Secret Level Uses A Classic Video Game Mechanic To Great Storytelling Effect

The following contains spoilers for Secret Level, now streaming on Prime VideoSecret Level's exploration of a classic game mechanic is a boon to the show's storytelling. The series bounces around various games and worlds, with some consistent themes appearing in numerous episodes. One of the best ones is the way the show approaches a core mechanic of most video games. It's a classic concept found in multiple generations of gaming, as it's a key way several games force gamers to make repeated attempts to grow as a player to accomplish their mission. It ends up being treated as a storytelling device in many of the stand-alone episodes found in Secret Level.

The creatives behind Secret Level don't just play with the worlds of their games, but sometimes experiment with the storytelling potential of the concept. One mechanic in particular is tackled from different emotional vantage points throughout Secret Level's fifteen episodes, imbuing the concept with plenty of comedy, horror, tragedy, and triumph. It serves as an underlying theme of many episodes in the series and underscores the adaptive potential to be found in video games. Here's how a common gaming mechnic comes to define several different episodes of Secret Level.

Secret Level Makes Video Game Respawns Into A Plot Device

Secret Level Uses Multiple Lives For Great Thematic Effect

Secret Level explores the common video game mechanic of multiple lives from numerous angles and uses it to great storytelling effect. Secret Level is rooted in the shared attributes of several video games, with the anthology series exploring several different worlds and settings from unique perspectives. Each episode is effectively a stand-alone story, allowing for multiple kinds of stories. However, there are some consistent themes to be found across the show's first season. This includes inventive reimaginings of character death and respawns, which are a common element of several video games.

Related Secret Level's Tribute To PlayStation Quietly Calls Out Modern Gaming Trends The final episode of Secret Level pays a loving tribute to PlayStation, all the while criticizing negative trends of the modern video game scene.

The concept of multiple lives has been a part of video gaming since the earliest days of the medium, with titles like Pac-Man leaning into the importance of repetition and second chances for growth. Secret Level takes that concept and runs with it, introducing new tweaks on the concept. While some episodes of Secret Level (like the ones based on Unreal Tournament and Crossfire) highlight the importance of mortality, multiple other episodes take the concept of respawning after death and seed into the structure and themes of different kinds of episodes.

How Secret Level Uses Respawning For Tragedy

Sifu And PAC-MAN Make Each Resurrection More Painful Than The Last

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The Secret Level episodes based in Sifu and PAC-MAN take the concept of quick resurrection in a tragic direction. In "Sifu: It Takes A Life," each resurrection happens to a single young man. With each death, he gets closer to enacting revenge on the man who killed his father. However, each respawn also ages him. While he begins the episode as a young adult, he ends the episode as an old man. Each resurrection highlights a potential life he could have lived, but he was willing to sacrifice that for a chance at vengeance — his life's work several times over.

"PAC-MAN: Circles" takes a more horrifying approach, reimagining the classic arcade game as a sci-fi terror. The Swordsman is killed by the end of the episode, sacrificing himself to stop Puck from escaping the Maze. However, he is revealed to be one of countless clones, each brought to life by Puck in repeated attempts to finally break loose. In this sense, each respawn is another life lost as part of Puck's efforts to escape their prison. Each new "life" spent by the Swordsman is ultimately wasted, only for another to be put through the same hardships.

How Secret Level Uses Respawning For Comedy

New World Gives The Fantasy Epic A Groundhog Day-Style Remix

Not all of Secret Level's explorations of death and respawning are used for horror, however. Some episodes, like "New World: The Once and Future King" take the concept and play for laughs in a vein similar to films like Groundhog Day and Happy Death Day. The blowhard warrior Aelstrom discovers he cannot be permanently killed on the island of Aeternum. Despite this natural opportunity to grow as a person and develop beyond his base motivation for power, Aelstrom repeatedly tries to defeat the King through lethal challenges. Each failure results in death, with the demises all played for black comedy.

"New World: The Once and Future King" even ends on a more positive note than most episodes, highlighting how the theme of new opportunities (as brought on by respawning) creates chances to grow.

The montage of Aelstrom repeatedly being resurrected only to get himself promptly killed again and again is one of Secret Level's funniest beats across all fifteen episodes. However, the episode also finds a way to infuse this turn with real character development, as Aelstrom eventually realizes the error of his ways and dedicates a single life to mastering the art of smithing. "New World: The Once and Future King" even ends on a more positive note than most episodes, highlighting how the theme of new opportunities (as brought on by respawning) creates chances to grow.

How Secret Level Uses Respawning For Triumph

Each Death In "Spelunky: Tally" Is Another Chance For Adventure

Custom image by Yailin Chacon

Secret Level also uses respawning as a core mechanic in the episode adapting Spelunky. "Spelunky: Tally" focuses on Ana, a young explorer in a cave who relishes the excitement of delving into the dangerous caves. Each death leads her to create a tally mark, chronicling her adventures. However, the toll of these repeated demises eventually weighs on her, causing her to doubt her skills and potential. It takes her mother figure, Liz, explaining that she shouldn't consider each death a demise but an adventure, to highlight the thrills that come with each new discovery.

Multiple deaths and a sense of exploration are inherent elements of Spelunky, a rouge-like game where multiple player deaths are expected as part of the core-gameplay loop.

This gives "Spelunky: Tally" an uplifting emotional core that elevates the story. The montage of Ana realizing the wonders she's discovered across each of her adventures reflects the kind of thrills and joys players find when they're discovering new games. There's always a risk to adventure, but there's also plenty of new things to discover about the world and the adventurers themselves. This gives "Spelunky: Tally" a really sweet message hidden beneath the colorful animation and comedic deaths.

Secret Level Highlights How Adaptable Video Game Tropes Can Be

Even Basic Game Mechanics Can Be Fertile Ground For Storytelling

Custom Image By Yailin Chacon

The adaptative potential of video games is on full display in Secret Level, which experiments with style and theme throughout the entire run time. The stories in the episodes centered on death and resurrection explore different concepts, ranging from scary to comedic and all the way around to inspiring. Each death matters, even when they are just part of a comedic montage. This highlights how even the mechanics of video games can be used as part of the adaptation process.

Video games present an interesting challenge in being brought to film and television. It's important to maintain the spirit of the original games while losing access to the inherent connection that grows between gamers and the game. Reflecting the game mechanics in the storytelling is an excellent way to explore different themes and concepts. Secret Level does a great job across fifteen episodes showcasing the kind of emotional variety that can be found in game adaptation. It's one of the most impressive elements of Secret Level, and makes the confirmation of season 2 all the more exciting.