The Warhammer episode ofSecret Levelhas drawn widespread praise from VFX experts for its cutting-edge CGI. Created by Tim Miller for Amazon Prime,Secret Levelis an animated anthology series that adapts popular video game franchises into gripping standalone episodes, and its fifth installment, “And They Shall Know No Fear,” is based onWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine, the acclaimed third-person shooter set in the grimdark future of theWarhammeruniverse. The episode follows a squad of Ultramarines as they battle Chaos forces, featuring the franchise’s signature violence and dystopian lore.
The VFX artists ofCorridor CrewreviewSecret Level’sWarhammer episode and were highly impressedby its visual effects. As a squad of Ultramarines embarks on a mission to retrieve and destroy a Chaos artifact before it falls into enemy hands, they are lured into an intense battle against Chaos cultists, daemons, and a powerful Chaos Sorcerer who can manipulate time. Here’s what they had to say:
Niko:They had Syama Pedersen, the guy that did theAstartesshorts, as the layout artist for this. Layout artists basically decide like the composition and the flow of the animation from like a kind of almost like storyboarding-esque point of view. Which is why all the shots feel veryAstartes-esque.
Sam:Feels like shots have purpose.It’s nice when people commit to a dark mood and hold it.
Niko:The creativity with how the actions and the environment flow into cinematic setups is so good.
Wren:On top of that, it all looks very realistic.I love the close-ups of their eyes too, because it’s likethere’sso much life in themand yet it’s CG. I momentarily think, ‘Did they actually just cut away to like footage?’
Niko:And eyes are so hard to do with CG too. Because like the eye is not actually round, it has a lens on top of your iris that distorts your iris, and there’s water layers on top of it, then all the flesh moving around on top of that.
One of the most jaw-dropping sequences in the episode involved the Space Marines battling in complete darkness, with only the glow of their enemies’ spilled blood illuminating the battlefield. Corridor Crew was mesmerized:
Sam:This is actually sick.
Wren:Right!
Sam:They can actually have the blood being emissive, and I’m like ‘Why is it so dark?’ And now I’m like ‘Oh, it’s because of the glowing blood.’ Which is seemingly doing a lot of work lighting the scene.
Niko:By the way, that effect—you couldn’t do that until recently with rendering packages. Like past 10 years. In a rendering system, for a long time, you couldn’t have things like textures and liquid and everything emit light all together. Usually, you’d have to have specific light objects emit light. Even in video games now, you may’t really render a scene like this.It’s a really great sequence that really just like leverages modern CGI.
Another well-crafted moment stunned the VFX artists when the Ultramarines encounter a powerful Chaos sorcerer who freezes time:
Wren:Yes! That shot right there is just [Mwah]!
Niko:The fire metrics are frozen, the light is frozen. Like once again an impossible thing to do in real life. I love how the light of the muzzle flash is creating volumetric light through the smoke.
Sam:Brilliant. It’s a shame they only dedicated one episode in this show toWarhammer.Sweet sims, sweet volumetrics, great layout, shot composition, motion, editing, animation. Ultimately, it’s just so cool seeing something like that just holds a tone, and it doesn’t break the mood.
What The Praise For Secret Level’s Warhammer Episode Means
The Warhammer Episode Brings A Grim World To Life
The success ofSecret Level’sWarhammer episode is a testament to how far modern CGI has come, demonstrating howthe high-end visuals of smaller projects can rival even big-budget live-action productions. The use of photorealistic effects and meticulous shot composition with an uncompromising aesthetic set a new benchmark for video game adaptations.Secret Levelhas redefinedvideo game adaptations, pairing skilled independent creators—likeAstartes’ Syama Pedersen—with Hollywood A-listers who together bring beloved franchises to life in new and exciting ways.
Secret Level Episode 5 Ending & Warhammer Connections Explained
Secret Level episode 5’s ending explored morality, magic, daemons, and Space Marines as Prime Video’s show delved into the world of Warhammer 40k.
While one of the artists felt it was “a shame"thatWarhammer, and its groundbreaking visual effects, were only featured in one episode, it’s possible the grim fantasy world could pop up again. Following the series' record-breaking debut—garnering 1.4 million views in its first week—Prime Video has officially renewedSecret Levelfor season 2.With Miller teasing new episodes, including a possiblePongadaptation, it’s clear that the series’anthology format offers limitless potentialfor bringing video game worlds and characters to the screen.
This Is Just The Beginning
Secret Level’s reimagining of Warhammer is a brutal, action-packed thrill ride that captures the essence of Warhammer 40K with stunning visuals, and a dark, immersive atmosphere that makes for an unforgettable experience. While it may not be the most emotionally deep entry in the series, its ability to efficiently tell a gripping story with “sweet sims, sweet volumetrics, [and] great layout"makes it one ofSecret Levels' best episodes. AsSecret Levelprepares for season 2, and a Henry Cavill-led Warhammer TV series in development at Amazon, the future ofWarhammeradaptations looks grimmer, darker, and closer than ever.
