The people behind the critically acclaimedLove, Death & Robotsanthology have turned their attention to video games through Amazon MGM Studios’Secret Level. TheSecret Levelanthology celebrates numerous different games across genres and history, includingArmored Core,Crossfire,Mega Man, and more. Across 15 episodes, two of which will be released every week after December 10, players will get to watch the worlds of their favorite titles come alive in small vignettes aimed to leave a visual and storytelling impact.
Among many episodes that are very close to their source material, such asDungeons and DragonsandSifu, sits the sixth episode titled “Circle,” which is based onPac-Man. From the very first trailer forSecret Levelrevealed at Gamescom, it was made very clear that the Pac-Man adaptation in the anthology would do things a bit differently, with a robotic Pac-Man-like device showing off razor-sharp spikes in its mouth at the very end of the trailer. This early look made it clear that the usually adorable and colorful franchise is being taken in a completely different light than usual, and the full episode redefines what makes a video game adaptation.
How Secret Level’s Pac-Man Episode Keeps the Game’s Core Themes While Twisting Them Entirely
ThePac-Manepisode ofSecret Levelis best watched blind so that spoilers can be avoided going forward. The official summary of “Circle” is stated as “trapped in a vast maze and pursued by ghosts, a mysterious entity summons a warrior to help it escape,” with the statement suggesting that it may be based on the character rather than the titular game. The description of the episode certainly seems to fit what players would expect fromPac-Man,but everything else about “Circle” interpretsPac-Manin ways viewers might not even think about at first glance.
“Circle” is brave enough to rip away the surface level parts of Pac-Man, such as the circular yellow character, fruits, and colorful ghosts, to instead focus on the isolation of confusion and the positives and negatives of repetition, albeit with a fewthrowbacks to Pac-Man itselfincluded in both cameos and haunting changes to what used to be innocent in the original game. The result is a far cry from the joy one would experience from playing the arcade game, but it’s no less resonating and powerful when the point of the episode is made clear.
Why Secret Level’s Pac-Man Episode Gets Away With Doing Something Different
It’s no secret that fans will notice that “Circle” sticks out like a needle in a haystack compared to the other episodes, like those forSpelunkyandThe Outer Worlds,which are very true to its source material. Ultimately, the issue withPac-Manis that there’s not much source material to go off of. While games such asMega Manhad a story written into their instruction manuals,Pac-Manas an arcade game only had its ghosts and mazes for fans to play in and always let its gameplay do the talking. In that sense, theSecret Leveladaptation does a great job at covering all the bases and feelings that come with playingPac-Man,even if it might not be entirely recognizable at first watch due to how many of them are heightened.
Between its very loose yet valid artistic interpretations of what it means to adaptPac-Man, the “Circle"Secret Levelepisode is bound to be one that divides viewers. It’s definitely one that makes fans ask how it ties into the little pixelated quarter machine that’s been around for 44 years, and it may take some thinking to understand how each of its themes still exist in the world “Circle” portrays.SomePac-Manfans will find it weirdin terms of the yellow orb’s adventures, but no matter how viewers take it, thisSecret Levelepisode will leave them with some sort of feeling, and that’s exactly what art like this uniquePac-Manadaptation is meant to achieve.
Secret Level
Cast
Amazon Prime Video’s Secret Level is an animated series that explores different gaming worlds, telling short stories within them. Some of the featured games include Armored Core, Sifu, Unreal Tournament, Concord, Ghost of Tsushima, Pac-Man, and The Outer Worlds.
