Squid Game: The Challenge (2023– ) User Reviews

The merits of reviews for 278 and 287, interesting!

[jane_z-89541 · 7/10 · 12 December 2023]

I don't understand why some of the reviewers thought Mai was a terrible person. But no one seems to dislike player 278. When player 278 did not proceed to the next glass on her turn, one of my favorite players 301 had to step up and then got himself eliminated. And player 278 had the gut to call herself a team player? She was the only one that didn't go with the rule that the whole team agreed with.

AND when Mai was the one and the only one challenged and volunteered 278 for "roll the die," other players thought she was a terrible person?! Either it was because of the video editing that we didn't see the whole picture, or, something is wrong with the merit of the players and those reviewers.

Mai absolutely deserved the prize, although I had to agree with lots of the reviews here that games were too random. Congratulations Mai! You can enjoy your life now after your struggled life early on.

My Review

[rileyxbell · 7/10 · 24 November 2023]

This show is savage. I had my doubts, but from an entertainment perspective, it's impressive. I'm not usually into reality TV, but this one truly stands out. The ruthlessness of people in pursuit of a life-changing sum of money is a fascinating aspect. It unfolds like a human experiment, shedding light on various social aspects of society. I binge-watched the entire first part of season one in a day. For a reality show that takes inspiration from the original Squid Game series, I'd say it lives up to expectations. Looking forward to the rest of the first season. Great potential here for future seasons!

The low ratings make no sense...

[groovygirl112006 · 7/10 · 23 November 2023]

I'm astonished how many people rated this poorly, all because they thought it was season 2. THIS IS A GAME SHOW based on Squid Games. I thought this game show was as well done as it could be having been done in the US and also lacking the motivation of losing your life. The reality TV portions are a but much, but the overall premise was intriguing. I'd watch another season if they could come up with interesting games a 2nd time. I thoroughly enjoyed the original show and was shocked to see them try to channel that into an actual game show. I think it was mostly successful and a worthy enough follow-up to the original show from the US perspective.

Don't listen to haters

[ColdBeerHD · 7/10 · 24 November 2023]

I have read like 20 reviews with a score of 1/10 and all of them were "I watched half of the first episode" or "barely went through the first one, HoRrIblE". That is not a review, that is a whine that should never be seen. I watched all five and I will watch till the end.

I give the haters point for one thing - most of the characters are unlikeable and the ones you like will be "killed" in a matter of few episodes anyway. But that is the beauty of Squid game - you don't know who will survive or why.

There will be many twists and turns you won't be expecting. I gave it 7 out of 10 just because I think it is slightly rigged to some point just to eliminate people producers want to eliminate. You know - for the drama.

I worked on TV for many years and did this rigging myself many times. Despite that the show is really entertaining and I can recommend it just as a fun thing to watch.

Addictive & Hilarious! (Don't listen to the haters)

[TheWatcher17 · 8/10 · 24 November 2023]

First of all, this game show was approved by the creator of Squid Game and he was excited for it too, especially to fill in the time while we wait for season 2 of the actual show. HOWEVER, I do agree with a lot of the negative reviews about the casting. I don't know why all these networks are constantly casting actors/social media influencers in their game shows now. Even the actors in the actual Squid Game show seem more authentic and real than many of these contestants. I don't like how Netflix in all of their reality/game shows always focuses on a select few actors instead of everyone equally. Also, when they said this is a global competition, I was hoping for more people from around the world but the majority seem to be obnoxious and loud Americans while giving zero attention to the other country cast.

Aside from the casting, the game and show itself is AWESOME. It's intense, the set designs are impressive and match the actual show, and they introduced new games and twists to ensure the contestants can't copy the tactics used in the original show, which brings a new dynamic and makes it even more addicting.

I would easily rate this show 10/10 if it weren't for the annoying casting, because everything else is perfect and super fun.

Stop working together and get desperate

[jimmypjohnson · 7/10 · 30 November 2023]

Here's the thing, I love Squid Games (the show) and I genuinely enjoy this reality show. I think it's really fun and does an amazing job immersing you in the game with real life people. If you're a fan of the show, you're going to enjoy watching this.

BUT...

