Breaking all expectations, Hwang Dong-hyuk's thrilling K-drama Squid Game has managed to become one of the most popular Netflix shows in recent times. Whether it's because of the deadly games, the intriguing characters, or just the brutal deaths, Squid Game has an appeal that transcends borders, which has made it the first Korean show ever to top Netflix's US charts.

In case you're one of the few people who still haven't watched it, Squid Game is a story about a number of people from different walks of life, all seriously in need of money, who are brought to an undisclosed location to play children's games for a huge cash prize. The catch, of course, being that the losers are executed. It's survival drama at its finest and definitely worth checking out.

And if you have already watched the show, chances are you're hungry for more. Well fear not, for there are actually quite a few shows with similar themes, settings, and/or premises. And to make things easier for you, we've put together this list of the seven best shows like Squid Game that you can watch next for some more hair-raising survival stories. Ready to play?

Related:Squid Game Ending Explained: Is There More To Come?

Alice in Borderland

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Another thrilling Netflix series with a battle-royale setting, Alice in Borderland features a group of gamers who find themselves in an inexplicably abandoned Tokyo, forced to compete in deadly games by unseen forces. It's a sci-fi story with a surreal streak and some truly chilling scenarios. The show is based on a manga series of the same name by Haro Aso. Alice in Borderland stars Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya in the lead roles and was directed by Shinsuke Sato. Season 1 was released on Netflix on December 10, 2020, and the show has been renewed for a second season.

The show's premise is quite similar to Squid Game. But the difference is in the way Alice in Borderland uses a more intricate game structure and sets up its core mystery using interesting sci-fi elements. Unlike Squid Game, there's no real reward that is promised to the players and all of them are just trying to stay alive. The characters in Alice in Borderland may not seem as relatable as the ones in Squid Game but they are still somewhat endearing. And the way the protagonists solve the many puzzles they are challenged with is an exhilarating watch in itself. This is a show for gamers and people who like their heroes to be of the certifiable genius variety.

Extracurricular

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Extracurricular doesn't have the game show structure of Squid Game and Alice in Borderland but it does have some complex characters and a story driven by class disparity. Emphasis on the word "class" because the protagonists of Extracurricular are students who hail from different walks of life. Kim Dong-hee (Sky Castle, Itaewon Class) stars in the series as Oh Ji-soo, a brilliant student who runs an illegal "security service" business to earn money. Ji-soo was abandoned by his family at a young age and he works as a bodyguard for prostitutes, leading a double life. But his secret is discovered by wealthy classmate Bae Gyu-ri (Park Ju-hyun), who blackmails him into letting her join his business. In the process, Ji-soo's troubled yet more-or-less stable life takes a turn for the worse.

Ji-soo's desperate economic situation parallels that of most of the characters in Squid Game. But that's as far as the similarity goes, as Extracurricular isn't nearly as violent as Squid Game and it's primarily driven by drama and character development. While they might be in separate genres, both shows take a hard look at the class divide and the horrible things that people will do for money. Extracurricular was directed by Kim Jin-min and premiered on Netflix on April 29, 2020.

3%

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This sci-fi survival thriller is the first Brazilian Netflix Original series, with a premise that's very similar to Squid Game. In the future dystopia setting of 3%, people are divided into two groups: the chronically impoverished people of the "Inland" and the wealthy society that lives in a paradise referred to as "Offshore". When people from the Inland turn 20, they are given a chance to compete in a competition called the Process, with the prize being advancement to the Offshore. However, the trials are exceptionally difficult and only three per cent of the contestants actually manage to succeed every year.

Like Squid Game, it's an exciting survival series driven by class politics and poverty-fueled desperation. The show was created by Pedro Aguilera and stars João Miguel, Bianca Comparato, Michel Gomes, and Rodolfo Valente, among others. 3% premiered on November 25, 2016, and has four seasons on Netflix. The final season was released on August 14, 2020.

