New Season of Black Mirror Has Its Own Mobile Game

Netflix’s Black Mirror series has dished up bite-sized glimpses at what the real world’s future may have in store, with many of those ideas being a disturbing realization, and the streaming service has upped the ante through the recently-released season 7 by developing a companion piece mobile game for one of the episodes. Netflix has recently discussed its plans to produce narrative games and party titles to tie in with its original content, and Black Mirror’s game also serves as a callback to 90s nostalgia.

Black Mirror was first released in 2011 as creator Charlie Brooker’s British and sickeningly modern answer to The Twilight Zone. The series had a home on the UK’s Channel 4 before swapping to Netflix’s camp, and each season hosts a wealth of acting talent with stars Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Jon Hamm, Will Poulter, and Josh Hartnett all being a part of the nightmare previously. Black Mirror is one of Netflix’s most rewatchable shows, and its dystopian lens to view the frightening evolution of technology is a unique premise that’s hard to look away from.

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Black Mirror season 7 episode 4 titled “Plaything” takes inspiration from the 90s handheld digital pets, Tamagotchi, and follows Peter Capaldi’s Cameron, who gets caught in a cold case while carrying an obsession with a mysterious video game. The accompanying mobile game is titled Thronglets, a mashup of strategy mechanics and village manager gameplay, which lets players care for virtual pets that multiply in mass. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Black Mirror product if the pets weren’t sentient, and some of the pets’ ideas often take a dark turn.

Black Mirror’s Season 7 Mobile Game Thronglets Inspired by Tamagotchis

Black Mirror’s bread and butter is its disturbing technology, and fans will likely feel that unsettling feeling creep in while playing Thronglets. One example of the pets’ questionable intents that Netflix provided involved chopping down trees. However, instead of using an axe, the pets believe bones would be faster, and it’s up to the player to stray down the path of sacrificing Thronglets or not.

In its seven-season run, Black Mirror has several memorable episodes, including the heartbreaking San Junipero from season 3, Toby Kebbell’s memory-replayer in season 1’s The Entire History of You, and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Nosedive as the third run’s opener. Season 7 consists of six episodes, all of which were released on April 10, and the line-up features a USS Callister sequel starring returning actor Cristin Milioti, who had a successful past year in DC’s The Penguin series.

Black Mirror

Release Date

December 4, 2011

Network

Channel 4, Netflix

Showrunner

Charlie Brooker

Directors

Owen Harris, Toby Haynes, James Hawes, David Slade, Carl Tibbetts, Ally Pankiw, Bryn Higgins, Dan Trachtenberg, Euros Lyn, Jodie Foster, Joe Wright, John Hillcoat, Sam Miller, Tim Van Patten, Uta Briesewitz, Colm McCarthy, Jakob Verbruggen, James Watkins, John Crowley, Otto Bathurst, Anne Sewitsky, Brian Welsh

Writers

Jesse Armstrong

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  Cristin Milioti

  Nanette Cole

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  Milanka Brooks

  Elena Tulaska

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  Paul G. Raymond

  Kabir Dudani