Video game worlds are often ripe for adaptation into other mediums. In the 2000s, video game novelizations were the big thing. Series like Assassin’s Creed, Halo, Diablo, Final Fantasy, and more were all given novels that either retold the events of the game or offered new insight into the world you explore in them. Visual media has often proven harder for video game stories to break into. In the 1990s, films like Super Mario Bros., Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and Tomb Raider proved lackluster in their attempts to show a wider audience the niche worlds their games take place in. Secret Level, Amazon Prime Video’s newest attempt to reach a new audience, proves this is less common.
With the advent of streaming and the rise in better-looking 3D animation, it seems that more successful and powerful forms of adaptation have arrived. In 2023, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and the acclaimed Sonic The Hedgehog film series all showed a softening attitude toward films about video games. The world of television shows based on video games, however, has remained a tough market to get into. With the 2020s, it seemed to be more common for famous video game shows to exist, such as The Last of Us, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners which I looked at when it came out, and Fallout. Late last year, a new contender entered the ring of shows that faithfully and entertainingly depict video game worlds for their uniqueness.
Secret Level is another anthology series that was created after the success of Black Mirror. Black Mirror’s futuristic worlds dominated by technology highlight the ever-growing fear of humanity becoming obsolete. Another show that tackled this was the lesser-known Love, Death & Robots. This show combined the talking points of technological advancements with stunning and almost photo-realistic graphics in some episodes, and comedically fictional graphics in others.
Secret Level comes from the mind of Tim Miller, creator of the aforementioned Love, Death & Robots. This much is apparent from the visuals in episodes like “Unreal Tournament: Xan” and “Armored Core: Asset Management.” Both episodes feel like they would fit right in with the original show if not for one important detail about Secret Level; every episode is based on a popular game franchise. This includes IPs like Pac-Man, Mega Man, Warhammer 40,000, Dungeons & Dragons, and more. This initially confused me but also achieved an unintended consequence; I was left wanting to play these games. Episodes like Xan and Asset Management made me want to check out Unreal Tournament and Armored Core. “Outer Worlds: The Company We Keep” feels like a great introduction to the Outer Worlds video game series, and it even reminded me that Concord existed.
The show was developed over the second half of 2024, before releasing in two drops on December 10 and 17, 2024. Studios from all over the world, including Studio Blur in the United States, each worked on one to two episodes. This collaborative effort allows for different feels and aesthetics to be shown in their own ways. While the episodes centered around The Outer Worlds series can feel like a Borderlands-esque romp, the episode for Dungeons & Dragons feels like you’re watching what is envisioned in a standard campaign; both episodes use different graphical styles to show this without telling. Most episodes also feel like they’re faithful to the original game worlds, aside from the Pac-Man episode.
Episode 6, “PAC-MAN: Circles” stands as the most outlandish representation of the famous disc-shaped creature yet. As opposed to being about collecting weird dots and fruit, “PAC-MAN: Circles” tells a story. A decrepit and derelict-looking man fights for his survival with Pac-Man as his guide and eventually finds an exit to the maze that all Pac-Man games take place in. As someone who remembers playing Pac-Man on an old CRT television from a plug-n-play system, it feels disturbing to see the famous character taken in such a wild direction. However, this was done with intention as the whole episode serves as a prequel to the upcoming game Shadow Labyrinth.
Another confusing episode is the cavalcade of Sony branding in the season finale “Playtime: Fulfillment.” Serving as an early celebration of 30 years of the PlayStation console, the episode feels jam-packed with easter eggs and secrets for us to find. Things like conduits from the often forgotten Infamous game series, Helldivers from the smash hit Helldivers 2, Kratos from the 2018 God of War game, and a colossus from the 2005 cult classic Shadow of the Colossus are all on display in excellently rendered 3D animation. The only gripe I have with this episode is the inclusion of the famous comedian Kevin Hart. He’s not a bad voice actor, he just has such a distinct voice that it’s hard to separate the character from the person.
In the month since the second batch of episodes dropped, the series has achieved unimaginable feats. A second season was called for on the same day the second batch dropped, and the creator said the show could run for 10 more seasons. However, reception has remained mixed amongst critics and fans. Variety compares the show to poorly written AI summaries of the source material, IGN was left dissatisfied by the chosen games, and it holds an average score of 6.1/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s still pending whether it will be nominated for any awards, as three episodes are listed as being possible nominees for an Annie award, alongside one being nominated for a Golden Reel and a Visual Effects Society Award.