Related:The Best Brazilian Shows on Netflix

Darwin's Game

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This 2020 anime series is also about a battle royale game with deadly consequences but Darwin's Game has an added touch of fantasy to it. Remember when Pokemon GO first launched and people were battling each other, grabbing territory, and generally having a great time? Well, Darwin's Game is that but with far darker consequences.

17-year-old Kaname Sudō (voiced by Yūsuke Kobayashi in Japanese and Stephen Fu in English) receives an invitation from a friend to play a multiplayer game called (you guessed it) Darwin's Game. What he doesn't know is that it involves real-life fights where people can actually die. When some of his close friends die playing the game, Kaname Sudō sets out to clear the game and find the Game Master so that he can kill him for his crimes. Each player of Darwin's Game, who all come from a variety of backgrounds, are given a special ability called a Sigil. The actual powers vary from person to person and the players use these sigils to battle each other for their very lives. The show is based on a manga series written and illustrated by FLIPFLOPs and it was directed by Yoshinobu Tokumoto.

Liar Game

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Liar Game is a Japanese TV drama that was also based on a manga series. Directed by Hiroaki Matsuyama, the show is quite close to Squid Game in the sense that Liar Game is also about people playing desperate games for a huge amount of money. In fact, Squid Game's creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has cited Liar Game (the manga) as one of the inspirations for his work. Now to be fair, the stakes aren't as high in Liar Game because people don't just get shot for losing. However, that just makes the series even more creative.

Based on the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Shinobu Kaitani, Liar Game is centered around a tournament where contestants receive 100 million yen (approximately US$1 million) and have to cheat and lie to take the other players' money. The winners get to increase their wealth while the losers have to owe money equivalent to their losses. The show's main characters are a naive college student named Nao Kanzaki (Erika Toda) and a con man named Shinichi Akiyama (Shota Matsuda) who team up to advance through the tournament. Their ultimate goal is to bring down the organization that created the game by working from the inside.

The show first premiered in 2007 and had two seasons in total, as well as a feature-length movie titled Liar Game: Final Stage that was released in 2010. The original manga has also been adapted into a separate movie titled Liar Game: Reborn that came out in 2012 and a Korean series, also called Liar Game, that premiered in 2014.

Sweet Home

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Sweet Home isn't about games or class politics. Instead, this Korean drama series has an old-school post-apocalyptic survivor plot, full of gore and interesting twists. Based the webtoon of the same name by Kim Carnby and Hwang Young-chan, Sweet Home is set in a world where humans begin to transform into monsters, with the few people left uninfected having to band together to survive. Sounds kind of like a classic zombie story, doesn't it?

The main character of Sweet Home is Cha Hyun-soo (Song Kang), a high-school student who moves into an apartment building after his family dies in a car crash. When people around the world begin to turn into monsters and attack each other, Hyun-soo and his neighbors are forced to depend on each other to protect their home from the infected. There are some supernatural and fantasy elements in the story and the show has had a pretty popular run ever since it first premiered on Netflix in December 2020. The show's first season was directed by Lee Eung-bok, Jang Young-woo, and Park So-hyun. There are some reports that say that the show might be getting a Season 2 but Netflix hasn't confirmed this yet.

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

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Ever since Squid Game shot to fame, there have been people from all corners of the internet drawing comparisons between the show and the Kaiji franchise, some more kind than others. But considering how influential Kaiji has been, this isn't exactly a surprise and there's at least one report that says that Kaiji was an inspiration for Squid Game.

Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji, or Kaiji for short, is a manga series written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Fukumoto that started in 1996 and is still going strong. Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is a 2007 anime adaptation of the first part of the manga.

The titular character of Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor, Kaiji Itō, has a lot of similarities with Squid Game's Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). Kaiji is a compulsive gambler who ends up owing a lot of money to a loan shark. His only option to pay it off is to participate in a gambling event. Kaiji was voiced by Masato Hagiwara.

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor was followed by a second season titled Kaiji: Against All Rules in 2011 and a spin-off series called Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues in 2018. The manga has also inspired a video game and multiple films, besides being a huge influence on all the other gambling and gaming series that came after it, including Squid Game. Honestly, if you're looking for something similar to Squid Game, it doesn't get much better than this.

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