It seems like everyone in the world has watched Squid Game by now. (If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?). The show has experienced massive success and is currently trending #1 on Netflix. Audiences all over the world are tuning in to watch the show. But what is it that makes Squid Game so riveting? 

From the get-go, the premise of Squid Game hooks you. It’s unique, attention grabbing, and most importantly, suspenseful. Just a quick viewing of the trailer could give you a good idea of how the series will go. But it’s the possibilities of what could happen that makes the viewers want to watch, and then continue watching. Once we see the first Red Light Green Light game, it immediately sparks a curiosity of what could be next, of what other childhood games could be twisted in such a gruesome way. Not only are we as the audience curious of what could come, but we also like to fit ourselves into such a show. In addition to wondering which characters will survive, we wonder which of the games we could survive, or which ones we couldn’t.

In addition to its suspenseful nature, Squid Game also has the shock factor going for it. There are many scenes so disturbing that you can’t help but keep watching, just like the famous phrase about how hard it is to look away from a car crash. The gore in Squid Game is contrasted by the childlike set design and children’s games, which adds an extra layer of intrigue. It’s like a constant back and forth between light music, props, games, and then dark subject matters and scenes.

Another essential piece of Squid Game is the masks; all of the workers in the games are covered from head-to-toe, making the show more mysterious than it already was. The viewer is driven to keep watching to see who could possibly do such gruesome things to these players and what their motive could be. Even the more prominent characters such as the Front Man and the VIPs are masked. Not only does this make the show more mysterious, it makes these characters feel more scary because we don’t get to see their faces or anything that could possibly humanize them. Instead, it leaves the viewer guessing in the dark.

Finally, what Squid Game really is aided by is its massive outreach. The show is available in countless languages and countries, meaning many people across the world have access to it. The more that people watch it, the more they talk about it, and the more they make other people want to watch it too. When people see TikToks, Tweets, Instagram posts, and other forms of media about a show, they want to be included in the trend, too. Not only is Squid Game an entertaining show, but it is also a lesson in accessibility and how making things available for mass audiences is beneficial for everyone involved.