The Video Game parody will brighten up your weekend

As The Pitt’s second season wraps up, sketch comedy duo Hotel Art Thief dares to ask what the medical drama would look like as a video game. The results are much funnier than you’d expect.

The Pitt: The Video Game is the funniest video I’ve watched this week, lampooning the popular HBO Max show in the style of a first-person video game from the early 2000s. From the perspective of a newbie on their first day at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, this parody riffs on everything from the ridiculous medical scenarios that pop up on the show to how Dr. Robby and the other doctors bottle up their emotions.

If you’ve watched at least one episode of the show, you’ll get a kick out of everything this animation lovingly pokes fun at. You can watch the full video below.

This isn’t the first time Hotel Art Thief has reinterpreted a popular TV show as a video game. In 2024, it similarly spoofed The Bear, so that’s worth watching if you haven’t seen it before. At the time of The Bear parody’s release, Hotel Art Thief’s Joe Miciak told IGN that he was open to making a “spiritual sequel” in the future.

The Pitt: The Video Game is that spiritual sequel, upgrading the visuals so there are full PS2-like character models rather than surreal floating heads. Now, I can’t help but wonder what other TV shows should get this treatment, from Daredevil: Born Again to The Boys to Euphoria.

Sadly, The Pitt: The Video Game isn’t a real game you can play on Steam or itch.io, although I’d certainly play it if it were. If you haven’t watched The Pitt, the first two seasons of the ER spiritual successor are currently streaming on HBO Max, with a third season in the works.