User reviews

I've always wanted a series like this. When watching cinematic trailers or cutscenes for video games I've often thought that some would make for peak television.

I knew the creators of love death and robots would nail another animated anthology series and am glad to be proven right. The Warhammer episode was definitely the highlight for me so far I really hope to see more in the future. My only complaint would to be given more time for certain episodes.

There are so many solid video game stories that this show can delve into and adapt into fleshed out episodes, the possibilities are very exciting and I'm glad they've gone for a more gritty and adult tone throughout. I am very pleased with what's been shown so far and am anticipating what's to come.

I was really disappointed when I saw critics say this show was just mid. I've watched it and all I can say is most of the critics are wrong. I really enjoyed this show! The episodes could have been longer, that's my only gripe honestly. If you love video games, definitely check this show out. It's a quick watch too. Now I want to go play some of these games again after seeing their episodes. I would imagine the whole point of Secret Level is to attract new players, and in that regard, I think they succeeded. There was heart in a lot of the episodes too, which I also really liked. Hopefully this show does well enough to warrant a season 2. If they do make a season 2, the only thing I think they need to improve upon is the length of the episodes. I really, really wished they were all at least 20 minutes. Overall though, I'm thankful we got this show because video games mean a lot to a lot of people, myself included. Thank you to all of the people who worked hard to bring us this show. You guys rock!

You will get entertained here. Some episodes are good, some are great, some are just incredible. You need to make that decision for yourself. For me, 1.5 "You Shall know no fear" is the best of the bunch, but 1.5 is the best animation of Warhammer history and it does everything right. My god, it was unbelievably good. That said, there is no reason to read my review, go watch the episodes instead and choose your best one.

I knew that the creators of love death and robots knew how to nail animated short stories, but this simply is amazing. We need more of it.

And we simply require more of the Warhammer Universe. Exactly! As shown here.

If you've seen Love Death and Robots you know what you're in for. Each episode is short, but packed with action, they aren't meant to be some long stories. Don't listen to IGN, they were wrong about the penguin and they're wrong about secret level. Sit back and enjoy these short stories, they're amazing.

Although each episode is short, they feel like a quest within the game, leaving you feeling nostalgic as if reliving the glory days of your childhood playing the game either late at night or with a group of friends. Take the series for what it is, and we'll surely see more with some potential spin offs and maybe some limited series for some fan favourite episodes.

Well, what can I say except wow.

That was amazing.

Every episode until now (8 so far) are amazing in each way. The creativity combined with lore and adaption of originals unfolds beautifully.

There are episodes which show the amazing game they portray in a beautiful way. And then there are episodes showing a magnificent story with amazing Production.

I am totally in love. What a roller coaster of emotions. Hearing some of my favorite actors playing a role you wouldn't have expected them in and nailing it is fantastic in a different way.

I can only say, give it a try, but damn, episode 5 is incredible in its own way.

This is one of the greatest things i've ever watched the 40k episode is peak fiction i've never felt more blessed by the emperors holy light than i did watching that first fight sequence 39 times it's so nice to see my favorite franchise finally having a high budget good quality adaptation into a show. Im not like a massive fan of any of the other episodes but i can also recognize they are really well done and you can tell there was a lot of thought and care put into it. Anyone that thinks it's a bad show either hasn't played any of the games here or know anything about the IP or they are nitpicking and looking for flaws. FOR THE EMPEROR! FOR THE RAVEN XIX.

Expanding the video game media with content made by talented fans with unlimited budget seems wonderful right ?

Well, ladies and gentlemen it is !

The first 8 episodes were great, each one encapsulating the universe they chose for it.

I've seen critics saying they didn't take chances with the show. Have you seen the pac man episode ? Because I did, and seems to me like they took one hell of a chance there.

The show is stunning, each graphic style seems well chosen and mastered (as we would expect from the love death and robot team)

it's a good omen for the future let's hope it allows the video game media to expand even beyond.

It's filled with Easter eggs without the annoyance of the show pointing me in the direction of every details screaming at me HAVE YOU PLAYED THE GAME ???

And in the world we live in, this is already incredible.

This is the first time people who actually love the game took chances at expanding the media and pleasing us, the fans.

But the beauty of it is that even for people that never played the games, can enjoy, understand and feel empathy for the characters and this seems like a big challenge that they overcame to me.

The show has cons too obviously, some episodes weren't as great as the others (I'm looking at you new world).

Yes, some episodes were short, yes some jokes were a little bit off, I never said it was perfect, just that it was awesome.

A couple of cool episodes aside, Secret Level feels like a monument to mediocrity. The writing is painfully mid, dragging the whole show down despite the undeniably impressive visuals-though even those feel like reheated leftovers from a decade of superior video game cinematics. Honestly, what is this show trying to do or say that hasn't been done (and done better) by video game marketing in the past 10+ years?

The lineup of titles is baffling. Where are the big names? The absence of heavy hitters screams one thing: developers wanted no part of this trainwreck or were waiting to see if Season 1 could stick the landing. Spoiler alert-it didn't.

