Secret Level is about to reimagine your favorite video game series into an anthology of animated shorts, and it’s about to do so in style. In a huge collaborative effort, the upcoming Prime Video series takes 15 of your favorite video games and spins out original stories in their worlds. But if Secret Level‘s trailer is anything to go by, these aren’t simple retellings, but heartfelt reconceptions that take the games and their characters into epic worlds that are by turns tragic, humorous, heartfelt, and beyond. There’s real emotion and a lot of love in the Secret Level trailer. You can really tell the creators deeply cared about all these games. There’s also creepy dark Pac-Man.
Take a look at the Secret Level trailer below. And then scroll all the way down for special looks at our favorite episodes.
Yes, this guy is Pac-Man. No, a game about a voracious creature is probably not going to end up pretty in a creepy, fantastical retelling of it. At NYCC, the creators of Secret Level teased their Pac-Man episode was going to disembowel people’s childhoods. And that it was really Pac-Man way off the rails. Looking at the Secret Level trailer, we can already tell we’ll be getting Pac-Man like we’ve never seen him before.
In addition to Pac-Man, the Secret Level trailer teases clips from its Warhammer, D&D, Sifu episodes, and more. And everything looks absolutely amazing. In among the rest are glimpses of the Secret Level episode dedicated to Concord, a team-based shooter game from Sony which was heavily hyped and then suddenly canceled due to its lack of success. Of course, the Secret Level episode dedicated to Concord was already completed. And the series could not have guessed the video game would no longer exist by the time it released.
Speaking about the Concord episode, Secret Level creator Tim Miller noted, “I don’t feel bad that it’s a part of the show, because I think it’s an episode that turned out really well, and you can kind of see the potential of this world and the characters… If it’s the remaining vestige of that product, I hope the developers feel that it’s in some way worthy, just a little bit, of the blood, sweat, and tears they put into it.”
In addition to the incredible animation work in this Secret Level trailer, we also hear the voice work of many iconic actors. Among those starring in Secret Level are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Hart, Keanu Reeves, Temuera Morrison, and Ariana Greenblatt. You can check out the full list of incredible talent, here.
Which Video Games Does Secret Level Showcase in its Trailer and Beyond?
Here is the full list of the 15 games that feature in Secret Level first anthology of episodes:
- Armored Core
- Concord
- Crossfire
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Exodus
- Honor of Kings
- Mega Man
- New World: Aeternum
- PAC-MAN
- Various PlayStation Studios games
- Sifu
- Spelunky
- The Outer Worlds
- Unreal Tournament
- Warhammer 40,000.
When Does Secret Level Release?
Secret Level releases on Prime Video on December 10. For those who don’t want to wait that long for more Secret Level after this iconic trailer, Prime Video will be dropping exclusive episode-specific content on the Secret Level social media handles on 11/18.
A New Look at Secret Level‘s Dungeons & Dragons Episode
As part of these drops, we have a new look at the Dungeons & Dragons Secret Level episode, which features all our favorite friends and fiends.
Originally published November 13, 2024.