Secret Level’s Outer Worlds episode makes the sci-fi feel much scarier

If The Outer Worlds could be summed up in three words, I’d go with “capitalism is bad.” That message is dressed up with silly mascot costumes, over-the-top advertising, and cheeky dialogue, but once you scratch at that silliness, the satire becomes quite clear. The Secret Level animated anthology spends one episode in this world, following an illiterate trash orphan named Amos as he tries to scrape up enough bits to sign up for a dangerous job as a test subject. There isn’t a lot of crossover with the original game’s characters, but the core thesis remains the same: living under unchained capitalism is a nightmare, and any society that plays by these rules cannot prosper.

In the Outer Worlds episode of Secret Level, Amos is a scrappy orphan with a crush on Felicity, a sweet young scientist with the ambition to escape this mundane life. Felicity has since left to go work for Auntie Cleo, one of space’s notorious megacorps. The Outer Worlds takes place in the distant Halcyon system, which was ruled by a collection of 10 companies making up a larger holdings corporation. They are terrible leaders, focused on profits over people to an almost comical extent.

Amos sees a chance to reunite with Felicity by signing up for a risky gig as an Auntie Cleo test subject, and he throws himself into it with boundless enthusiasm. Amos’ dedication to the job does absolutely nothing to shield him from the terrible side effects. I’m sure a ton of work went into this Secret Level episode to make sure that each detail was perfect, from faded posters plastered on a city wall to the procession of facial expressions Amos makes as acid eats away at his arm. Auntie Cleo runs a workplace that would make Jeff Bezos blush, and the consistency with the first game makes the horror really pop. The Outer Worlds presented tons of similarly terrifying scenarios, but rarely lingered on them — Secret Level really homes in on this one guy and how much his life sucks.

It’s, of course, a tremendously depressing episode, thanks to its limited perspective. Part of the reason I loved The Outer Worlds so much was not just because of its anti-capitalist world-building, but because it was unafraid to give the protagonist a gun and the agency to shoot nearly everyone in the game at any time. Sure, I’d often stumble on infuriating scenarios from the indoctrinated people living under these policies, like a guy who couldn’t accept medical care from a megacorp he wasn’t under contract from, or self-harm being penalized as damage to company assets. But I also had a shotgun and the freedom to use it liberally, so it worked out in the end.

Amos and Felicity don’t enjoy any of these liberties. There’s one tearful “are we the baddies?” speech, but no real catharsis or freedom for either of these characters. It’s effective world-building, I suppose; a brief glimpse at the wider universe outside the game. But it’s also kind of a huge bummer. I can find similar stories of dashed dreams and lives spent in squalor and struggle by simply looking out my window at today’s world. In Secret Level, a colorful anthology meant to celebrate the worlds of gaming, that same scenario is just depressing. At least we know a sequel is on the way, which will allow me to get back to dealing with these questions of morality with a couple of sassy companions and a hi-tech shotgun.

All 15 episodes of Secret Level are now streaming on Prime Video.