Black Mirror has a clever new game tied to season 7

Along with a new season of Black Mirror, Netflix might have just released its most interesting licensed game today. Season 7 of the sc-fi anthology includes an episode called “Plaything,” in which a genius coder in the ‘90s — the same one from the interactive “Bandersnatch” episode — creates a new game that’s a little bit like The Sims and a Tamagotchi. The difference is the little creatures you take care of are actually alive, which leads the episode down some dark and surprising paths. And as part of its fledgling gaming initiative, Netflix has released a version of the game from the show for subscribers. It’s called Thronglets, and it works like a companion to the episode. You take care of little yellow creatures, known collectively as the throng, by providing food and entertainment, as well as helping out with hygiene. Keep up and they’ll thrive. Don’t and, well, things can get dark. The throng will quickly replicate, and soon you’ll have a huge group to look after. At its core, Thronglets plays like a typical mobile building game. The throng will mine for resources, develop new technologies, and open up new areas for exploration over time. As you progress, you’ll unlock new tools and buildings to speed things up and keep the growing throng happy. What makes Thronglets interesting is the meta layer. The creatures are sentient and self-aware, and they will frequently speak directly to you, the player. Sometimes it will be for advice on how to proceed; other times, they will ask existential questions, like what it means to die. This extends to the push notifications, which will often feel threatening or guilt-inducing if you haven’t played for a while. Eventually, Thronglets, like the episode it’s based on, gets pretty dark and surreal. Last month, Netflix revealed a new, seemingly more focused plan for its gaming efforts, and one of the pillars was mainstream titles based on some of its biggest properties. To date, that hasn’t yielded the most exciting results — see Squid Game: Unleashed, for example — but Thronglets represents something more thoughtful. It’s not just a game based on a show, it’s one that extends that show’s world in interesting ways. As Netflix continues to figure out its place in gaming, Thronglets and its tiny critters could represent a welcome path. The game is available now for free for subscribers on both iOS and Android.