When Squid Game hit Netflix in 2021, the world felt the impact. Emerging from a pandemic, people were broke, bored, and ready to break bad, and the show’s sharp satire of capitalism hit just right. The premise—people in various levels of life-destroying debt sign up to play a series of deadly children’s games in exchange for the chance at a life-changing amount of cash (kept on display in a giant piggy bank, in one of the show’s many brilliant visual touches)—straddled the line between sadly plausible and nightmarishly bizarre, but anyone could sympathize with the desperate protagonist, Seong Gi-hoon (Lee Jung-jae).
The best books like Squid Game
Under the bright primary colors and friendly shapes, Squid Game is a story about money, desperation, and mob mentality. Lucky for you, plenty of books offer those same themes along with similarly gripping tension.
The Plotters, by Un-Su Kim $15.19 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $15.19 at Amazon Hit, by Delilah S. Dawson $12.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $12.99 at Amazon Docile, by K.M. Szpara $17.49 at Amazon $22.99 Save $5.50 Shop Now Shop Now $17.49 at Amazon $22.99 Save $5.50 The Running Man, by Richard Bachman (Stephen King) $9.99 at Amazon $11.99 Save $2.00 Shop Now Shop Now $9.99 at Amazon $11.99 Save $2.00 The Family Experiment, by John Marrs $18.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $18.99 at Amazon SEE 2 MOREHit, by Delilah S. Dawson
If the interrogation of an unfair economic system is what resonated with you while watching Squid Game, then Hit is for you: When Valor National Bank buys the national debt, it also gains the right to kill the people who owe it money—which is just about everyone. People like Patsy are given a choice: Pay their debt (impossible), be killed right there and then (undesirable), or work as a bounty hunter killing other debtors. It’s violent, messy, and filled with trenchant commentary on the broken system we live in.
The Running Man, by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
King’s 1982 novel was definitely before its time, and has a setup similar to Squid Game. In the far-future of 2025 (!), Ben Richards is struggling to pay his bills and buy medicine for his sick daughter in an America devastated by economic ruin. Desperate, he signs up to be a contestant with the government-run reality game called The Running Man, where he’ll be hunted by trained assassins. If he can survive for 30 days, he gets $1 billion—with bonuses for killing hunters.
The best movies like Squid Game
For all its bright colors and menacingly silly design, Squid Game offers up a suffocatingly dark, dystopian vision of the world. If you want more of that, here are some feature-length movies that will hit that dark, sweet spot.
Cube (1997)
In the midst of all the violent strategies and desperate gambits on Squid Game, you get the sense that it’s also a kind of experiment to see just how far (and low) people will go to survive and get paid. In Cube, five people find themselves trapped in a series of square rooms connected by hatches in each wall, floor, and ceiling—many of which are booby-trapped in horrifying ways. As the group works its way through the rooms, there’s a similar vibe as their creativity and willingness to sacrifice each other comes into play. Stream Cube on Plex or rent it from Prime Video.
Cube (1997) $3.99 at Prime Video Learn More Learn More $3.99 at Prime VideoThe Platform (2019)
Squid Game is a trenchant social commentary, examining the morality of modern society and the impact of inequality. That makes The Platform the perfect movie pairing. In this film, a man named Goreng agrees to spend six months in the “Vertical Self-Management Center,” where pairs of prisoners live on different levels. Once a day, a platform laden with a rich feast descends from above and stops for two minutes—prisoners can only eat during that time. The people placed on top can eat what they like, while the people on the lower levels are lucky to get anything. Goreng eventually goes on an odyssey to discover the secrets of who’s behind this cruel system. Stream The Platform on Netflix.
The Platform (2019) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at NetflixThe Belko Experiment (2016)
One of the great pleasures of Squid Game is watching well-rounded characters fight for their lives using every skill and advantage they have. In The Belko Experiment, a standard group of office drones suddenly find themselves trapped in a fortified building and inform the employees that they must kill two people within 30 minutes, or several of them will be killed at random. The bloody chaos that ensues will be music to the ears of any Squid Game fan. Rent The Belko Experiment on Prime Video.
