Summary
Secret Levelreleased earlier this month to great fanfare. An anthology series from the same people behindLove, Death, And Robots,this one focuses on video games. The series has already been renewed for a second season and, according to Amazon, had the largest debut the streaming servicehas ever seen for an animated series.
The first series featured such gaming titans asWarhammer 40,000,Helldivers, andArmored Core. But what aboutSecret Level’ssecond season? What games could audiences potentially see, and how might they be adapted? Here are a few games that deserve to be included, and why they would work for the show.
Mass Effectis a gaming icon, and would make for an excellent addition toSecret Level. This RPG series primarily focuses on the escapades of the Normandy crew and Commander Shepard. The series is full of deep and complex lore, weird alien species, and dozens of potential settings and time periods.
The franchise would give a potential screenwriter endless choice of where to start. The wastelands of Tuchanka, gleaming cities of Thessia, or even the space city hub, the Citadel, would all be excellent visual set-pieces. Characters such as Liara, Tali, and Garrus are beloved by the fanbase, and would be welcomed as a cameo or even protagonist of any prospective story. And witha new game coming up, the series could use a little booster.
Bloody and soaked in neon,Hotline Miamiis arguably one of the best indie games of the 2010s, with an incredible soundtrack and frantic gameplay. While fans willlikely never see another game in the franchise, aSecret Levelepisode would be a perfect fit.
The trippy visual style and constant brutal violence would be no stranger to the people who worked onLove, Death, And Robots.All the blackmailed, professional killers running around Miami could make for an interesting mix of spy-thriller and crime drama. Throw in an eerie omni-present chicken, known as Richard and implied to be death himself, and the result would be some wild TV.
It has been over a decade and a half sinceTeam Fortress 2’s release, and it’s still featured in the top one hundred most played games on Steam, at number thirty. This is quite a departure from the top ten spot it held until a group of bot hosters made the game virtually unplayable outside of community servers for years, only beingfixed in summer 2024.
TF2would be a perfect fit forSecret Level. It has its own distinct art style and a great sense of humor. Npt to mention, it features a host of distinct and popular characters, like the permanently inebriated Demoman, the insufferable Scout, and the minigun-obsessed Heavy, to name a few. Fans have come to love these characters, and they would make for an excellent addition to the series.
Half Lifeis one of the most influential games ever made. If it weren’t for this game, there would be noCounter Strike, Left For Dead, Team Fortress,or even Steam. If that was all, thenHalf Lifewould qualify forSecret Levelby default.
ButHalf Lifeis more than that. Depending on which game in the franchise is being discussed, it’s an interdimensional apocalypse movie with strange, esoteric aliens and a mute dude with a gun, or it’s a dystopian nightmare where aliens have enslaved all humankind. Either way, the games offer a lot of storytelling potential forSecret Levelto expand upon.
WithFallout’ssuccess and the lack of any major new games in the series for over ten years,TheElder Scrollscan feel somewhat forgotten. It’s a shame, as the series offers an incredible high fantasy world. Mortals often battle gods for the fate of creation, and magic is a part of everyday life.
The world ofTheElder Scrollsis ripe for adaptation. Characters such as Pelinal Whitestrake and Ysgramor are only shown after their death.Secret Levelcould examine mysteries such as the disappearance of the Dwemer, or the areas of Tamriel that have yet to be explored in the games. It might just be enough to tide players over untilElder Scrolls VI.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R’sunique style and creepy, eldritch atmosphere would be perfect for its own series someday. In lieu of that,Secret Levelwould be the perfect place to show off the bleak, strange world of post-emission Chernobyl.
There’s a little of all things horror withinS.T.A.L.K.E.R.,ranging from zombies to eldritch horrors to a plethora ofreality bending anomalies. The crew could make an episode with no deeper plot than someone just trying to survive The Zone, before even considering making anything revolving around the various factions or wider story.
Final Fantasyas a franchise is no stranger to adaptations.Final Fantasy 7has seen two film adaptations alone. And it’s about timeFF14got some love as well. The biggest MMO in the franchise’s history,FF 14has a massive fanbase, a weird and wacky world full of monsters and magic, and a smorgasbord of visuals that would be a feast for the eyes on the small screen.
The game’s setting is as diverse, fun, and sometimes downright crazy as they come. Sci-fi civilizations with robots and lasers? Check. An entire floating gothic city populated by elven knights? Check. The entire world is full of so many fun “rule of cool” ideas and concepts that rarely get the limelight on TV. Andwith a mobile version on the way,the game is likely to only get more popular as time goes on.
Warhammer 40,000has already featured inSecret Levelas an adaptation ofSpace Marine 2,the massively successful third-person shooter that skyrocketed the franchise’s already significant popularity in September 2024. But there is another Games Workshop franchise that has an iconic game series, onestill going strongyears after release. This, of course, isWarhammer FantasyandVermintide 2.
The adventures of the Ubersreik Five would beSecret Levelgold. Each of the five are fun, likable characters in their own right, with conflicting personalities and worldviews that make for great comedic dialogue. Coupled with Game Workshop’s typical epic, grimdark, tone and over-the-top action,Secret Levelis looking at the perfect spectacle for an unforgettable episode.
The characters and world ofBaldurs Gate 3would make for an incredible piece of television. While making sense of it within the game’s story would be difficult, the show’s creators could arguably take any of the game’s companions and adapt part of their story to the small screen.
A dramatic and dark retelling of Astarion’s life as a vampire’s thrall? Karlach’s time as a conflicted pseudo-Doomguy in Avernus? Shadowheart’s life as a servant of Shar? Any of these would be perfect for a single episode format. The short could even end with the character encountering the nautiloid and kicking off the game’s story. It might not come to pass, but it would make for an excellent tale.
Elden Ringexploded onto the scene in 2022. A successor to theDark Soulsseries, the game is set in a post-apocalyptic realm known only as “The Lands Between,” with lore written byDark Soulsveteran Hidetaka Miyazaki andA Song Of Ice And Fireauthor George R.R. Martin. The game offersbreathtaking visuals and epic scenerythat would look fantastic in an animation.
Given the civilization ofElden Ringfell long before the events of the game, it might not seem like a good choice forSecret Level.But the show would be a perfect opportunity to show the world the collapse. Radahn and Malenia’s duel, The Night Of Black Knives, or even The Shattering itself, are perfect storylines for an episode.
