Netflix Adds Another Game To Its Library Based On A Black Mirror Episode

Alongside the premiere of Black Mirror Season 7, Netflix has launched a video game based on one of the episodes--and yes, it ties back to Bandersnatch. Users can play the game as the events of the episode unfold and experience the delight and horror of the Tamagotchi-like Thronglets in real time.

While Netflix has been in the video games business for a minute, this is the first time users can play along with an episode. The game, Thronglets, is presented as a piece of lost Tuckersoft media that was canceled in 1994. However, the game was recently rediscovered, and players must take care of their Thronglet creatures, which multiply at an alarming rate.

"Then things get more complicated as you manage an ever-growing population of the little yellow guys," Netflix explained. "There's always a carrot at the end of the stick to pull you along, be it an upgraded tool, a new type of building, or a thermonuclear device."

The game is described as "part virtual pet, part village manager, part strategy game, and part existential conundrum." Like most cozy-type games, it starts simple enough, where the player has to care for a fuzzy yellow little creature. Feed it, play with it, and give it a bath when it’s been rolling in the dirt. Do this well enough, and it’ll split in two. Keep everyone happy and it'll keep multiplying. Again and again. And Again.

Netflix adds that you don't even need to have watched the episode (Plaything) or have played Bandersnatch before starting up Thronglets. Players might get caught off guard when unlockable video diaries featuring Tuckersoft's creative genius Mohan Tucker (Asim Chaudhry) start popping up. The references might not hit the same way and maybe not make the most sense if you're uninitiated.

Black Mirror Season 7 is now streaming its six episodes on Netflix. The Thronglets game is now available via mobile app stores, included with Netflix.