Netflix has released a game called Thronglets based on episode seven of the latest season of Black Mirror. It’s like a game of Tamagotchi and Pokémon, with dark, existential themes like what you’d expect from a tie up for the series would be. Thronglets was developed by Night School, the same studio behind Oxenfree that Netflix had acquired in 2021. “Our explorations in narrative gameplay and Netflix’s track record of supporting diverse storytellers was such a natural pairing,” said Sean Krankel, the founder of Night School Studio, at the time.
In the series, Thronglets is at the center of episode seven’s story, which is set in the same universe as Netflix’s interactive movie Bandersnatch. It’s a long-lost game by Tuckersoft, the same gaming studio in the movie, that hasn’t been seen since it was cancelled in 1994. In the game, you’ll have to hatch, evolve and raise creatures called Thronglets, bathing them, feeding them and entertaining them as they multiply more quickly than gremlins. Netflix says the game is not really only about raising virtual creations, though, but about “exploring the depths of human nature and the consequences of our digital obsessions.”
When you build groups of Thonglets known as a Throng, you can unlock video fragments of a documentary titled Ritman Retrospective. The videos are from a series of interviews with Tuckersoft chief Mohan Thakur (Asim Chaudhry) and the game’s creator Colin Ritman (Will Poulter). At the end of the game, you’ll get a personality test result that you can share on your socials. Thronglets, like Netflix’s other games, are free to play on its iOS and Android app for anybody who has an account. It comes after the company’s first gaming boss Mike Verdu left the company and after it announced that it will put a focus on party and narrative games. The new season of Black Mirror arrives on the streaming service today.
