One of the most intriguing projects featured at gamescom 2024 isn’t a game at all, but an animated series. Prime Video’s Secret Level is an anthology series by the creators of Love, Death + Robots. Each episode is basically a short film inspired by the characters and worlds of iconic video games like God of War, Mega Man, Unreal Tournament, and Pac-Man.
The first trailer for the series gives us a brief glimpse of these gorgeously animated shorts and the often surprising ways in which they reinvent familiar gaming icons. But which games are featured in the series, and is that really Keanu Reeves piloting a mecha suit? Let’s break down exactly what we see in the trailer.
Armored Core
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Secret Level trailer is the reveal that Keanu Reeves himself is apparently involved. Reeves (or someone who looks an awful lot like the John Wick star) can be seen in footage for the Armored Core episode. Reeves’ character is shown entering an Armored Core mecha and suiting up for battle. Between this and his prominent role in Cyberpunk 2077, Reeves’ gaming pedigree is very strong these days.
Concord
Concord is only just now making its way to the PC and PS5, but it’s already getting an animated spinoff thanks to Secret Level. We can see a shot of the steep, vertically-oriented city that was previously seen in the Concord cinematic trailer.
Crossfire
The tactical shooter series Crossfire is one of the games featured in Secret Level, which is interesting, considering that these games aren’t normally known for their intricate stories. We see several quick shots of SWAT team characters in action, promising a tense and gritty addition to the series’ lineup.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons fans were already treated to an entertaining live-action adaptation in 2023, and now they’ll get to enjoy a lavish CG-animated D&D short thanks to Secret Level. We briefly see a massive dragon emerging from the shadows, as well as a shot of a sword-shaped bridge over a waterfall that leads to a fortress. Based on these shots, it looks like Secret Level is opting for a more traditional and serious take on the franchise than the 2023 film.
EXODUS
The upcoming science fiction game EXODUS looks to be a natural fit for Secret Level, as it deals with the emotional fallout of time dilation and the way that time can pass in the blink of an eye for the human heroes fighting against the Celestials. We see that emotion on full display in a scene involving two aged characters tenderly reunited in the trailer.
Honor of Kings
We never would have predicted that a MOBA game like Honor of Kings would be one of the ones featured in Secret Level, but that doesn’t mean we’re not interested to see how the series reinterprets this popular title. Based on the handful of quick shots seen in the trailer, it looks like Secret Level is opting for a relatively more realistic and detailed approach compared to the anime aesthetic of the game.
Mega Man
Capcom’s long-running Mega Man series is represented in Secret Level, though this isn’t quite the Mega Man fans know from the classic 8-bit games. The series is clearly taking a much more realistic approach to the character. Well, as realistic as a story about a cyborg boy with a giant cannon for a hand can be, anyway. We see the character suiting up to take on Dr. Wily’s Robot Masters.
New World: Aeternum
It should probably come as no surprise that Amazon’s own MMORPG New World would be among the games featured in this series. Like in the game, this short appears to be set on the fabled island of Aeternum, as a lone hero prepares to prove his mettle and make his fortune. The quick glimpse seen in the trailer suggests this will be one of the more detailed and realistically rendered episodes of the series.
The Outer Worlds 2
Secret Level will be exploring the world of Halcyon from Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds series. This short looks to have one of the most visually distinctive styles of the series, as it blends photo-realistic characters with more stylized, CG-rendered environments. As you’d expect, the striking color palette of the games is on full display here.
Pac-Man
There’s maybe no better example of how dramatically Secret Level will reinvent some iconic gaming properties than Pac-Man. You could be forgiven for not even realizing Pac-Man is included in the trailer. Far removed from the simplistic source material, the trailer shows us a hooded, seemingly alien figure making their way through a vast wasteland. The trailer also ends with a quick glimpse of a robotic Pac-Man with razor-sharp teeth coming online. We have to wonder if Pac-Man is the villain in this peculiar but intriguing take on the franchise.
PlayStation Studios: God of War & Ghost of Tsushima
It appears that we’re getting an episode framed around the Playstation Studios lineup, as we see both God of War’s Kratos and Ghost of Tsushima’s Jin Sakai in the trailer.
The Kratos shot confirms that the series is taking its cues from the more recent God of War games, where Kratos is an axe-wielding slayer of Norse gods, rather than the original, Greek mythology-focused games. We have to assume that means his son Atreus will be tagging along for the ride.
What’s really surprising, though, is that Kratos appears to be walking through a modern city. Is this short going to be dealing with time travel? What happens when you turn cold-blooded killers like Kratos and Jin-Sakai loose in the 21st Century? And just how many PlayStation Studios characters are appearing in this episode? We can’t wait to find out.
Sifu
Sloclap’s popular 2022 beat-em-up Sifu is featured in the trailer. We see a blood-soaked character entering a dojo and gearing up for another bloody fight. Later, we see a couple of quick shots of a violent brawl in a neon-drenched nightclub. It appears that Secret Level is opting for a slightly more realistic animation style compared to the relatively stylized, angular style of the game. We’re interested to see just how, if at all, the short tackles the resurrection-based combat of the game.
Spelunky
The trailer includes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of a Spelunky-themed episode. We briefly glimpse treasure hunter Ana Spelunky stumbling inside a lava-filled cavern. It’s quite a treat seeing the quirky indie series being given such an ambitious visual makeover.
Unreal Tournament
Also very briefly seen in the trailer is a quick shot from an Unreal Tournament episode. We can see an arena brandished with the logo for Riordan Dynamics, the company at the heart of the storyline in the Unreal Tournament games. The arena is clearly set up for a bloody deathmatch, with two opposing towers that remind us of an indoor version of the iconic Facing Worlds map.
Warhammer 40,000
It remains to be seen if Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40,000 series will ever see the light of day, but at least Secret Level has us covered with a Warhammer-themed short. The trailer opens with a scene of Space Marines cutting a bloody swath of destruction, and later we see a marine being ambushed by a much larger monster. We also see a shot of a marine barreling straight into an oncoming vehicle. Basically, this short looks to be the most action-packed and visceral chapter of the Secret Level series.
The Mystery Game
One of the most intriguing scenes in the trailer is also one of the most mysterious. At one point we see images of a man being enveloped in flowing pink and blue energy, as if he’s bonding with a machine or another lifeform. We’re honestly not sure which game this is meant to represent, but we do know we definitely want to see this episode.
In conclusion, Secret Level is shaping up to be a visually stunning and creatively ambitious animated series that will delight fans of both video games and animation. With a diverse lineup of games being featured, each episode promises to offer a unique and exciting take on familiar gaming worlds and characters. The trailer has certainly piqued the interest of many, and fans are eagerly anticipating the release of this innovative series.