Secret Level – Episode 3 “New World” Recap & Review

New World

Episode 3 of Secret Level throws us right into the thick of Amazon’s MMO, New World. The men prepare to sail on an island consumed by a giant volcano but unfortunately, it doesn’t pan out that way.

A crackle of lightning shipwrecks them, and the only survivor is King Aelstrom. A woman there easily dispatches Aelstrom and his assistant, Scaevola. However, they soon awaken on the beach again, absolutely fine.

It turns out this island is called Aeternum, and everyone is immortal there. Aelstrom is convinced he can sway the masses but he hurriedly gets killed in a duel. Again and again and again.

Scaevola eventually reveals the truth to this man, pointing out that Aelstrom’s heritage is partly why he has such an inflated sense of self. You see, his family have a rich history of royalty, and all those duels and games in the past were rigged so Aelstrom would come out victorious.

Unfortunately, Aelstrom is not willing to listen to his assistant (and friend) so Aelstrom turns to the dark side and decides to seek counsel with a dark sorcerer atop the volcanic mountain. He continues to throw himself into the pit, dying every time but coming back with another piece of armour. All the while, Scaevola devotes himself to the King on this island.

Aelstrom soon comes bursting in to the throne room with his armour. The King sighs and makes short work of him, ripping off the necklace and leaving. As Aelstrom drops to his knees, confused over where his purpose should take him, he eventually grabs the crown and heads for the beach

The thing is, this crown is meaningless and without anyone to share in his glory, he realizes all of this is meaningless. Instead, he decides to smelt the crown and forge an arm for his assistant. Friendship is perhaps mightier than gold it seems!

The Episode Review

New World is arguably the weakest of the episodes so far, despite having a nice message at the end. Seeing Aelstrom constantly defeated does get old quickly, and the middle part of heading atop the mountain and grabbing that armour, especially without explaining who this dark wizard is or the lore behind it, feels more like time wasting than anything else.

Furthermore, the woman on the beach is also not fleshed out that well, and while I appreciate there’s only limited time to play with, a bit more context over why she’s just mulling about would have been nice.

However, the overarching message about pursuing materialistic means and the value of friendship are welcome, and the animation is solid as well.