Short-form storytelling seems to completely elude the creators. What should have been tight, impactful, and memorable comes across as disjointed and uninspired. Variety called it an "uninspired snooze," and for once, Variety wasn't being harsh enough.

Secret Level is proof that flashy visuals can't hide a lack of vision, heart, or originality!

As a longtime fan of Tim Miller's other show, Love Death + Robots, I was really excited for this.

Then I started to notice that not a lot of the stories could keep my attention for too long. They would just end right before something interesting happens.

I think the show would benefit from focusing more on concepts and ideas from the games it is adapting rather than just showcasing how groundbreaking and revolutionary these games are that you could be playing rather than watching the show.

I liked LDR because it used the short time it had to give amazing worldbuilding and characters you can get attached to, but the episodes here barely do that.

Otherwise, the animation is spectacular and a great voice cast. I want to wait for the full set to come out before getting to set on my opinion.

I Waited days to see this and was excited when I finally went to watch it and then it got boring very quickly. Some stories are good, some are confusing or absurd and others are just boring. Take Pacman: circle for example. They picture the story as a dude who follows Pacman to eat stuff and try to get out of the maze. In the episode it pictures it as Pacman following them constantly saying eat or be eaten ECT ECT. The stories got boring and repetitive very quickly and I hope for the next half to be better. Also, how is Concord in this show if it didn't even exist for two weeks before getting shutdown.

This series is filled with amazing CGI, violent action and intriguing worlds. Unfortunately it doesn't offer much else, and leaves one feeling like I just watched 2 hours of game trailers.

A famous game designer once said "Video games are becoming more like movies, and movies are becoming more like video games."For SECRET LEVEL, this is not a good thing.

Pretty much every episode inexcusably rushes through any meaningful build up to get to the action - this eliminates any potential tension or viewer investment in the characters or plot. Unfortunately this also removes all tension from what could have been intense adrenaline pumping action scenes. If this series would make you care about what was happening and who it was happening to, this could have been a worthy successor of LOVE DEATH ROBOTS. But SECRET LEVEL falls flat.

Not all episodes centres around action, the episode "The once and future King" attempts to offer a comedic story about an arrogant king trying to find his purpose on a mysterious island granting eternal life - unfortunately the uncharismatic voice acting of the main character dulls the episode, and the story just doesn't present anything interesting.

What we're left with are 8 episodes consisting of 15 minute video game commercials. Don't get me wrong, the visuals looks absolutely fantastic, but its not enough to get a fulfilling entertaining experience. It feels like a video game marketing team crafted this series, and it wouldn't surprise me if they at least had a finger in it.

If you're expecting the same quality of storytelling as LOVE DEATH ROBOTS, which surprisingly was written by the same writer, you'll be majorly disappointed. But if you absolutely love game trailers, this might be for you.

Just had the PLEASURE of Watching the First 8 Episodes of Secret Level from Iconic Video Games: Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer 40K Space Marines 2, Crossfire, Armored Core, New World: Aeternum, Sifu, Unreal Tournament and Pac-Man

ALL Well Done with compelling Stories of about 15 Minutes each and I sat Glued to my T. V. for the entire 2 Hours

Purchased Prime on Amazon JUST for this Series and I have to say that it was money WELL-SPENT.

I am looking forward to the remaining 9 Episodes on September 17th from Two of my most anticipated games: The Outer Worlds 2 and Exodus Game by Archetype Entertainment

10/10.

I had no idea about this coming out until a day before release from a random video on YT for the armored core ep. It got me hyped up and after watching the whole series twice it is epic, wish the episodes were longer. Happy to see something good come out since most tings now are crap.

2 episodes were ok, but beautifully done, the rest are just magnificent can't wait for season 2 and maybe part 2 of a couple of these.... why not.

I don't want to give out any spoilers in my review but even if you haven't played most of the games featured ( i havent) the ones that I didn't recognize were good even tho I don't know the background, the ones you do know have that special feeling like AC.

Every single episode created and curated for hardcore fan base!

Not short of amazing, they gave us exactly what we wanted. Highly recommend, every single episode is perfect!

This def needs to win animation awards and on top of all this they even include big name actors and even develop characters around them. Beautiful crafted well done!

Episodes are short but I guess I'll just have to watch them few times over, not a bad thing especially if you have a good surround sound system. They also nailed the sound and effects.

Really can't find any faults to this show expect for I wish the episode was longer so I can keep enjoying watching it.

Let me start with this... you will be left wanting more. At least for me, I was astonished by some of the worlds they managed to wonderfully recreate here, while also telling a great story on them.

Coming from the creator of Love Death + Robots, someone could expect high quality. Indeed, that was delivered. Most of the episodes have an excellent pace, rhythm, script, cinematography, direction as well as interesting themes about humanity, friendship, etc.

My highlights were the episodes: Episode 8 - Armored Core: Asset Management. Besides being a fan of Armored Core, I was left astonished by the way they've managed to perfectly capture the feeling of this universe, the high stakes of each fight the ACs have, and the pilots' -in some occasions- struggles to live in this world knowing what they are.

Also, episode 3 - New World: The Once and Future King.

