The Secret Level is Gold

Since then Castlevania became a hit on Netflix, game studios have their titles optioned for any broadcaster looking for a potential multi-season hit. Prime Video is already there It falls and finally Great Result on its deck, too The secret level aims to offer something different by being an anthology covering topics from many decades rather than a single series. The result is similar to the first games in what clearly aspires to start a larger franchise: solid and showing tons of promise, but also in need of refinement and sharper focus.

Despite the lack of true connective tissue, The secret level The 15-episode season can be divided into three parts of video game history: the games that were, the games that are, and the games that will be. Most of the show is made up of current games, which include big mainstream titles like Armored Core again Space Marine II and many genre or region-specific favorites. Meanwhile, the former shines a light on franchises that their individual developers haven’t done much with in years, and the latter highlights games that their creators hope will be great in the next year or three.

If there’s anything to do with it The secret level the episodes are cohesive, that each feels like it belongs to the title it’s attached to, whether it’s telling a story in that universe or clearly setting up important events that are important to that game. In that regard, most of the episodes work well enough as stand-alones that will hit hard if you have the right context for what’s going on. That’s obviously by design, as for many of these, this may be the only chance they have to connect with a large audience—unless something changes at Epic Games, for example, this show offers. An Unconventional Tournament its last rush to what may be, if not forever, then a moment.

What makes things worse is that when put together, many of the episodes are very similar to each other. Blur Studio’s decision to create most of them in CG, a photorealistic style similar to the game trailers that first cut their teeth, gives most of the show the same energy as a long cinematic look you’d see at the Game Awards or E3 back in the day. in its development. Individual episodes of Cloud again Spelunky they are the brightest and best of the group; they provide a nice change of pace by styling and trying to evoke the look of their games.

Your favorite The secret level the episode will ultimately depend on how you feel about a particular game, asset, or character. Understandably, this show is mostly made up of contemporary games like Armored Core and Amazon games New World: Aeturnum, and only some of them are successful in attracting enough interest to explore their source material. Episodes are strongest when they invite you into their world or give you exciting places to see, as it happens This is Spelunky’s site the sense of humor and charming gameplay of roguelikes, which have really grown into a popular genre in the last decade.

But at worst, the episode will feel like a product going through the motions to make itself up. Despite the fact that everyone was queuing up to see the spectacle Concord episode months after the game was shut down and its studio canned, it’s a pretty good attempt at what was a fine shooter that didn’t get anything close to a good shakeup from players or its parent company. Not the worst or the best of the bunch, but it does a good enough job of showing off its sci-fi world and giving the game some backstory it hasn’t mentioned before its plug is pulled. Meanwhile, the PlayStation One episode is a bare-bones business case that feels like a stab at recapturing the magic of the old PlayStation 3 and 4 commercials that misses the mark on their merits, and feels even worse considering how we’ve spent the year repeatedly falling for its costs. face

Those two episodes would cover most of them The secret level: there are rare moments when you can see a program reach its potential and deserve to stand next to the likes Star Wars Ideas. It’s a decent first attempt, but for it to have a future and rise above the hype it’s built on, it’s going to need to dial back its corporate leanings more. Ask anyone who plays games regularly, and they’ll tell you how much of the fun stops when the suits make you famous.

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