‘Secret Level’ Just Introduced the Most Twisted Version of Pac-Man

Prime Video’s new anthology series Secret Level, brought to you by Love, Death + Robots creators Tim Miller and Dave Wilson, consists of fifteen animated shorts all focusing on different video game properties. Episode 6, titled, “PAC-MAN: Circle,” gives us a look into the yellow circular character that has never been seen before. The character, simply known as Swordsman (Aleks Le), is dropped from a tube and is greeted by a yellow floating orb named Puck (Emily Swallow) who says, “You must be hungry.” The warrior has one sole purpose: to eat or be eaten. The basic ground rules from the classic video game are prevalent—our main character is stuck in a vast maze on the run from ghosts and creatures, and you eat to progress and hopefully escape. Except in this interpretation, Pac-Man is set in a dystopian hellscape, fighting Lovecraftian monsters, brutally devouring them.

Wait, This Is About Pac-Man!?

This entry of Secret Level is the most surprising of the bunch, taking one of the most colorful and simple games of our time and twisting it on its head, giving the audience a gruesome sci-fi feast. Instead of a bright 1980s neon aesthetic, this episode has a muted and bleak color palette, one that perfectly matches the tone of this episode. The Swordsman faces countless beasts with his sword in tow. As he defeats them in bloody fashion, he devours the remains in a feral rage, and the more he eats, the more his hunger grows. Rather than eating fruit and escaping ghosts (yes there are scarier versions of ghosts in this rendition), the Secret Level interpretation of Pac-Man focuses on its title—circle, showcasing how our main character is stuck in an endless loop, never truly meant to meet his goal of escaping.

At the same time, the audience gets to experience the pros and cons of repetition, seeing the Swordsman quickly grow stronger and fend off bigger enemies while witnessing the thought of the main character’s end goal consume his being. The Swordsman’s journey of endless hunger transforms him into a bloodthirsty monster, just like the creatures that have been hunting him this whole time. Eventually, Puck reveals the classic Pac-Man form, facing off against a very different version of the video game’s big bad—the red ghost, giving fans of the game a few nods to the classic characters this dark version was inspired by. Pac-Man’s true form also exposes the true nature of this adventure — there is no true victory, just live, eat, die, repeat. While the protagonist is hailed as “the chosen one,” it simply means he was the one chosen for this identical trip into the maze, with everyone chosen after being doomed to the same fate.

“Pac-Man: Circle” Proves ‘Secret Level’ Should Have Taken More Chances

When Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with the creators at New York Comic Con this past fall, they said this incarnation of Pac-Man “disemboweled your childhood.” That statement could not be more true, as “Pac-Man: Circle” defies the typical nostalgic route and gives the audience a true retelling of a classic story, one that puts a microscope on the monotony of some forms of media. Pac-Man is a classic video game, one celebrated for decades, but narrative games like God of War and The Last of Us revolutionized storytelling within the medium, making repetitive games like Pac-Man feel outdated. The monotony also seeps through the cracks of Secret Level as a whole, with some episodes blurring together with similar premises and action, leaving the Pac-Man-themed episode to stand out above the rest, trading in a sword instead of firearms and a new story rather than a cinematic cut scene players would experience playing the video games the series adapted.

Regardless, Secret Level provides a lot for critics and audiences to talk about and is a concept that is pretty much endless. Much like Love, Death + Robots, this series could easily span several seasons, covering more video games and continuing others introduced in its debut season. If Secret Level does continue, hopefully, it will take more chances, like “Pac-Man: Circle,” supplying new, darkest alternate timeline versions of classic colorful video games from years past. Imagine twisted versions of Centipede, Frogger, or Space Invaders. Again, the possibilities are limitless.

Secret Level‘s first batch of episodes are streaming now on Prime Video, with the second half coming out on December 17.

WATCH ON PRIME VIDEO

An anthology series featuring 15 stories, each set within iconic video game worlds, follows unique narratives that delve into a variety of genres. From action-packed adventures to nostalgic reimaginings, the episodes connect through vibrant animation and imaginative storytelling, offering a fresh take on beloved games like Pac-Man, Dungeons & Dragons, and Mega Man.

Release Date

December 10, 2024

Cast

Keanu Reeves , Parry Shen , Ping Wu , Lydia Look , Nelson Lee , Feodor Chin , Rae Lim , Erin Yvette , Temuera Morrison , Patrick Schwarzenegger , Steve Blum , Noah Manzoor , Madeleine Knight , Laura Wohlwend , Delroy Atkinson , Umulisa Gahiga , Paul Ridley , Rita Estevanovich , Tracy Wiles , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Steven Pacey , Gabriel Luna , Arazou Baker

Seasons

1

Creator(s)

Tim Miller

Network

Amazon Prime Video

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