Netflix Releases Dangerously Addictive Black Mirror Mobile Game, As Seen in Season 7

In the Season 7 Black Mirror episode “Playthings,” a former video game journalist (Peter Capaldi) explains to the police how a ’90s-era computer game called Thronglets took over his life. And now you too can live the nightmare find out what all the fuss is about, as Netflix has released a mobile version of Thronglets for Android and iOS devices.

Discoverable via a QR code in the episode credits for “Playthings,” and playable only for Netflix subscribers, Thronglets recreates the Tamagotchi-esque gameplay seen in the episode, as the user is required to feed, entertain, and clean the increasing numbers of adorable chirping Thronglets who definitely aren’t up to anything nefarious. After playing for just five minutes, I was able to get eight happy frolicking critters to scamper about, and I only stopped playing after five minutes because I needed to finish this article.

Thronglets is just the latest interactive experience under the Black Mirror brand, following the show’s groundbreaking “Bandersnatch” choose-your-own-adventure narrative. It’s perhaps not a coincidence that “Playthings” is, amongst other things, almost a direct sequel to “Bandersnatch,” featuring the return of Will Poulter as Tuckersoft founder Colin Ritman.

In “Playthings,” we learn that Ritman canceled the game in 1994 before it was widely released, and per Netflix’s Tudum, the release of Thronglets means “you can see for yourself why the game was canceled.” You might need more than five minutes of playtime to find out exactly what that means on a deeper level, but right from the start, it is pretty addictive. (Trust another former video game journalist, Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, to know what he’s doing.)

Black Mirror Season 7 premiered Thursday, April 10th with six episodes, and “Playthings” isn’t the only one that feels like a sequel. Read our full review of the season here.