TV Shows Secret Level

[Ben]

I was trawling for stuff to watch tonight and unexpectedly found "Secret Level" on Prime. It's described as being shorts set in various video game universes, and well... It's basically that.

I watched four of them and they all honestly caught me by surprise with how well done they were. There are a number of others that pique my interest and I'll be checking them out soon, but I tracked down the ones I watched on Youtube so I can link them here.


S1.E1 ∙ Dungeons & Dragons: The Queen's Cradle

Probably the least 'video game' one, since it's not mimicking Baldur's Gate or anything, but this was a great one to start off with. Set the expectation for quality pretty high with the first episode.

S1.E2 ∙ Sifu: It Takes a Life

S1.E3 ∙ New World: The Once and Future King

S1.E4 ∙ Unreal Tournament: Xan

This one I wasn't sure how the premise would carry over, but made it work well. It's been a long time since I've played Unreal Tournament, meaning I was playing that shit with marasamune on PS3 I think, but this was still cool.

S1.E5 ∙ Warhammer 40,000: And They Shall Know No Fear

I realize I'd seen Corridor Digital talking about this one. There are some really cool visuals in here, and it sets up the feel of Warhammer 40k pretty well. The Space Marines feel like walking tanks, which they are. I don't know the IP enough to know if the specific characters in it are more important in the grand scheme of things, it kind of suggests that, but I would totally be willing to watch more of this.

S1.E6 ∙ PAC-MAN: Circle

This is just... Wow. They made Pac Man dark. I don't hate it.

S1.E7 ∙ Crossfire: Good Conflict

S1.E8 ∙ Armored Core: Asset Management

I did not know, starting this one, that it had mother fuckin' Keanu Reeves in it. That alone makes it one of the top episodes for me, but it's just cool by itself.

S1.E9 ∙ The Outer Worlds: The Company We Keep

I cannot find the full episode for this one on Youtube, only clips. I don't recall much about what little I played of The Outer Worlds, but this immediately gives the kind of vibe I recall from it. The animation also seems top notch, and those faces are super well done... To the point that I'm sure I recognize some of the actors. Definitely cool.

S1.E10 ∙ Mega Man: Start

I'm not the biggest Mega Man fan just because I didn't have a NES/SNES early enough to write it into my core memories, but this did a good job of conveying the entire premise in a pretty short runtime. It's kind of got that Alita: Battle Angel vibe, probably because of the giant eyes.

S1.E11 ∙ Exodus: Odyssey

S1.E12 ∙ Spelunky: Tally

S1.E13 ∙ Concord: Tale of the Implacable

OK, this was fun, and probably what the game should have been about. It sets up a neat universe (with a very Guardians of the Galaxy vibe), but I guess they didn't carry that through to the failed game.

S1.E14 ∙ Honor of Kings: The Way of All Things

S1.E15 ∙ Playtime: Fulfillment

 

[Fire Queen]

i haven't watched any of secret level yet myself, the visual styles make it seem like it wouldn't be my thing, but it's so funny that there's an episode for a game that is no longer purchasable or playable (Concord)

 

[Ben]

i haven't watched any of secret level yet myself, the visual styles make it seem like it wouldn't be my thing, but it's so funny that there's an episode for a game that is no longer purchasable or playable (Concord)

I noticed that. I'm thinking it must have been this people mentioned around the time it collapsed, in a "huh the show was interesting I guess."

But from what I know of Concord it was just Guardians of the Galaxy, so probably better fit in a show format.

 

[Ben]

I added in a few more of the ones I watched to the first post.

The Concord episode was definitely what I'd seen people talking about. The episode has a great premise and is pretty absorbing, but it's a prequel story that sets up the universe. It doesn't have any of the characters from the game in it (until the very end, I guess), and as far as I know about the game, none of this neat stuff was actually present in Concord... Super dumb, because if they had this in their heads, I'm surprised the game wasn't any better.

Also the Armored Core episode had Keanu Reeves in it, which I wasn't expecting and was dope.