Part of what makes the show so engaging is the desperation and the realization that if you 'lose' - you're dying. In this show (especially nearing the final games), everyone's trying to play nice and not be a villain. So instead of playing with desperation to win the money, everyone's trying to not be painted the bad guy. Do people not realize that only ONE person is winning the money? This isn't a team game and you're not working with your buddies until the end. I just wish people were more strategic and cut throat. That's the boring part of this show.

Boring, Fake & Overly Dramatic

[luketansley-34736 · 3/10 · 12 December 2023]

I was really looking forward to this, I'm a huge game show fan and a huge squid game fan so a show combining those two elements should have been a slam dunk exceptional piece of television i would love.

Wrong.

It was so badly done, you can tell they are performing from a script, so many cutaways to contestant interviews pre-games where they all have your typical reality tv sob stories.

Then you find out from the participants social media afterwards how much of the show was staged, fixed, that these contestants were already influencers & in some cases already from money.

Just over the top, overly dramatic, extremely predictable and poorly produced rubbish.

If you love Squid Games give this a miss, wait for Season 2 or rewatch Season 1.

Please people this isn't Squid Game 2! It is a reality show and they are not actors!

[ysukmin · 9/10 · 24 November 2023]

I can't wrap my head around the fact that so many people who are rating this reality show so low and trashing it with bad reviews think this is the Squid Game 2!

This is a very decent recreation of the drama as a reality show. The sets and the music and everything is very true to the original drama and the way they processed the games are even somewhat upgraded than the original. Of course there will be annoying characters and players, because it is a reality show! I was actually amazed how they filmed and captured all so many different responses and reactions each every moment. If you have written a bad rating and a bad review just because you were mistaken that it was the Squid Game 2, please modify it and give this a very decent show a proper rating and review.

Hilarious that people think this is series 2!

[stevekettel · 7/10 · 22 November 2023]

It's a reality tv show, you get that, right?! And as such it's pretty decent. There's the annoying characters, the ones you laugh at despite yourself, well put together to show developing relationships, and done with a budget large enough to sell the concept. It's a show that was ripe for this sort of spin off, and to be honest, it's done pretty well. If you like reality tv challenge shows, and liked Squid Game, you'll like this. I loved Squid game, can take or leave reality shows, but found enough here to enjoy the series. Strange that people give 1 star because they thought it was going to be something else; is that how ratings work??!!!

How to randomly give away 4.56 million dollars

[AnotherPersonInTheWorld · 2/10 · 7 December 2023]

Well its basically all completely random, none of the challenges require any real skill the vast majority are just completely random. Im not sure who this is aimed at, there is no real drama, no real game show elements, just a bunch of unlikeable people who by the time you reach the end you couldnt care less who wins. There are too many people at the start to get any real interest in the characters without using editing that would make it blazingly obvious who is going to end up at the end.

I think most interestingly though is that Netflix has decided that they want to be the evil corporation from the original Squid games, they though hey thats us we should lean into the soulless evil corp that wants to exploit desperate people. Yet this is where we are in the world now, little by little we have eroded and remaining semblance of ethics and this is what we are left with.

It's a good reality tv show!

[ortalyanai · 7/10 · 22 November 2023]

In the beginning, I thought I'm gonna watch the second season of the Korean tv show "squid games", so I was disappointed at first. It's actually an American reality tv show that is based on squid games and it's actually a really good show!

It's suspenseful, interesting, and even binge worthy. The show is very similar to squid games but it's in real life, and after watching real people fight for a chance to win 4.65 million dollars, I believe it's going to be harder to watch the original tv show and get excited about it.

So once you are willing to let go of the fact that it's not the second season of Squid Games, I believe you will find a thrilling, exciting, unique reality tv show with a very big prize to the winners. Highly recommended!

Brutally cringe

[hammerfist-03223 · 2/10 · 24 November 2023]

I got through the first challenge ....barely.

Right from the start, it is non-stop annoying commentary from the contestants spouting off every cliche that has ever existed. It's like they gathered up all of the dumbest people from Family Feud and dumped them here.

"Now that's what I'm talking about" and "this just got real" type comments non-stop. As soon as they thin the field down a bit more, you know that the next thing coming would be sob stories about growing up poor or grandma wanting them to go on the show just before she dropped off the perch etc.

It's so bad that I waited a day to post this review and I still was thinking about how bad it was.

They should have called it Squirm Game as it's so cringe.

Not perfect, but addictive!!

