Floor is Lava Season 1 Review

June 20, 2020 at 1:57pm
By Jason Stettner

This is a Netflix Original series game show where contestants attempt to hop along objects and try not to fall into the heated lava below. It’s a simplistic concept based upon the fun game of youth where you wouldn’t want to touch the ground. At least, it’s a game I remember from when I was younger. That has now been realized with hot flowing magma within a room of over sized objects. Now, that lava is technically colored water but it’s still a lot of fun and it bubbles up sometimes which is neat.

That’s right, big bursts of it can fly onto objects, or contestants causing a slippery and charred time. This is split over a number of episodes, with each one featuring an array of teams. It’s typically three to a squad, with a couple times where only duos were sent out. The layouts of the room vary to a degree, but are re-used later on with some additional tweaks to them. This kept things relatively fresh, and enjoyable throughout.

Again, a very simple game yet one that was interesting to watch throughout its entirety. Some of the contestant comments on certain things were rough and felt fake, but the adventure of them moving throughout the area was charming. I did quite enjoy this, but don’t expect anything too wild going into it. It’s fun to watch folks deal with the challenges, and to see when surprise twists would get in the way. The flow of the episodes was fine, I didn’t however think it needed a recap in every single one of them. They give a brief background for the contestants which was okay, and then right into the action.

They definitely have some creative areas within this, and some limited pathing options. This funnels the groups in interesting ways, and forces some intersects. It’s a set room of a fairly decent size, completely filled with lava. I do find it rather humorous that once someone starts sinking, you never see them again. It’s the type of dark edge these shows need, to keep that realism going. It’s lava, it would incinerate those that happen to fall within it!

Whatever the case, they have fun with the concept, as do the contestants it seems. The rooms had some neat themes like I had mentioned previously. There was a space one, another with an Egyptian theme and a final one to note being a kitchen of sorts. There were others, these are just some to highlight since they were particularly cool. Objects ranged from large pyramids, to kitchen tables and even wacky chairs. There are little notes and smaller things hidden throughout the levels and I think it’s very likely contestants are told to exaggerate their attitude while also grabbing these things as they play.

The commentary over top was alright, might have been more interesting without it. It was entertaining seeing how folks would take on the challenges. There was a neat sense of strategy within it, since some objects moved or swiveled. It was certainly funny to see the contestants just blindly jump and not realize, or to even make a sacrificial play to allow the others to escape. I should also mention that as time goes by the stairs do vanish that make it easier to escape. They’re against the clock since that determines ties of how many people in a group do survive.

The Conclusion

Floor is Lava Season 1 is a generally solid game show, it’s entertaining to watch and makes a childhood favorite activity come alive. It brings over the top action from large scale objects, to the sorrows of watching someone sink into the magma depths below.

It’s got a good challenge to it, and you’re never sure just how well a team will do when they go to take this on. There’s a good variety of individuals, and layouts as the season progresses. It was easy to binge, whether I wanted to focus on it or use it as background noise. It functions well as either, which is a win for me and my work. I could focus in, or just watch the key moments where the challenges got intense.

I found it relatively entertaining, and unique. It’s got some Wipeout type vibes to it, and is really aesthetically pleasing. They nailed the look of the lava, with those bursts and of course the large scale items that people had to hop across. It was filled with neat surprises, and some varying twists along the way.

Floor is Lava Season 1 Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Content Access was Provided by Netflix

Rating Overall: 7.0