For many viewers, Squid Game Season 3 didn’t quite stick the landing. Whether it was the final season’s slower pacing, some bizarre character arcs, or just the feeling that the novelty had worn off of the biggest Netflix hit of all time, plenty of fans were left wanting more.
If that includes you, here’s some good news: Netflix has a Japanese survival thriller that I actually think might scratch the itch that Squid Game didn’t quite reach for you. The show is Alice in Borderland, and its story is likewise built around high-pressure games, tests of characters’ morality, and the unsettling sense that no one is ever truly safe. Like Squid Game, it drops ordinary people into extraordinary and deadly scenarios and forces them to play for their lives — confronting damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t choices along the way.
The series, which is sitting at a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, begins with Arisu, a listless gamer and slacker, who finds himself suddenly transported to an empty, alternate version of Tokyo. He’s quickly forced to participate in a series of sadistic games, each one marked by a playing card that determines its difficulty and theme (players encounter everything from logic puzzles to physical endurance and psychological torment). Losing means death, while winning earns players days of “visa” to extend their survival. Fail to enter a new game before your visa expires, and I bet you can guess what happens to your life expectancy.
Visually, these two extremely dark Netflix shows share a stark, cinematic style that’s both surreal and brutal. Alice in Borderland leans more into sci-fi than Squid Game, with Tokyo essentially becoming a nightmarish game board — every deserted building or alleyway another potential deathtrap. The action is tightly choreographed, the tension rarely lets up, and the worldbuilding gets much deeper in Season 2.
I should add: Now is also the perfect time to catch up on the series. Netflix has confirmed that Season 3 of Alice in Borderland is coming this September — so whether you’re discovering it for the first time or revisiting the chaos, there’s still time to dive in before the story continues. If you’re craving another hit of stylish survival drama, and you’re still a little miffed that Squid Game didn’t go out as strongly as you might have liked, put Alice in Borderland at the top of your watchlist right now.
