Netflix has been investing in games for several years now, but it’s been unclear exactly what’s going on with all of that.
Following that interactive movie fad that began in earnest with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, the streamer has been licensing dozens of mobile titles to its platform alongside originals based on its wide catalogue of films and TV shows and, most recently, a handful of largely party-focused TV experiences. But while there have undeniably been many good games throughout all of that, it’s been hard to pinpoint exactly what Netflix’s larger strategy even is for games, especially when it quickly abandoned bigger, more AAA titles from the likes of Halo veteran Joseph Staten.
With its latest game release, a new horror-thriller called Unhinged, though, I’m starting to see where original Netflix games should go. Developed by Netflix-owned Oxenfree maker Night School, Unhinged is a roughly 30- to 40-minute TV experience that’s controlled by using your phone like a pointer after downloading a companion app and scanning a QR code. It’s an intuitive, accessible way to play, especially considering that pretty much every Netflix subscriber already has a phone and TV.
In Unhinged, you play as Ava (The Batman‘s Zoë Kravitz), a young woman who finds herself terrorized by an unknown assailant in her apartment building during a deadly storm. To escape, she’ll have to work with her best friend Claire (Stranger Things‘ Sadie Sink) and superintendent Ben (The Last of Us‘ Troy Baker). As the player, you’ll move your phone to select different points of interest with which Ava will interact, like getting her to walk to a door or pick up a particular object.
Admittedly, Unhinged is pretty basic in terms of both gameplay and actual scares; if you’ve played any first-person horror game, from Resident Evil to Outlast, there won’t be much here that surprises you from moment to moment. But the beauty of this being on Netflix is that it gets opened up to millions of people with little to no gaming experience. In that way, it’s an approachable entry point into the world of horror video games, free of any punishing combat or resource management that might otherwise be too much for casual audiences. To that point, there are even welcome accessibility options to tweak difficulty (no deaths), add game hints and fine-tune input sensitivity.
Unhinged also makes brilliant use of your phone, as moving it not only shines Ava’s own handset light for visibility, but it also can “receive” messages and calls from the characters. It’s a novel dual-screen experience wherein you’ll switch between, say, watching the TV screen as Ava hides from the killer behind a couch and looking down at your phone to get help from Claire via anxious texts or phone calls. Ratcheting up the tension is a trio of excellent performances from the cast and some strong work from composer Jason Hill (Gone Girl) and sound designer Ren Klyce (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). As long as you don’t expect the characters to have much depth (this is a brief, self-contained experience, after all), you’ll have a great time.
With all of that said, I do wish the visual fidelity of the game itself was better. Presumably, this was done to achieve parity across a variety of TV sets, but the high production values across the audio side especially only make Unhinged‘s relatively lower resolution stand out even more. (That’s especially true when you consider that the phone you’re using very likely can produce better graphics.) But again, this won’t really be an issue if you don’t play AAA games often.
Ultimately, Unhinged shows a lot of promise. As a slick, bite-sized package, it’s inviting to anyone who uses Netflix, regardless of gaming experience. It’s also easy to imagine how Netflix could build on this concept. Much like how movie and TV show adaptations are being positioned as a way to get more people to try out games, it’s easy to imagine how a bite-sized Netflix experience could introduce gamers to new media. For instance, an Unhinged-like “episode” of, say, Avatar: The Last Airbender could simultaneously be a solid standalone one-off that also drives interest in the series. And even for shows that have already wrapped, like Stranger Things or The Queen’s Gambit, Netflix could have short experiences that flesh out the characters or worlds in other ways.
There’s so much potential here, and after Unhinged‘s solid debut, I’m really hoping Netflix pursues more of this. Unhinged is available through the Netflix TV app as part of your subscription.
Image credit: Netflix
