Survival games and Battle Royale are genres in Asia that are very famous inside the continent, and we can see why. Basically, the Squid Game follows the same premise of both genres. Still, we connect more with the protagonist and the characters. You probably don’t know much about this, but we will tell you everything we know and why this series is so popular now.
Before talking deeper about the series, we need to mention that we won’t spoil any major plot. Also, we will talk about some other popular series that are very similar that you can watch on Netflix. So, with this being said, let’s get into the game.
Table of Contents
What exactly is the Squid Game about?
Overall, the whole series revolves around surviving games, specifically traditional Korean games for children. Most of them are well known in the entire world, you probably once played something similar. There is a main character that introduces us to the Squid Game and the whole plot. Through him, you will get to know more characters that are very important for the plot.
Every game is lethal, so you enter a tournament for your life, and the reward is millions of dollars, enough to live your whole life and don’t spend it all. Every player is worth money; if somebody dies, you get more money, so death it’s very profitable. As the series continues, you see how everybody handles the situation and how they deteriorate because of the stress of dying.
After the 8 episodes, you will feel close to multiples characters and root for them. The series isn’t long, and there is a lot of social commentary about real problems happening in Korea. If you miss anything, don’t worry, the series rhythm is very fast, and you will get answers in the end. We saw the whole series, so we recommend watching it the same day you started it.
What are the Battle Royale and Survival series?
We mentioned those genres in the beginning because they are the foundations of the Squid Game series. Both genres are about a group of people trying to survive. In battle royale, they have to kill each other; in survival games, they have to survive. During the Squid Game, you see both scenarios, people kill each other, and some others just try really hard to survive the games.
The first battle royale was a Japanese comic, or manga, called ‘Battle Royale’, which gave the name to the genre. Here, a group of high schoolers have to kill each other on an island. There’s a film, but it’s terrible, so we won’t recommend it, but if you are into the genre, you should watch it. Anyhow, since the film, many series, anime and other mangas are about this topic.
Survival games were born in the movies as a sub-genre of the horror category, and we can’t be precise about which country made it first. There are multiple films about the same topic; one example of this is the Saw series. If the Squid Game wasn’t enough, we have our top selection about similar topics that you can watch right now on Netflix.
Alice in Borderlands
If you like survival games, rather than plain people vs people, you should watch this series. There are lethal games, however, ‘everyone’ can survive, and the character is as lovable. The whole series has only one season, and it has 10 episodes. Netflix already announced a second season for 2021, so you don’t have to worry about not having anything to see later.
Here you will meet Arisu — Yes, Alice in Japanese, not very subtle — and his friends, his first team. After an unexpected disaster In Shibuya, he and his friends ended in a dystopic Japan without knowing how much time had passed or how they ended there. While they are looking for an answer, they enter a venue where they have to play a game. They can’t reject; if they want to survive, they have to play.
Every game has its own category, represented by a card, which means what abilities are important to surviving. Also, almost every game has a solution that let everybody live, but it’s not easy to find it. Most of the games have a deeper meaning, too, manipulating the players to only go for the killing rather than working together. Finally, every episode is about a new game, so you won’t get bored while watching it.
Darwin’s Game
If you like anime rather than live actions, you must watch Darwin’s Game. This is an adaptation of one of the bestselling manga in Japan, and the animation closely follows the manga. In this world, there’s an app that can grant you ‘superpowers’, but after signing in on the app, you have to fight with other players. After one victory, you will get player points that you can exchange for money, ‘items’, and more benefits.
The players are primarily high schoolers, which are very common in any manga. Still, the characters are very loveable and very mature. Also, the powers and the ‘games’ are incredible. For example, there is a team game where you have to find some bracelets; however, not everything it’s what it seems in these games.
Every fight is fueled with action, and the animation is insane, so you will be very impressed. Also, the powers are very interesting because they are related to the player’s own abilities. In other words, you could guess the powers of multiple characters based on how you know them. Right now, it only has one season of 10 episodes, and season 2 is coming soon.
Kakegurui
We are in a middle ground here because these series have live-action and an anime adaptation, so you can pick. Overall, the topic is about ‘high schoolers’ who must win games if they want to keep their social status. Yes, they don’t die, but they have the worst destiny; they are slaves of the ones with power. Also, most of the games are fatal, so they could lose an eye, fingers, hands, or play the Russian Roulette.
