Published by Mason Oldridge, 20 December 2023
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Netflix’s most watched series of all time gets a game show adaptation amid the original’s long-awaited second season.
The real life counterpart to the South Korean thriller stays true to the original for the most part, minus killing the losers of course. The set design is almost an exact replica, featuring notable settings such as the Red Light Green Light playing field, the dormitory, the children’s playground for Dalgona, the residential streets for Marbles and the Glass Bridge. However, some changes were made such as replacing Tug of War with Warships as the third game and adding several psychological and personal tests to eliminate players, often pitting them against each other and creating enemies. With so much effort to maintain accuracy with set design, it’s a shame that wasn’t transferred into the gameplay, even if the tests did make it more interesting.
Despite production in England and worldwide casting, the majority of the players were American. Throughout the game, flashback interviews introduced us to notable and memorable players such as Trey and his mother, controversial players Bryton and Lorenzo, eldest contestant Rick and his “gganbu gang”, best friends Bee and Amanda, deaf contestant Jackie, runner-up Phill, and eventual winner Mai. Despite a handful of likeable players, many are manipulative and conniving, untrusting of anyone and overly aware of alliances. It may be the nature of the game but it certainly brings out the worst in humanity, something sad to see. We witness the kind-hearted be eliminated before the cash prize goes to a nasty, undeserving player.
Absolute credit to the precision gone into the production but what we’re left with is a toxic environment bred from greed. Still, it’s a nice stopgap while waiting for the new season of the main series.
6/10