‘The Game: You Never Play Alone’ (2025) Netflix Series Review - An Average Attempt at Raising Awareness

The plot of “The Game: You Never Play Alone” thrives high on ambition with a sense to spread awareness. However, it doesn’t happen like that. At the core of it is Kavya, who, along with her husband Anoop, works for a gaming firm called Moon Bolt. On the face of it, everything seems to be fine. However, beneath it, we get to see a job full of gender bias. Things go out of hand when, during an award ceremony, Kavya, who is supposed to be a recipient of an award, is drugged, attacked, and left on a beach. Police officer Bhanumathi jumps into action and begins the investigation, which reveals hidden truths about cyberbullying, abuse, threats, etc.

The makers do not shy away from showing us the ugly truth about online harassment through anonymous identity. Through fake images and endless online trolling, the story shows the dark side of the internet, which many people face. Kavya’s story develops to give us an experience of what many online users undergo. But there are many drawbacks that the show undergoes. For example, the show is based on the background of the gaming industry, but the plot doesn’t develop much in that area. The plots, which were supposed to act as a mystery, don’t feel like a mystery. It feels like a different tangent that hardly adds up to it.

Coming to the climax, yes, for sure, it answers some of the questions that we had. But not fully. Certain aspects remain unanswered. However, sadly, it feels undercooked and underdeveloped. The pacing of the entire show, as well as the last episode, is very slow. It doesn’t offer us anything intriguing to watch or capture our attention with the story. So that goes heavily against the show. All in all, the aim of the show is great when it comes to raising awareness. The themes explored are diverse, from gender bias to online harassment, and we are shown everything. However, the execution falters big time.  This is the reason, in certain scenes, we have to assume why certain things take place.

When it comes to acting, the cast has done a great job with their respective role. Shraddha Srinath, who plays the main lead role, gives us a powerful performance. Her role required a lot of nuance, which she manages with ease, giving us equal parts of strong performance and vulnerability. In every sense, she is the star of the show. Even the rest of the cast does a great job at supporting the otherwise dull plot. They are the sole reason why the series is bearable to watch.

So all in all, as mentioned before, while the plot comes up with good themes, it lacks execution. Neither the plot nor the dialogue is impactful enough to leave a lasting impression on the show once the credits start to roll in. Therefore, watch at your own risk, or best, watch something else.

Final Score- [5/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Choudhuri
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times