[ryanwhipple-78920 · 7/10 · 8 December 2023]

The show has Impressive sets, lots of drama and cliffhangers! Captured much of the magic of the original. Many characters were annoying, but there were a few that were interesting. I liked it enough I watched the whole series in two days! Ps- I want to audition for season 2 of this!

The hard part was when my favorite characters would get eliminated. Or if someone was playing dirty! I did like a lot of the twists they added to the game. A lot of it was straight off of the show big brother. Though some of the new rules and games seemed based on chance instead of strategy, I liked seeing people win off of strategy and skill! I also liked seeing people have to make hard choices.

The review-bombs are completely UNJUSTIFIED.

[Joeyseph · 10/10 · 25 November 2023]

First and foremost: This is a reality tv show. Anyone who came into this with the expectation that it was going to be Squid Game: Season 2 will be disappointed.

That said, it seems that a large majority of the people rating this show 1 star are simply confused. I see a lot of people complaining that the show has been Americanized and ruined. These people are being completely over-the-top given that the show isn't even connected to Squid Game other than the set.

This is a well-done reality show. I watch a lot of trashy reality tv shows and this is pretty par for the course as to what you would expect.

It's not the best thing I've ever watched but it is definitely entertaining. Excited for the final 5 episodes to drop!

Caution spoiler

[eceatasayar · 7/10 · 5 December 2023]

The challengers were on nonstop talking. I was bored. I watched all episodes on x1,5. On the bridge challenge; 273 done injustice to 301. But next episode all people announced to Mai is traitor. I think Mai has done right thing. 273 should be eliminated on the bridge. The begining episodes was boring. Afterwards the challenge became competitive. Omg 600 words are too much. If u have spare time you can watch that. But if your time is important, you cant waste your time; dont watch. Although , I am very curious about the winner. Last day. I am going to watch. This is My first comment on this site. I hope that is going to be help to reader to decide to watch.

It is so US style ..

[jasinskamagdalenaa · 2/10 · 22 November 2023]

I understand it is based on the series concept. However, I don't know who made the casting, the participants are simply awful: unlikeable and irritating,. I understand there is a particular personality type to be a part of this show, but they're just simply unbelievable and annoying. I blame it on the US portrayal, all whoohoo emotional building of the tention etc. Maybe it is fault of the edit. Korean way makes you sit on the edge just because it is so so reserved.

Netflix has money to make the show visually plausible but I wanted a some kind of twist. These cheering, screaming, whoohoo type of attitude ruined the show for me.

Do you not get that this is a game show??

[enderlein-25351 · 10/10 · 22 November 2023]

People in here rating it poorly because they misunderstood what this is??

Season 2 of Squid Game is coming but no, this is not it. Clearly not.

I enjoy this show very much and think the challenges are funny and exciting.

Yes, some people are annoying, some less annoying. Like in any other reality show. Great casting. The development throughout the show, and the challenges are clever and on point with the original Squid Game.

Cant wait for more episodes. This gets more and more exciting each episode. If you enjoyed Squid Game and also like reality shows like Survivor you wont be disappointed at all. Ignore negative reviews.

Underrated

[Kreauwen · 7/10 · 24 November 2023]

I think this show is severely underrated. When solely seen as a Squid Game-themed game show rather as something larger, like an extreme example of the dehumanization of capitalism or whatever that review said, it is quite enjoyable. It is not supposed to be some sort of fictional work of intellect, it is a game show with a Squid Game theme...

To be honest, it is actually better than it ever should have been allowed to and some parts go unnecessarily hard. "War" is by far the best episode. Although the two episodes after that kind of ruin the pacing with some boring filler content and mostly just introductions to new characters, it was a good first half overall.

Not season 2, but...

[Kamil_An · 9/10 · 23 November 2023]

Some people are coming in to watch squid game season 2, but are highly disappointed that they are watching something else and call it rubbish. This is NOT season 2 of our beloved squid game, instead it's an Americanized version of squid game turned into an innocent game show where you don't get killed if you fail. This game show is great, it's full of challenges just like in the series itself where the main prize is 4.56 Million dollars. Whoever came up with this idea has maintained the original concept of squid game, which SHOULD be highly appreciated by the squid game community. Instead, it is being mocked for not being season 2. Guys, come on...

too much talking, too few actions

[gsmarcom · 6/10 · 26 November 2023]

I watched 5 episodes but then found out it's not finished, I hate the Netflix now likes to split a season in 2 parts and release separately. Come on it's only 1 season, release all together.

