Since it was announced, there has been some confusion about what secret level actually it is. The video game-themed anthology streaming on Prime Video, directed by Love, death and robots creator Tim Miller: is a collection of animated shorts, each based on a different game property. So there is a mega man episode that explores the origin of the character and a creepy episode that attempts to create a metanarrative around the concept of roguelike.
It's an interesting idea let down by the lack of interesting ideas. The 15 shorts are almost universally boring, failing to make the source material look compelling or provide new insights to existing fans. The real confusion is who this is actually for.
The main problem is how homogeneous secret level is. Working directly with game publishers, the program draws on a strange but also impressively global list, with titles such as the Chinese megahit. honor of kings and korean shooter Cross-fire. But despite presenting a wide variety of video games, all of its episodes are very similar. It's kind of the opposite of Love, death and robotswhich featured several different styles and tones while exploring horror and science fiction. That's how we got beautiful episodes like the mind-blowing “The Pulse of the Machine.”
secret levelOn the other hand, it mainly uses a bold, hyper-realistic style that makes almost all of its episodes look identical. It's like watching a continuous barrage of cutscenes at E3 and not being able to tell the games apart.
This works for some stories. He warhammer 40,000 The episode is appropriately somber. But I can't say I really needed a hyper-violent version of Pac-Man. I'm not kidding: the Pac-Man episode is probably the bloodiest of the entire series, turning a classic arcade game into a brutal survivor story with plenty of blood and death. (The episode's big twist is also the stupidest thing I've seen all year, and I sat through the entire thing Megalopolis.) There are a handful of deviations that try to add some color and vibrancy, but they all end up looking alike Arcane. The worst offender is mega man episode, which attempts to fuse a realistic style with an anime aesthetic and comes off as an awkward and ugly mix of the two.
It's more than just how secret level it seems, however. The series is also terribly boring. Most episodes feel like the opening scene of a much larger story, ending just when things seem to get interesting. Ideas are repeated a lot. There are no less than three episodes, based on creepy, New Worldand Sifu – All of this tries to tell a meta-story about the concept of dying in a video game. And when the show does try some creative liberties, like with Pac-Man, it becomes a bland attempt at edgy violence.
Two of the strangest episodes are based on games you can't actually play right now. One is set in the world of the now infamous multiplayer shooter. Concordwhich was the most disastrous launch in PlayStation history, causing the abrupt closure of both the game and its development studio. The other episode is based on Exodusan upcoming role-playing game published by Magic: the meeting Magos de la Costa company. In another timeline, these secret level The episodes would be the ideal opportunity to show what makes these futuristic worlds unique and worth exploring further in a game. In reality, they do both. Concord and Exodus They seem like the most generic science fiction stories imaginable. I'm struggling to find a single different thing to say about either of them.
Actually, secret level is best summed up in its final episode. Called “Playtime,” it follows a bike messenger in a near-future world that looks like an AR-infested hellhole. Very quickly, she is handed a mysterious package that drags her into what can only be described as a PlayStation commercial. she is chased by helldivers soldiers, avoids Kratos' attacks and has a sweet moment with Sackboy. There is no story. It's a collection of Easter eggs tied to a brand, a chance to spot things you recognize when playing.
Throughout its 15 episodes, secret level It doesn't explain why any of these worlds are worth exploring, and at the same time, it doesn't offer anything new to those who already know it. It lies in an uncomfortable, empty middle ground. After watching it all, I'm somehow more confused than before I started.
secret level begins streaming on Prime Video on December 10.
