Why Secret Level Fails to Stand Alone or Sell Its Games

Let’s dive straight into it. The question in my headline needs addressing upfront, and here’s the straightforward truth: Secret Level exists to expand intellectual property and rake in some cash. That’s the bottom line, because for top executives, it’s all about IP these days. Just take a look at Disney’s relentless pursuit of sequels and Hollywood’s attempt to adapt any game they can get their hands on, even if some choices are eyebrow-raising. Yet, the real kicker is, I can’t really grasp how Secret Level plans to achieve that.

The first set of episodes dropped this week, and I’ll be upfront—I found them somewhat disappointing. Honestly, the best I could muster for the Pac-Man episode (and we’ll revisit this) is that it was a bold move, though saying even that might be generous. At their worst, these episodes seem like glitzy advertisements for their respective franchises. And if that’s indeed their aim, they’ve missed the mark.

Let me break it down starting with the Dungeons & Dragons episode. D&D is known for its serious, yet often absurd role-playing fun with friends, right? Yet, all we got was an attempt at an epic battle sequence with zero character development to care about. Isn’t the charm of such a world getting to know the quirky characters? This definitely didn’t inspire me to gather my friends for a game night.

The episodes surrounding other properties didn’t fare any better either. So, you might wonder, how do they hold up individually? In short, not great. The Sifu episode looked visually impressive but boiled down to one prolonged fight scene. Crossfire’s episode was so monotonous I caught myself scrolling on my phone. New World attempted humor, but it landed flat. And not even Keanu Reeves could salvage the Armored Core episode; it was just mechs battling, and while I usually enjoy that stuff, it felt lacking.

Now, I’ve got to mention something here—each of these were overly violent. Sure, I’m no 90s parent fearing games would rot the youth’s minds, but the level of violence felt almost cliché in each episode. It seemed like a throwback to times when outsiders dismissed games as simply violent, rather than appreciating the depth and potential they offer.

Even acknowledging the presence of violence in video games, the episodes’ short runtime robbed them of any narrative depth or context for that violence. The Warhammer 40K episode could have been intriguing with its moody and enigmatic atmosphere, yet it was lost in a sea of similar violent episodes. I mean, literally every episode had this! Including, to my surprise, the Pac-Man one.

Speaking of which, the Pac-Man episode was surprisingly one of the bloodiest, second only maybe to Warhammer. Yup, Pac-Man, but as a lip-flapping creature tearing through foes before lunching on their remains. There were nods to the source material, like chomping cherries, but instead of a familiar yellow orb, we got a grey alien dude which made me scratch my head. It felt like a fan film, not that fan films are inherently bad, but they often become self-indulgent, occasionally veering into violence for the sake of being “edgy.” How groundbreaking, right? (Yes, that’s sarcasm.)

So, as more episodes are set to release next week, I remain baffled by Secret Level’s purpose. Despite being fresh out of the gate, it already seems outmoded, like a relic from an era that perhaps never even existed. But if there’s a silver lining, we might at least get a glimpse of what Concord was envisioned to be—whether that’s good or bad is yet to be seen.