Great delivery by Arnold, great comedy, amazing pace and comforting message in the end about what's really important. This episode is a mix of feelings, and how they manage to tell it in such a short time, is something to praise. Also, many references on how us the players feel while starting a new adventure in a aRPG: gearing up, being low level, grinding, etc.

Finally episode 1 - Dungeons & Dragons: The Queen's Cradle. AMAZING. Epic fantasy. Again, the pace and the direction is on point. Great characters and dialogues. The peace moves forward all the time, ending in a wonderful climax and... you are left wanting more.

And then it just ends.

Some of the episodes reached my soul, and left me thinking about the themes they touched on. I'm a gamer so of course I was geeking out the entire time, but also I look for good story telling, and this had it all. If you like anthologies such as Black Mirror, and happen to be a gamer, then this may be one of the best things to watch now.

This series should be the industry standard for pretty much everything. The stories are more than captivating, the characters are deep, well-written and easy to sympathize with, the soundtracks are fitting and immersive and don't even get me started on the visuals. I've been a fan of the animation medium for ages and thought that 3D animation can only do this much. I'm so glad that I've never been more wrong. The visuals are stunning. All those years watching spectacular animations/cutscenes/trailers from games and wishing to have a series like that one day finally paid off. Can't wait to watch the rest of the season and even more can't wait to have countless more seasons/series like this one. The future of animation's story telling is bright.

Overall, I'd say this first batch delivers 2 VERY GOOD episodes out of 8. The rest range from decent to mediocre.

The covered games are (in order) Dungeons & Dragons, Sifu, New World, Unreal Tournament*, Warhammer 40,000*, Pac-Man(?), CROSSFIRE and ARMORED CORE.

They all have distinct visual styles, but are all very competent visually. From models, to cinematography, and effects. The voice cast is okay and the action is probably the reason to watch. Yet, I'm not entirely sure as to what the intention and purpose of these are. Some giving hope of a revival for a dead franchise or expanding into a new medium, other working as a brief summary of part of the game, another delivering a rather dark and incompatible perspective fo it by taking too many creative liberties..

At least they are short (no more than 20 minutes) and are entertaining enough.. and some fans might find satisfaction with some of them.

Gotta wait for the rest.

It's a good premise for a show. I thought by the trailer it was a guy going through different levels in different games trying to get to the end. I had no idea it was just story's from the games themselves. A little on the short side for some of the episodes more like shorts. But I really enjoyed it. The warhammer episode was incredible. The pac man level I was scratching my head thinking how it was related to Pac-Man and then it clicked. Only seems to be 1 or 2 episodes over the 20 minuate mark. I was hoping for more episodes than 8.

Overall a good show very love death & robots vibes from it. Fantastic work from Tim miller.

The worst part about anthology series, is that when you get one episode that grips you like death incarnate and the episodes short runtime ends, you feel eager to get more of the same or a continuation, only to be met by a completely different universe and a souring disappointment that what you got, is now gone.

While i beforehand thought i would appreaciate some episodes more than others, the 'New World'-episode was incredibly entertaining, the comedy throughout was funny and its message heartwarming, but this was not the episode i had in mind.

I think i speak for all Warhammer 40.000 fans:

That episode was just a crumb, i wanted that episode to last 3 hours, as awesome as it was, it was just a small taste, in some ways a taste we've had before in the form of the youtube short 'Astartes'.

I wish there was only; Warhammer 40k.

(although, titus backhanding the chainsword was not a good idea)

Anyway.

Overall these 8 episodes is an average 6, some episodes are mediocre at best and some are real stinkers.

But ill take that 40k gold nugget and put it in the pile as i wait for what Cavill has cooking.

Secret level is just a bunch of generic video game trailers packed as animated shorts anthology. No story is never told and so far episodes range from very average to fairly entertaining. Graphically nice but in terms of creativity it's abysmal.

Most of the reviews (after a fast check, these are many accounts created in December 2024, with no other activity than this serie) that give ridiculous ratings like 9/10 or 10/10 are forced to point out that the creators of this anthology are the same as those behind Love, Death and Robots in order to give this some credibility, but make no mistake, while it looks and feels the same, it tastes bland.

Secret Level's animations are truly captivating, showcasing fluidity and precision that elevate the storytelling. The art design is a standout feature, blending creativity with a distinct style that adds depth to the visuals. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the project boasts a compelling dramaturgic background, weaving an engaging narrative that resonates emotionally. Each scene feels meticulously crafted, with the artistic elements complementing the storyline seamlessly. It's an impressive work that demonstrates a thoughtful balance between visual innovation and narrative depth, leaving a lasting impression.

THE GORE! THE ANIMATION! THE TWISTED STORIES!!! What an epic version to different video games!

They were all so SO good!

That pac-man one was sooo twisted but loved it! And I've never played war hammer but that one was my fav! It was such nostalgia for the unreal tournament one for me. Used to play that game with my dad and brothers growing up. This show is a definite watch! I'm so glad this type of show came out. Id give it a 1000/10! Absolutely IN LOVE!!! Thankyou to everyone who created this show, seriously. Thanks. You guys are frickin awesome!! Please continue to make more. So looking forward to seeing the rest of the episodes released.