If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you must’ve seen the latest Black Mirror season already. Season 7 was released yesterday with all six episodes and the reviews are pretty good too. My focus is obviously not on the series, but rather on Netflix’s latest game based on it. It’s Black Mirror: Thronglets.
Black Mirror: Thronglets Is Based on Season 7’s Episode 4
If you’ve seen that episode, then you already know how unsettling this game can get. If you haven’t watched it yet, let me give you a quick lowdown on it. The episode is set in the year 2034 but then pulls us back into 1994, centring around Cameron Walker, played by Peter Capaldi.
He starts off in custody for shoplifting, but the story keeps unfolding from there. It touches upon themes of childhood trauma, obsession, admiration and the classic Black Mirror sense of being inside a simulation.
Black Mirror: Thronglets is the same the retro pixelated virtual pet simulation game that appears in Plaything. It was apparently developed back in the 90s by Colin Ritman. He’s the Tuckersoft dev from other Black Mirror entries like Bandersnatch and Nosedive.
For mobile, the game has been created by Night School, one of Netflix’s game studios. It starts out like Tamagotchi with a glitch, but definitely spirals into something more existential later!
So, Thronglets are digital pets or rather digital life forms. They’re actual evolving organisms with a mind of their own. You start out with one weird little pixel blob. Late, you get a full-blown Throng of the things which quietly learn from everything you do.
Watch the trailer here!
The Game Is Watching You Too
The more you play, the more it picks up on your decisions and your behaviour. Eventually, it delivers a sort of personality test based on how you’ve been treating your Throng. You can also compare results with your friends if you want to have more fun.
Both Black Mirror: Thronglets and Plaything revolve around memory, digital legacy and isolation. The episode itself is quite emotional and dark. If you like the series or just want to try out a new game, check Thronglets out on the Google Play Store.
Also, read our news on Chasing Kaleidorider Blends Romance and High-Speed Action, Pre-Registration Now Live.