Secret Level is an animated anthology series exploring a selection of current and classic gaming franchises.
I broke the episodes into three tiers – A, B, and C – and listed them within those tiers in approximate order of preference. The fact that there are only three tiers is indicative of what I thought of the show’s first eight episodes (average or better, on the whole). I’m moderately familiar with most, but not all, of the IPs that Secret Level explores – but I don’t think it ended up impacting my viewing experience and resultant opinions much.
Unreal Tournament: Xan
I didn’t have high expectations for this one. I’ve played enough Unreal Tournament before to recognize one of the map layouts and a couple of the weapons, but no more. The episode’s tight pace and efficient characterization make it a winner in my book. Sure, the story it tells isn’t subversive, but it’s efficient, good-looking, and a lot of fun…kind of like a good multiplayer game.
Warhammer 40,000: And They Shall Know No Fear
Look, I’m both a man and a nerd. I’m predisposed to liking this shit.
If I’m reading things right, this episode takes place after the campaign of Space Marine II (released a few months ago), and makes for a fun (but teasingly open-ended) continuation of Lieutenant Titus’ story. In just 15 minutes we go from Mad Max-style shootouts with cultists in scrappy vehicles to cosmic horror and knife fights with giant eyeball monsters. Just roll with it; you’ll have fun (unlike the guy in the box they were dragging around the whole time – why didn’t they put it on wheels?).
Sifu: It Takes a Life
Artistically, this was the most unique of the first eight episodes, with almost painterly touches that reminded me a bit of Arcane. It presents a new spin on nightclub level that I spent hours battling through, and ends with a brief-yet-thoughtful meditation on the cost of revenge (and dumplings). That action choreography is slick, too – I’m pretty sure Fortnite did a Travis Scott concert, but this feels more like the real thing.
PAC-MAN: Circle
What…what the fuck?
No, seriously. What the fuck?
I’m intrigued but horrified, like I just saw an elephant learning scrimshaw. Apparently this is a prequel to a gritty reboot of the Pac-Man franchise, which is…something. Not much more to say about this one, besides “thanks for the night terrors.”[1]
Armored Core: Asset Management
Keanu’s here! He’s still breathtaking, if a bit cranky.
The mech fights on offer are as cool as you’d expect, and the episode does a good job showing things we didn’t see in Armored Core VI (the only one I’ve played) – the experiences of the pilot both in and out of the mech. This episode exemplifies one of the series’ weaknesses: you can’t always pack a lot of story into a 15min runtime. That said, the ending is wild, limp setup or no.
New World: The Once and Future King
Oh, snap! They even got Ahnold! He makes some Ahnold noises, too! Sounds like, “GUAHHH!” – you know, the kind of thing you say when you get in a cold shower without expecting it. This episode’s visuals are vivid and colorful compared to most of the others – the brightness extends to the story itself, which is much less grim than, say, the Armored Core episode. It makes for a nice palate cleanser. I don’t know a whole lot about New World, but the episode’s treatment of respawn mechanics was decently fun, and Ahnold is Ahnold (and Ahnold is good).
Crossfire: Good Conflict
Hand up: I don’t know much at all about the Crossfire series besides that it’s popular as fuck overseas. This episode was a pretty straightforward series of shootouts between teams of mercenaries – it reminded me of old flash animations I used to watch (albeit much prettier). The “moral” of the episode is beaten harder than a horse in a glue factory, which doesn’t help it in the rankings. Inoffensive, but not great.
Dungeons & Dragons: The Queen’s Cradle
This episode isn’t bad, but it’s boring. I mean, I love D&D, but this just felt…meh. I probably would have liked this one better if I hadn’t already played the game in both tabletop and video game form…unlike many of the other episodes, this one didn’t add any interesting new perspectives on a preexisting franchise; it just told a kind of dull story within one. That dragon sure was pretty, though.
Final(?) Thoughts
I can’t speak for people who don’t have any experiences with the franchises involved, but I like to think that the show would be approachable – to me, it never seemed like background knowledge of, say, Warhammer 40,000 was necessary to understand what was going on in a given episode (although it might help explain who the goat guys with blacklight blood are, and why they’re in such a bad mood).
I’ll be back with another tier list when I’ve been able to watch the rest of the season. Who knows – I might even do a full Wukong review one of these days (I finally beat that ********* Erlang).
Happy holidays.
[1] I mean this as a compliment.