If Netflix has its way, all of us are about to become gamers. News broke last week that the streamer plans to make four new games based on some of its popular titles available to subscribers, including The Ultimatum and Selling Sunset. Now, the list has grown to include more games based on other Netflix originals like Emily in Paris alongside licensed content like Lord of the Rings. As if that PR onslaught wasn’t enough, the dating show Perfect Match will launch its second season this week alongside its own mobile game. Each of the streamer’s many, many mobile games is available through app stores with a Netflix subscription and do not require add-ons.
As someone who watches all of these shows but has never played a Netflix game, I couldn’t help but wonder... are these things actually good? Is Netflix the future of gaming, or is all of this a misguided effort bound to crash and burn like most couples on Love Is Blind? There was only one way to find out, and so, like the dedicated culture journalist I am, I decided to spend my Monday night playing all the way through Netflix Stories: Love Is Blind, which first debuted last September.
First of all, you’re welcome, and I’ll accept my medal of honor any time. Second of all, I regret to report that we are all about to lose many, many hours of our lives to these games, because the Love Is Blind one, at least, is more fun than it has any right to be.
The word “journey” is popular on shows like this, and a “journey” is exactly what I got from this gaming experience. Because I am a Sims obsessive, I decided to name my character “Bella Goth.” This became immediately hilarious when I realized that I was only supposed to enter a first name and characters spent the rest of the game telling me things like, “This is infidelity, Bella Goth.”
And as for the rest of in-game experience? I laughed. I cried. I got engaged to a soulful Italian stunt performer named Nico, and then I cheated on him with my dorm-mate Scarlett. And then, as if I had not humiliated poor Nico enough, I also kissed my former flame Kieran—a former football player with a heart of gold who wound up in Mexico with my show-nemesis, Autumn. When I told Nico about Kieran, he reacted so maturely that I felt bad and actually fell in love with him, and so we proceeded to hook up all over the Cozumel resort.
The wedding was everything one would hope for: His loving parents were there (although my parents never showed up???) as were all of our closest co-stars. Sure, his ex showed up to try stealing him away, but, of course, my man only had eyes for me. By the end of the game, we’d taken over hosting the show which, if you think about it, is the outcome most people on these shows probably dream about.
I’d be lying if I said that by the end, I was not very into this game. (My boyfriend might or might not have heard me yelling at various characters from our couch over the course of the night.) Still, there are some interesting... quirks. While creating a character, for instance, you can choose the pronouns “she/her,” “they/them,” or “he/him,” but all three selectable bodies all have breasts. And while it’s possible to leave your spouse for Scarlett (which I did during my second play-through), the opportunities to do so are so limited that if you miss your one chance, it might be gone forever, even if you meant to keep that option open.
Diehard fans of this franchise might also notice little nods to the actual series. Although the show’s hosts, Nick and Vanessa Lachey, do not appear to have granted permission to Netflix to use their likenesses—the in-game hosts are named Sofia and Lamar—the male host does introduce himself with the words, “As you all know, I’m Lamar,” which sounds a lot like the infamous line, “I’m obviously Nick Lachey.” And yes, before you ask, gold goblet references abound.
Love Is Blind: Netflix Stories.
NetflixAs a game, Netflix Stories: Love Is Blind feels pretty well built. Its choice trees branch out just far enough to make one replay interesting, although it starts to feel redundant after that. At times, I found myself wishing that some dialogue options led to further branches, but in other moments, I found myself surprised by a new character appearance and wondered what I’d done to trigger it. For example: During most games, I spoke with a hopeless bachelor named Nate who was obsessed with his own mother, but in one playthrough, I got a guy named Jimmy who was very into... smells? No idea how that happened! Never saw him again. Unless you really want to re-do your whole game, it’s worth taking advantage of the game’s segmented replay feature, which allows you to restart from any chapter in your saved game. Once you start over, you’re committed to playing the entire thing through and cannot skip ahead.
Based solely on this game, I’m ready to go all-in on becoming a Netflix gamer. Although I’ve only watched the first few episodes of Virgin River, I’ll probably wind up playing that one all the way through as well. Maybe it’ll even convince me to watch the rest of the show, as the streaming gods certainly intended while planning these games. At the very least, I’ll definitely be playing the Perfect Match game when it comes out later this week. Here’s hoping they make it like the real thing and bring back at least a few characters from the Love Is Blind game. There are, after all, at least three LIB alums participating in the actual season. If Autumn’s there, all I can say is she better watch her back.
