Secret Level is an excellent gaming anthology series similar to Love Death Robots streaming on Prime Video. If you haven’t watched it, do so now. It is a fantastic series. I haven’t played many of the games on this list, and still enjoyed every episode. Now that the show has been renewed for season two, let’s rank every episode in the first season.
15. Spelunky: Tally
Again, there aren’t any bad episodes, but this one lacked in its ability to grab my attention. The game it's based off of is a Roguelike mining game in which you essentially do everything the characters do in the episode. Die, over and over. Like all the episodes, there was a solid theme: each time you die, you still learn something on the adventure. It simply was not very entertaining.
14. Concord: Tale of the Implacable
Maybe it’s because the game was an incredible failure, but this one simply didn’t stick with me. It was a fine tale of betrayal that isn’t really betrayal that actually is betrayal but it benefits everyone, but it felt like a chore to get through. The animation was solid, and the voice acting was good, but this one just bored me.
13. Playtime: Fulfillment
I thought about putting this one at the bottom. It was very cool to see Helldivers in something other than the game, but this was the episode that had Kratos. I was so excited to see Kratos do something cool, but it was a huge let down. He essentially does nothing other than grunt and do a recognizable move from the game. He doesn’t even have any lines. I don't know if I misinterpreted the trailer, but it seemed to me that the God of War would have a bigger role. Maybe I'm being overly critical, but you're telling me Kratos just gave up after O jumped over him?
12. Crossfire: Good Conflict
Once again, there are no bad episodes in this series, especially in the first half, but there are some that are simply better than others. This episode was solid, but it felt like a long cut scene from any Call of Duty game. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as Call of Duty is known for its impressive, cinematic, action packed cut scenes. The theme of this one is the thing that stuck with me. The idea of each side in a conflict convincing themselves they are the good guys is representative of essentially every major conflict in all of humanity. The best part about the episode is that we never actually know who the good guys and bad guys are.
11. Mega Man: Start
This episode was great. It was the first time I’ve seen Mega Man in decades and really brought me back to my GameBoy days. The problem with this episode, like many others, was its runtime. Not including the intro and the credits, the episode has barely five and a half minutes of content. It was just really short. I get that’s part of this show’s whole thing, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work against it. This happened a few times during the show, but it seemed like right when the action was picking up, it ended.
10. Exodus: Odyssey
Like just about every episode, the animation for this episode was phenomenal. The concept of chasing a loved on through space with the added challenge of time dilation is reminiscent of Interstellar, one of my favorite movies of all time. The episode also executes its themes of parental sacrifice going unappreciated by children until they're old enough to understand perfectly. It's a great tale and one of the longer episodes of the anthology series.
9. The Outer Worlds: The Company We Keep
This episode had one of the best focused themes in the whole series. The main character continuously sacrifices pieces of himself, literally, for perceived love. It’s a very serious story, but it starts with a fun, playful vibe. Sacrificing pieces of yourself for love is something many people can relate to as well, which is likely why this episode resonated with so many viewers. It’s also one of the longer episodes and, in an anthology series of this style, the longer the episode the better.
8. Unreal Tournament: Xan
Another great episode, this one focuses on the abuse of robots and artificial intelligence in a futuristic world that doesn’t care about them at all. The story follows a robot that gains sentience and uses it to fight back against the human oppressors. In this episode, we get some fantastic action sequences that are some of the best in the whole series. My only complaint, and the reason this episode isn’t higher on the list, is that it’s a concept we’ve seen over and over again. However, it’s presented in a new way and executed well.
7. Armored Core: Asset Management
This episode and the next two that I rank are almost all interchangeable. The list was hard to make at this point as every episode from this point on is absolutely incredible. What a fantastic role for Keanu Reeves. He plays the part of a grizzled pilot expertly, and I’m now dying to see this in live action. I was considering buying Armored Core 6, before this episode came out, and now I’m convinced. The action sequences in this episode were awesome, and the theme of brutality and losing one’s sense of humanity was done so well.
6. Dungeons and Dragons: The Queen’s Cradle
The first half of this episode didn’t really speak to me, but the second half blew me away. I’ve never been a Dungeons and Dragons fan, but, if they did a whole animated series in the wake of this one episode, I’d watch it every chance I got. The combat on the bridge was beyond cool, and the voice acting for every character was great. Obviously, the animation was wonderful as well. This one had a less discernible theme, but that bridge scene alone puts this in my top five.
5. Sifu: It Takes a Life
The action and animation is the reason this episode sits so high on my ranking list. The concept of coming back to life, but aging severely every time you die as well was something I’ve never seen done before. It resonated very well with me. The reason this episode isn’t higher is because I couldn’t ascertain why exactly the main character was fighting the goons. Maybe I missed it, but that part was lost on me.
4. New World: The Once and Future King
This was the only episode that seemed to even try to integrate comedy into it. As the first couple jokes went by, I didn’t think the rest would land for me, but they definitely did. The episode got funnier as it went, and the silly tone actually worked quite well. Normally, I like things that are serious, bleak even, but this episode accomplished exactly what it wanted to. Arnold Schwarzenegger really stood out as a voice actor as well and added to the comedic effect.
3. Honor of Kings: The Way of All Things
This episode was a mind bender for sure. I have never played Honor of Kings, and I don’t know how much this episode played into the lore of the game, but the whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking, “Man, I wish I thought of this first.” The concept of a living city controlled by an AI that people can then challenge to take the role of controlling the city is innovative to say the least. Adding themes of revenge, responsibility, and destiny, only serve to improve the story. I love stories in which someone is clairvoyant, and a character has to supersede their ability. This episode executed everything it wanted to expertly.
2. PAC-MAN: Circle
What an amazing reimagining of the classic game as a horrifying landscape of death and hunger. I was blown away by every minute of this episode. Turning Ms. Pac-Man into a horrifying machine that seems to be trapped in wherever they are for the sake of humanity is a genius idea. The writers took the concept of always eating in the game and turned it into straight up horror. The main character kills and eats as Ms. Pac-Man says everything in her world is eat or be eaten. I loved everything about this episode. I’m sure many people say this should take the number one spot, but, for me, it couldn’t be anything else.
1. Warhammer 40,000: And They Shall Know No Fear
Without a doubt, this is my favorite episode. The action sequences were incredible, as was the animation. Every single thing about this episode made me think “hell yeah” as it went. Before Space Marine 2, I knew nothing about Warhammer other than Henry Cavill really likes it. After Space Marine 2 and this episode, it might have to become my new obsession. Something about fighting off hordes of enemies with friends that I call brothers all for the glory of an empire really grabs me by the soul. There was not a single second I didn’t love.
What do you think about this ranking list? Did I make any egregious choices? Which episode was your favorite? Let me know!