Visually stunning, mood-driven vignettes, focusing on the art design and vibe of the games they’re adapting, make up video game anthology Secret Level – streaming on Prime Video. It’s more about pure audio-visual artistic expression than complex storytelling, writes Daniel Rutledge.
Being a long-time gamer feels pretty incredible right now. Not only do we have access to practically bottomless game libraries for relatively cheap subscription costs, but videogame adaptations have finally levelled up to great heights after spending decades languishing in pop culture’s nadir. The Last of Us is the apex of this modern trend and sets a fearsomely high standard, but it had an unfair advantage in just how elite its source material was and how easily it translated to the prestige television format. Prime Video’s Fallout and the animated series Arcane, based on League of Legends, both nail the arguably tougher job of crafting a great TV show from far broader, less linear source material. These shows build rich, standalone stories that expand on their game worlds and reward hardcore lore experts while also being enjoyable for non-players, too.
It feels like videogame fans are experiencing something similar to what comic book fans went through recently. After decades of hit-or-miss films that Hollywood-ified their beloved source material, the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally provided a true big-screen realisation of what countless fans loved about serialised graphic novels. Of course, videogame adaptations will likely never have a MCU equivalent given how vastly different the mediums are. But it is indisputable that we are living in the dawn of the first era of videogame-inspired film and television being done right. With rights being bought up all over the place and loads of new adaptations on the way, we’re sure to have more greatness soon, and this may even turn out to be the dawn of a golden age.
It’s precisely the right time for Secret Level. This anthology series of 15 animated shorts based on 15 beloved, diverse games is a wonderfully snackable ode to the medium. It’s far from a The Last of Us-style epic narrative experience, and also not like Fallout‘s approach; instead it accepts that many videogames are not story-driven experiences and don’t need to be adapted into something they’re not. It’s obviously been made with a streaming-era massive budget, but Secret Level delivers a collection of animated short films that are more about pure audio-visual artistic expression than complex storytelling. They focus on the art design and vibe of the games they’re adapting, serving up visually stunning, mood-driven vignettes which are bursting with creativity in a way only the short film model allows.
This also makes for some surprises—it will likely not be your favourite game that makes for your favourite Secret Level episode. I’ve never been a Warhammer guy, but holy shit I loved the Space Marine 2 short. It’s just a visual feast, with the blended medieval and sci-fi aesthetics of the future knight combat being done in a supremely cool way. While there is some dialogue about a “child of rage” and so on, it’s pretty much relentless carnage and it is the best of the lot in terms of pure spectacle. It’s also possibly the most brutal, but many of these shorts don’t skimp on the violence, so do use discretion if you’re watching any of them with younger viewers.
Sifu is another highlight. It features a more comic book style of graphics than the other shorts to depict some stunning combat choreography, including a few things I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. One really inventive fight takes place on a glass skywalk which allows us to see it from underneath as well as every other angle. It’s an example of Secret Level using the medium of animation to achieve things that would probably be impossible in a live-action production. While less satisfying overall, the Dungeons & Dragons episode also features some of the series’ most visually striking moments, while the Concord episode is a fun little Guardians of the Galaxy-lite romp that’s another of the better ones.
Blur Studio’s animation style on Secret Level is ideal. While they vary it across the series, each short has a hyper-fluid, detailed look that resembles a slick PlayStation 5 cutscene. That’s unsurprising given this studio does a bunch of animation for A-tier games as well as film and TV—think Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Dark Souls II and the remade Halo 2 cutscenes in the 2014 Master Chief Collection as well as the likes of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avatar and the title sequence of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Bringing to life their VFX on Secret Level is a stacked voice cast including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves, Temuera Morrison, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ariana Greenblatt, Claudia Doumit, Kevin Hart and The Last of Us stars Laura Bailey, Gabriel Luna and Merle Dandridge.
We don’t always have to be deeply moved, we don’t always have to be compelled by a meaningful narrative in which we go on a powerful journey with characters we love and care for. Sometimes we just need to see amazing visuals, kick-arse combat and loving salutes to some of our favourite games with a running time shorter than most Fortnite matches. That’s what Secret Level gives us and it’s a great addition to the growing collection of brilliant modern videogame adaptations.
