Ever because it was introduced, there was some confusion over simply what Secret Stage truly is. The video game-themed anthology streaming on Prime Video — helmed by Love, Loss of life & Robots creator Tim Miller — is a set of animated shorts, every based mostly on a unique gaming property. So there’s a Mega Man episode that explores the character’s origin and a Spelunky episode that makes an attempt to create a metanarrative across the idea of a roguelike.
It’s an fascinating concept let down by an absence of fascinating concepts. The 15 shorts are nearly universally uninteresting and handle to neither make their supply materials appear compelling nor present new insights for current followers. The actual confusion is who that is truly for.
The primary drawback is how homogenous Secret Stage is. Working instantly with sport publishers, the present pulls from an oddball but additionally impressively world listing, with titles like Chinese language megahit Honor of Kings and Korean shooter Crossfire. However regardless of that includes a big number of video video games, its episodes all really feel very samey. It’s type of the other of Love, Loss of life & Robots, which featured a lot of totally different kinds and tones because it explored horror and sci-fi. That’s how we obtained stunning episodes just like the trippy “The Very Pulse of the Machine.”
Secret Stage, then again, largely makes use of a gritty, hyperrealistic fashion that makes nearly all of its episodes look similar. It’s type of like watching a nonstop barrage of cutscenes at E3 and never having the ability to inform the video games aside.
This works for some tales. The Warhammer 40,000 episode is appropriately grimdark. However I can’t say I actually wanted a hyperviolent tackle Pac-Man. I’m not kidding: the Pac-Man episode might be the goriest in your complete collection, turning a traditional arcade sport right into a brutal survivor story with copious blood and loss of life. (The episode’s massive twist can be the stupidest factor I’ve seen all 12 months, and I sat by way of all of Megalopolis.) There are a handful of deviations that try so as to add some shade and vibrancy, however all of them find yourself trying like Arcane. The worst offender is the Mega Man episode, which tries to merge a sensible fashion with an anime aesthetic and simply comes off as an ungainly, ugly mixture of the 2.
It’s extra than simply how Secret Stage seems to be, although. The collection can be dreadfully uninteresting. The vast majority of episodes really feel just like the opening scene of a a lot greater story, ending proper when issues appear to be getting fascinating. Concepts repeat themselves quite a bit. There are a minimum of three episodes — based mostly on Spelunky, New World, and Sifu — that each one attempt to inform a metastory in regards to the idea of dying in a online game. And when the present does try some artistic liberties, like with Pac-Man, it devolves right into a bland try at edgy violence.
Two of the strangest episodes are based mostly on video games you may’t truly play proper now. One is ready on the planet of the now-infamous multiplayer shooter Harmony, which was probably the most disastrous launch in PlayStation historical past, ensuing within the abrupt closure of each the sport and its growth studio. The opposite episode is predicated on Exodus, an upcoming roleplaying sport printed by Magic: the Gathering firm Wizards of the Coast. In one other timeline, these Secret Stage episodes could be the best alternative to point out what makes these futuristic worlds distinctive and value exploring additional in a sport. In actuality, they make each Harmony and Exodus seem to be probably the most generic science fiction tales possible. I’m struggling to give you a single distinct factor to say about both.
Actually, Secret Stage is finest summed up by its last episode. Referred to as “Playtime,” it follows a motorbike courier in a close to future world that appears like an AR-infested hellscape. In a short time, she’s handed a mysterious package deal that pulls her into what can solely be described as a PlayStation business. She’s chased by Helldivers troopers, avoids assaults from Kratos, and has a candy second with Sackboy. There’s no story. It’s a set of Easter eggs tied to a model, an opportunity to identify stuff you acknowledge from taking part in the video games.
Throughout its 15 episodes, Secret Stage fails to elucidate why any of those worlds are value exploring, whereas on the identical time failing to supply something new for these already within the know. It sits in an ungainly, empty center floor. After watching all of it, I’m one way or the other extra confused than earlier than I began.
Secret Stage begins streaming on Prime Video on December tenth.
