Squid Game: The Challenge has upped the ante in season 2 and is all the better for it

*WARNING: Contains spoilers for Squid Game: The Challenge season 2 episodes 1-4*

If, like me, you're often the cynic among TV watchers, especially when it comes to spin-offs, you may have been equally as hesitant about Squid Game: The Challenge.

Though upon its initial release almost two years ago the series proved to be a popular hit among viewers on Netflix, with the series going on to win a BAFTA and 1.42 billion minutes of viewings in the US, for me, something was still missing.

Sure, it had all the same games known from the drama series and a few new ones thrown into the mix, but it admittedly left me thinking: Is that all?

Aside from the obvious, and legal, factor that no deaths occur in the reality series, it felt very much the same. So when season 2 rolled around, I was dubious – but I was immediately proven wrong.

The second season opens to an immediate test of character, something which the contestants are tried on quite a lot throughout the episodes, and sees the 456 contestants split in half, with twin brothers Raul and Jacob going head-to-head as leaders of each group and split into two rooms.

In each room is a podium, and the leader must press the button when the team believe 456 seconds have elapsed. The scenes are completely anxiety-inducing, as you soon realise 228 players will be wiped from the game and the brothers split up, ramping up the cash prize to extraordinary amounts.

With so many programmes, particularly those made by Studio Lambert, excelling at leaving audiences at the edge of their seats, it's impressive that the series didn't fatigue me with its multiple twists and turns.

Upon realising the brothers are safe, despite being on the losing team, you soon realise there are plenty more tricks up the producer's sleeves, ensuring no one can guess what's about to happen next – not even the players.

Similarly to Studio Lambert's latest Traitors outing, audiences and players alike may think they know what's to come, but a spanner is thrown in the works each time to keep you on your toes. Whether it's the introduction of the hidden room in Squid Game: The Challenge or the secret missions given to players, the episodes become juicier by the second.

And in an age with so many programmes attempting to replicate a shock factor that keeps people talking even after a series has aired, Squid Game: The Challenge hits the nail on the head.

Perhaps the most stressful watch in the first four episodes is the newly-introduced Catch. While pretty simple on paper, given it's a literal game of catch, the layers of two people being at risk of elimination and player 098's incessant commentary grips you from the very start.

But nothing can prepare you for when Viper takes to the middle spot and plays the game with a contestant unwilling to participate. Ultimately, Viper along with his fellow player 390 are eliminated from the game, also eliminating Jonti in the process, who chose Viper to play on his behalf.

"My dreams have been shattered," Viper says upon his elimination, and it soon became clear how badly he wanted to win the money – how badly every single player wanted the money.

"You've got the spectacle of all the players being in the same space. You've got the drama of the game playing out in the centre of the room," series director Diccon Ramsay said of the game.

"It's a really good example of how we use a game to drive the story and not just be pure spectacle."

And that couldn't be more apparent, with it becoming clear to audiences and players alike how important it is to have alliances in a game like this, even when the games become more childlike and on first glance, easier than before, which only leaves you gasping for more.

It's clear that Squid Game: The Challenge isn't just a game of chance or luck, which makes it all the more enticing viewing.

The first four episodes of Squid Game: The Challenge season 2 are available to watch now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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