Coming up with a good name for a TV show is hard. So whoever read the initial outline for Prime Video’s imminent gaming-inspired animated anthology and pitched Secret Level as the title deserves a shoutout. It’s short, snappy and succeeds at putting a general audience in mind of video games while also hinting at something exciting and mysterious. Crucially, it also communicates that this series will build on something that already exists: a little extra treat.
So far, so cute. But the concept of Secret Level also sounds like a marketer’s dream, a clever way to package extended cinematic trailers for different gaming properties as desirable streaming content. (Another bonus? No spoilsports complaining about the use of pre-rendered animation rather than in-game footage). On paper the list of 15 episodes reads like an eclectic supermarket sweep of franchises past, present and future, from vintage chomper Pac-Man to upcoming space opera Exodus. Yet the inclusion of Amazon Games’ recently revamped MMO New World: Aeternum has the non-sexy whiff of corporate synergy.
Secret Level – Official Trailer | Prime Video Watch on YouTube
So will it be art or ads? Well-crafted vignettes adding a new dimension to beloved gaming worlds or Unskippable Cutscenes: The Series? As the official global release date of 10th December looms, there has been a breadcrumb trail of multimedia promo in keeping with the piecemeal premise, with episode snippets and details accessed by entering special codes via a dedicated portal. But after sampling the first four episodes provided as press previews – all clocking in at under 20 minutes – the potential strengths and weaknesses of the project seem clearer. Let’s dig into them.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – And They Shall Know No Fear
During an emotional Gamescom Opening Night Live appearance in August, Secret Level creator Tim Miller mentioned it had taken him and his creative collaborators three years to get the series ready for launch. That timing has worked out particularly well for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, a clomping, splattery standout from earlier in the year that now gets a Christmas streaming victory lap. Clive Standen reprises his role as Lieutenant Titus but it was likely a brief session in the recording booth: once the helmet is on, he lets his chainsword do the talking.