Best high stakes death games to get you through the Alice in Borderland withdraw

In the pit of despair that comes with binging an entire series and wanting to get that next good fix? Don’t worry, us too. With the wait still on for the upcoming releases of Season 2 of Squid Game and Season 3 of Alice in Borderland, here’s Colin’s recommendations for your best high stakes death game vibe media to get you through this withdrawal period.

 

Zero Escape / Danganronpa 

    Both by Spike Chunsoft, these two visual novel series take on the death game genre with style and gusto. With Dangan Ronpa spanning multiple games and anime adaptations, and Zero Escape containing three exciting games in the series, there’s content aplenty for you to scratch that itch. Dangan Ronpa follows the stories of 16 highly specialised and talented students trapped together, and forced to murder each other to escape. Pull off their plan and perplex everyone at the trial? Freedom for them. Get outsmarted by the cohort and be prepared to face a grisly execution. The visual style, variety in character design and personality and heart racing trial sequences have made this series well known and loved. On the other hand, if escape rooms are more your style, maybe Zero Escape is to try. The first installlation in the series follows the story of 9 people trapped on a cruise ship, instructed to figure out how to open the “9th door” and find their freedom. Switch between clever escape room puzzles, and high stakes visual novel style decision making and conversation to make your way through the game, but keep on your toes, as the game throws a funky and mind bending mechanic at you that is an absolute joy to play though.

     

    Death Parade 

      Adding an interesting twist to the list, Death Parade explores the idea of ‘post death’ games. A psychologically thought provoking anime, Death Parade’s premise explores the idea of what happens after death, when two people die at the same time, and how the souls are directed for reincarnation or into the void forever. Souls arrive at a bar and each play a game, ranging from darts to bowling. Simple enough. As the game continues, the true natures of the players reveal themselves and evolve as they come to terms with their own mortality, the events of their deaths, and how they react to it. Eventually, a judgement is passed on the souls’ final fates. What makes Death Parade interesting to watch is the involvement and opinion of the viewers as they go through the discoveries of each episode. We are faced with the idea of how our own moralities and values match or differ from that of the judge. Is it fair? Did they deserve their fate? It adds a layer of thought to an already psychological anime. 

       

      Battle Royale 

        Arguably one of the movies to start it all, Battle Royale is a 2000 film set in Japan where a class of 9th graders are sent to a deserted island, with an explosive collar fitted around their neck. Their objective? Kill everyone else and be the last survivor. You break the rules? Collar explodes. More than one survivor? Boom. Battle Royale is bloody, violent and wild survival-of-the-fittest story. You wonder how it’s all going to end. Are they going to band together and find a way out? Will they play to the rules of the Royale? An action packed watch for sure, if a bit of gore is up your alley, don’t miss this classic piece of cinema. 

         

        MILGRAM 

          A bit of a different recommendation here, as it is ongoing, but MILGRAM is definitely worth checking out. MILGRAM  is an interactive music project explored through a series of songs and music videos, alongside online content such as videos, interviews, stories and the like. It tells the story of 10 inmates in a mysterious prison. Experience the story of each prisoner through three round of trials, where you learn more about each character and their ‘crimes’ through hints in a music video. What makes MILGRAM so interesting is the interactivity, you as the viewer get to act as a judge and jury. Voting each character guilty or innocent can be conducted through the MILGRAM website after each song is released. Depending on how the community votes each round, the songs and positions of the prisoners change in each subsequent trial. If you like looking for small hints and piecing together plots, as well as get involved with the excitement and changeability of interactive media, MILGRAM may be worth your time. 

           

          KAIJI

            Kaiji Ultimate Survivor: a show in which we follow our titular protagonist entering an illegal gambling arena for the purpose of breaking the chains of debts and poverty. The anime distinguishes itself from it’s normal death game peers with its slow, tense and introspective take on gambling. Rather than having a scenario where loss leads to the death, Kaijis is forced to partake in gambles that wager pieces of himself bit by bit, whether that be in the form of his freedoms or literal pieces of himself. This lower stakes (but ultimately more brutal) system provides us with a unique experience that can otherwise not achieved as our main protagonist is no longer immune to loss nor its consequence. Through the lens of Kaiji we experience every thought, fear, triumph and loss that he does. We watch as he desperately battles the increasingly complex games, motivated both by the hopes for something better and by fear of further loss, and once it’s all over, we wait in anticipation when he must decide to try again as he weighs his future against his wellbeing.

             

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