Alice in Borderland

An eerily empty Tokyo is the first warning that ordinary rules no longer apply. In Alice in Borderland, Arisu and his companions must survive games whose instructions can be as dangerous as the physical challenges. Recognising what a game is really asking becomes a skill in its own right.

The Japanese adaptation of Haro Aso's manga gives its survival premise a strong visual identity. Familiar streets become unsettling through absence, then turn into spaces where every choice has consequences. Kento Yamazaki's Arisu is useful because he thinks, doubts and makes mistakes; the puzzles are more involving when intelligence is not a guarantee of safety.

The scale and heightened action distinguish it from Squid Game. Both use deadly competition, but this is more interested in a strange world's rules and the mystery of how its inhabitants arrived there. Expect a substantial science-fiction puzzle alongside the survival thriller. The better reason to try it is that combination, rather than treating it as another country's version of a show you already know.