I love Squid Game so I had high expectations for this game show. The first couple of episodes are quite good, interesting games with some additional twist so it wont be the same as the drama. But then it gets more and more boring. First, there are too much talking, too much "interview sessions" of individual contestants, some of them even spoke again and again. It's good to get to know them better by listening to their background stories, but some just repeated spoke irrelevant annoying stuff. Second, the elimination of players by other players is not as exciting/ entertaining as elimination through games, and they did this multiple times in a prolonged way.

One of the worst show on its merit

[shawnyu64 · 27 November 2023]

This is bad because anyone thought it as "sequel" of Squid Game - no one thought of that after 5 mins of watching it - but it's a 1 out of 10 on its merit as reality show.

I usually enjoy reality shows, which are over the top by design but this dumb show dialed that up to 100 (not 11). People's reaction is so exaggerated to the point that it's actually hurts to watch. Contestants are screaming at the camera in the fakest way possible to create a stake or drama but it's so badly written to the point no one believe it... like it introduce a contestant 2 mins before eliminating him and other contestant acting like they lost their family member or something... and viewers are supposed to care?

I had more cringe watching this show for 2 eps (had to give because it's so bad) than my entire life time up to this point. It's hard to describe how bad it is and not enjoyable kind of bad. If the show doesn't have any relation to Squid Game, I'd still gave it a 1 out of 10 but let's be real... no one would have watched it if it didn't have Squid Game in the title.

Not as bad as some seem to think

[pizzadog42 · 7/10 · 22 November 2023]

I really don't know what people expected of this.

Also, TIL, people from Britain are "American".

Anyway, it's kind of the same as the actual TV show, but obviously no one actually gets hurt. There is a lot more talking and reality TV nonsense, which is less interesting than the games.

What people don't seem to get is that it's not a recreation of the original show, because people obviously already know it. The games are different, like the honeycomb one, for example, everyone chose 4 lines, then the first person in each line had to choose which shape their team would have to play with. If they didn't agree, all 4 were eliminated. Until one poor fellow chose the umbrella.

It is not Squid Game. It's a vanilla recreation of the game inside the TV show. It's reality TV trash that wasn't meant to be revolutionary, but it's no complete garbage like others seem to think. Know before you watch it.

So funny that people think this is anything but a game show.

[gravloc · 9/10 · 23 November 2023]

This is a game show! It is not a tv show! I quite enjoyed it. People complain about how American it is, who do you think is paying for it. Americans! I love Korean movies and tv shows, they're great! However, we already saw a Korean version of this game as a scripted tv show. Most customers of Netflix are americans and those same customers also made a Korean tv show the biggest hit that Netflix has ever had in it's history. So, who cares who the contestants are, and there are also some international contestants. Anyway, as I said, I'm quite enjoying it and will gladly continue watching it and also look forward to the next season of the actual tv series.

Also, 278 is a bad person.

Great binge watch

[katiemc77 · 7/10 · 25 November 2023]

I can't believe this is only showing a 4.5 rating right now!

I am a massive fan of the original show and thought the attention to detail in this show was amazing.

The games, the scenery, the costumes. It's brilliant.

Yes, the contestants are sometimes O. T. T of course, but this is to be expected.

Some points I was thinking omg, do these people really think they're going to die in real life? The way they were acting haha. But I think this adds to the craziness of it all.

I had to fast forward most of the cookie game thought, because the spit and the licking and the boy who kept nearly throwing up, made me feel ill. I was so glad he didn't make it, because he was ruining it for me.

All in all, if you don't take it too seriously, it's a fantastic watch. Can't wait for the next batch of episodes.

Hilarious!

[bendwbl · 9/10 · 30 November 2023]

A group of (mostly) nice people who enjoyed the original series are chosen to play a non lethal version. Since nobody is really going to die, they're able to have some fun with it. To simulate death, they have ink-filled caps sewn into their clothes, and they slump over, sometimes half in stitches.

Of course, as in any isolated game like this, the rest of the world evaporates, making activities and social interactions subject to heightened emotions and more drama than adults should create. This turns into a series of odd self-unaware behavior and hypocrisy as small groups become increasingly angry at the existence of other small groups. "Look at that clique! Unlike ours!"

Some eliminations are heartbreaking. Others are...extremely satisfying.