The Belko Experiment (2016) $3.99 at Prime Video Learn More Learn More $3.99 at Prime VideoEscape Room (2019)
One of the great thrills of each episode of Squid Game was finding out what bizarro version of a children’s game was going to be repurposed into a crowd-thinning slaughter. Escape Room offers a similar vibe: Characters forced to survive deadly escape rooms using their brains and physical skills means a whole new mystery challenge every time they make it to the next room. Rent Escape Room on Prime Video.
Escape Room (2019) $3.99 at Prime Video Learn More Learn More $3.99 at Prime VideoCheap Thrills (2007)
Want more desperate people willing to do much more than they ever imagined in exchange for getting out of soul-crushing financial difficulty? Of course you do, so you’ll love this black comedy. Two down-on-their-luck friends meet a seemingly friendly man and his wife at a bar. When the man offers them a few bucks to take on innocuous challenges and innocent pranks, they both eagerly lean into the contest—but as the offered sums get larger, the cruelty and danger of the required tasks grow as well. Stream Cheap Thrills on The Roku Channel or rent it from Prime Video.
Cheap Thrills (2007) $4.99 at Prime Video Get Deal Get Deal $4.99 at Prime VideoThe best video games like Squid Game
Squid Game is modeled in some ways on video games—platforms, dream logic, gore aplenty, etc. So it makes sense that the best way to extend your Squid experience would be to get into a game that has similar mechanics and vibes. Luckily, you’ve got a lot of choices.
Squid Game: Unleashed
Platforms: Android, iOS
Squid Game: Unleashed at Apple App Store Learn More Learn More at Apple App StoreFortnite
Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
Fortnite at Epic Games Learn More Learn More at Epic GamesFall Guys
Platforms: PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Android, iOS
Fall Guys at Epic Games Learn More Learn More at Epic GamesDanganronpa
Platforms: PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Steam
Danganronpa Trilogy $64.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $64.99 at AmazonWe Happy Few
Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Steam
We Happy Few $59.99 at Steam Shop Now Shop Now $59.99 at SteamThe best podcasts like Squid Game
Whether you want a deep dive into the show’s lore or production, or a similarly creepy narrative experience, these are the podcasts you should check out.
Squid Game: The Official Podcast
Credit: Podcast logoMight as well go to the source: The official Squid Game podcast is hosted by Phil Yu, and offers up insider info on the show’s universe, game mechanics, themes, and production. If you’re curious about all the real-life moving parts that come together to make something with this much cultural impact, put this in your ears.
Player 456
Credit: Podcast logoIf you want discussion about and analysis of Squid Game from a more fan-focused perspective, check out Jack and Colin’s obsessive podcast. They dissect the show’s themes and recap episodes with a sharp eye for detail and a fan’s genuine love of the show.
Rabbits
Credit: Podcast logoIf you want a narrative podcast that hits the same dopamine generator as Squid Game, Rabbits is the creepy story you need. When a young woman’s friend goes missing and the police aren’t motivated to find her, she begins her own investigation, and begins to suspect her friend has been playing a kind of “alternate-reality” game that is much older and much deadlier than she realizes. It’s got the dread, world-building, and game mechanics fans of the show will appreciate.
Limetown
Credit: Podcast logoThis classic narrative podcast is centered on the mysterious disappearance of hundreds of residents of a research facility. Like Squid Game, the story starts off rooted in a realistic universe, then slowly reveals a much weirder, and much more ominous reality hiding behind the superficial world. There’s sci-fi technology, immersive world-building, and a terrific mystery to be solved.
Project Nova
Credit: Podcast logoIn Project Nova, four people wake up to discover they’re trapped in a mysterious experiment in a high-tech facility. An artificial intelligence gives them tasks to perform—and the consequences of not doing as they’re told or performing these tasks incorrectly can range from painful to deadly. It’s got the high-stakes, high-style buzz of the show coupled with an engaging mystery.
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