Are Alice in Borderland and Squid Game similar? Details explored in depth

Alice in Borderland might look like it has the same concept as Squid Game, but the truth is something else. Both shows are survival shows where people risk their lives by playing deadly games, yet their themes and storytelling couldn't be more different.

The question of if Alice in Borderland and Squid Game are similar has become a hot debate among fans. The answer? Yes but also no. Let's unpack why.

Are Alice in Borderland and Squid Game similar?

Different setups, different stakes

While both shows have ordinary people participating in life-or-death contests, the way they get there is different. In Alice in Borderland, Tokyo and its population are suddenly wiped out, and Arisu, along with his friends, finds himself pulled into a replica of the city where the only way to live is by winning bizarre games linked with a deck of playing cards. They never signed up for these games and hence, they were forced into them.

Squid Game, however, takes another route. Hundreds of struggling characters, crushed by debt and poverty, agree to compete in childhood games for a huge cash prize only to later understand that losing the games means instant death. This setup makes the show feel closer to a social experiment rather than an AU puzzle.

So while Alice in Borderland deals with science fiction and surrealism, Squid Game is about a human-made system depicting greed, inequality, and capitalism. Both of the Netflix shows are sure survival games but the foundation of why the players are there is very different.

Themes that pull in opposite directions

Alice in Borderland and Squid Game are both, in a way, about human worry, but the way the two shows tell these stories reflects each of their respective cultures.

Squid Game tells the story within a Korean society, using its games to throw light on real-life issues like class division, economic troubles, and the cruelty of capitalism. Every round is not just about surviving the games but also about how society itself sets people up to fail.

Alice in Borderland, adapted from Haro Aso's manga, takes a much more reflective route. The games here aren't about money or climbing up a social ladder. Instead, they push characters to think about who they really are and how much they're willing to sacrifice. It's less about forces from the outside or for money/power but more about their own internal struggles like identity, resilience, and the meaning of life.

This is why the shows hit fans in different ways. Squid Game clicks with fans because its commentary feels painfully all too real. Alice in Borderland clicks with fans because it feels like a mirror into the human psyche under impossible pressure.

Characters at the heart of it all

Both of the shows rely on strong leads but the way they're written couldn't be more different. In Alice in Borderland, Arisu starts off as a gamer with little to no purpose in life. His character arc as he grows is one of growth, where trust, betrayal, and grief turn him into someone who learns to fight for both himself and others. His quickly formed relationship with Usagi also becomes one of the show's anchors.

Squid Game has Gi-hun as the lead, a deeply flawed but relatable man crushed under financial struggles and broken/failed relationships. Unlike Arisu, Gi-hun himself chooses to enter the games, making his problems and sacrifices hit closer to home.

While Squid Game spreads its narration around many players apart from Gi-hun, Alice in Borderland zooms in on a smaller group, allowing Arisu's growth to carry most of the narrative. Both of these work, but they create different kinds of connections for the fans.

The games themselves: scale vs. simplicity

If there's one thing that separates the two shows, it's the very nature of these games.

Squid Game always goes with games that are very known and familiar. From games like red light/green light to playing marbles, the rules are quite simple, nostalgic, and easy for fans to grasp and understand. This is part of why the show became such a phenomenon and it taps into something we all remember from childhood, then flips it into something horrific.

Alice in Borderland, on the other hand, lives completely on complexity. The games are huge and intellectual, and they ask for teamwork, strategy, and at times even betrayal. From the Tag game to the Witch Hunt, these games feel like puzzles that go beyond physical endurance and mental sharpness.

The card system is also yet another layer of unpredictability, making every new round feel like a new nightmare to decode.

At the end of the day, Alice in Borderland and Squid Game share the survival-game concept but they execute the games in very different ways. Squid Game is a social critique wrapped in known childhood games, while Alice in Borderland is a darker, more surreal jump inside human identity.

They may be on the streaming platform, but their stories aren't interchangeable and they're two very different beasts in the same genre.