Inside Thronglets: The game that extends Black Mirror’s storytelling beyond the episode

Diving deeper into the idea of bridging the gap between television and smartphone, Netflix’s Black Mirror Season 7 Episode 4, Plaything, transforms a terrifying in-universe concept into a real experience for viewers. The episode, which begins with a disturbing narrative focusing on digital consciousness, has now made its way into the real world—in the form of a mobile game called Thronglets.

Helmed by Charlie Brooker, and developed in collaboration with Night School Studio (of Oxenfree fame), Thronglets is not just another marketing game. It is developed to expand the unsettling themes of the episode beyond the television screen. Mixing the mechanics of 90s digital pets Tamagotchi and Lemmings, the game is available on both iOS and Android (exclusively for Netflix subscribers).

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What is Plaything all about?

Centred around a video game journalist, Cameron Walker, played by Lewis Gribben (younger version) and Peter Capaldi (older), the episode shows his life turning upside down after discovering a game named Thronglets in the 1990s. The game is about small, yellow coloured digital beings who start speaking to Cameron and then start influencing his actions.

The episode keeps navigating between timelines, showing his speedy descent into obsession and his transformation into something more or less than a normal human.

After getting himself intentionally arrested by the police for the sole purpose of delivering a QR code, he helps the Throngs to send a high-frequency static signal that knocks out every human being in the surrounding area. The episode ends on an ambiguous note, leaving the viewers wondering whether the final plan of the Throngs is altruistic or evil. In an interview with Tudum, Gribben says:

“It just feels like Cameron’s wiped violence from people. It’s like a dictatorship regime…all these people are just mindless and listening to the Thronglets.”

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And now…you can play Thronglets too!

In 2018, Netflix made a major attempt at gamified transmedia storytelling with Bandersnatch, where the viewers could choose their actions. This established new grounds for interactive streaming content. With Plaything, Netflix has again attempted to amplify this feeling by rolling out the Thronglets for users.

As shown in the episode, the Thronglets mobile game starts innocently. Tasks begin with feeding and taking care of the Thronglets and watching them grow and evolve. As the game moves forward, it is followed by cryptic messages, eerie glitches and narratives that are subtle enough to make you aware that something sinister is happening.

A game guide is also released by Netflix to help players around its layered storytelling and hidden puzzles. As the game progresses, it makes you question whether you are the one controlling the game or if there is a node in the system that is just trying to learn from you.

When asked if the game is directly connected with the episode, Netflix’s Sean Krankel tells Polygon:

"There is a QR code in the episode somewhere. There are other QR codes hidden in materials out in the world right now, and there are more to come. The QR codes continue to unlock some of that BBC-style footage that you see at the beginning of the game."

Sean adds:

"And we were able to work with Charlie’s creative team on building out some really robust fake documentary stuff with that team and with Asim Chaudhry, who you see in that opening scene. So that’s the interplay and it does unlock directly in the game when you find these QR codes in the world. Some are very ARG-ish hidden."

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Is it connected to Bandersnatch?

Plaything is not a sequel to Bandersnatch, but it does share some thematic similarities with reprisal of roles for Will Poulter and Asim Choudhry. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Brooker says:

“I prayed and hoped we could get Will and Asim back to reprise their roles”.

In the Timeline of Black Mirror, Plaything is set about a decade after Bandersnatch, in 1994.

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