100 “Heroic Deeds” across themed levels involving cursed leprechauns, evil knights, and inexplicably, Elvis impersonators.
The game controls like a shopping cart with a loose wheel, but there’s something deeply entertaining about watching Shrek body-slam fairytale enemies while belching and farting as combat mechanics. Seriously. His flatulence is mapped to a button. And somehow it works—well,functionally. What it lacks in polish, it makes up for in the kind of unfiltered chaos onlyearly-2000s licensed gamescould get away with. It’s not good in the traditional sense, but it’s unforgettable in a “Shrek just bench-pressed a cow” sort of way.
No IP was safe from getting a kart racer during the 2000s.Shrek Smash n’ Crash Racingshowed up to join the party with a roster that included Pinocchio, The Big Bad Wolf, and Puss in Boots… riding everythingexceptkarts. Shrek charges into the race on a swamp beast, Donkey gallops in on Dragon, and Gingy rolls in on a cupcake carriage that defies both physics and dignity.
The game doesn’t rivalMario Kartin mechanics, but its style and worldbuilding do carry some weird charm. The tracks are themed around locations from the films, complete with traps, branching paths, and shortcuts. The power-ups are surprisingly mean-spirited too—true to Shrek’s world, you’re more likely to get hit by a rotten egg or a swarm of fairies than a banana peel. Where it stumbles is the AI, which fluctuates between comatose and psychic. But multiplayer mode, with everyone smashing into each other using overly aggressive melee attacks mid-race?Pure chaos, in the best way.
Not many people talk aboutShrek the Thirdon PS2, Wii, and Xbox 360, but it had some ideas. Loosely adapting the third film’s plot, it lets players control a rotating cast including Shrek, Fiona, Puss in Boots, Arthur, and Sleeping Beauty as they travel through Far Far Away to prevent Prince Charming’s coup.
What stands out most is the surprisingly punchycombo-based combat. Each character has their own style—Shrek can ground pound, Puss has agile slashes, and Sleeping Beautyliterally puts enemies to sleepwith her special move. The level design is varied too, with visits to high schools, pirate ships, and magic-infused towers, each filled with platforming sections and light puzzle-solving. It also deserves credit for leaning hard into the film’s absurd humor, with cutscenes that channel the DreamWorks snark perfectly. No one was expecting much, butShrek the Thirdended up being more competent than it had any right to be—and way more fun when played in co-op.
It might look like a forgettable GBA tie-in, butShrek: Hassle at the Castleactually deliverssome of the most solid 2Dbeat-em-up gameplay from a licensed title of its time. Developed by WayForward—yes, theShantaedevs—it covers the story of the originalShrekfilm through 20 side-scrolling levels, letting players swap between Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona as they punch, kick, and fart their way through Duloc’s overly sanitized kingdom.
The pixel art holds up surprisingly well, with expressive animations and environments that actually resemble locations from the movie. Each character plays differently: Fiona is quick, Donkey has an aerial kick that clears whole crowds, and Shrek is a walking wrecking ball. There’s co-op support too, which turns the entire thing into a surprisingly fun couch brawler. It’s short, silly, and surprisingly tight for a game with a name that sounds like a medieval HR dispute. Definitely one of the better surprises in Shrek’s portable catalog.
Released to tie in with the final film,Shrek: Forever Aftercould’ve coasted on brand power alone—but instead, it gave players a surprisingly decent action-platformer with light RPG elements. The big gimmick is the dual-world mechanic. Shrek can switch between the “real” timeline and the alternate Rumpelstiltskin-controlled dystopia, with puzzles and environments changing based on which world he’s in.
Combat is basic but serviceable, and the levels are full of collectibles that unlock upgrades and outfits. The best part, though, is theco-op system. Players can swap between Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, and Fiona, each with unique abilities that come into play during platforming or combat. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s polished. The art style matches the tone of the film, and the voice work—though not the original cast—is solid enough to carry the cinematic vibe. As a movie tie-in released during an era where most studios had given up on quality, it’s an honest effort that doesn’t feel phoned in.
At first glance,Shrek: SuperSlamlooks like another DreamWorks cash grab, but under the ogre-green hood is a chaotic party brawler that became a low-key cult classic. Released in 2005 across nearly every platform imaginable, this wasn’t just a basic licensed beat-em-up—it had legit mechanics. Characters had unique “Slam” moves, destructible environments, and fast-paced combat that leaned more towardPower StonethanSmash Bros.
Each arena was interactive and destructible, from crumbling castles to absurd food courts, letting Donkey somersault a Gingerbread Man into a falling chandelier. But what really kept the game alive wasn’t its mechanics—it was the competitive community. Somehow,SuperSlamended up with a dedicated group of speedrunners and pro-level players who broke the game down frame by frame. Shrek mains became real. Tier lists were made. Slam percentages were calculated. A game made to entertain children ended up in Twitch highlight reels years later. And that ispure magic.
This was the peak. Released in 2004 alongside the movie,Shrek 2on PS2, Xbox, and GameCube delivered a co-op action-adventure that didn’t just ride the film’s popularity—it expanded it. Levels like the giant Beanstalk or the haunted Spooky Forest weren’t just set pieces, they were packed with teamwork-based puzzles and multiple playable characters, from Donkey to Little Red Riding Hood.
The squad-based system let players switch between four characters on the fly, each with their own abilities needed to solve environmental puzzles or survive combat. Fiona could slow time, Donkey could high-kick obstacles, and Gingerbread Man had a candy cane grapple. It was a clever way to encourage experimentation without ever feeling like busywork. Even more impressive? The humor. From Chicken Launching mini-games to Prince Charming getting roasted mid-battle, the writing actuallyfeltlike the films. Add in decent voice acting, varied mission design, and a vibrant visual style, and it’s no surprise this one’s still fondly remembered. For many, this was the definitive Shrek game—and it still holds up better than it should.
