Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Features

If you have a Netflix subscription, don’t sleep on the service’s games

Giovanni Colantonio
By

When Netflix first announced it was pushing into video games, the news was met with some healthy skepticism. By that point, we’d seen a few non-gaming companies like Google and Amazon try to elbow into the space with services that struggled to deliver strong, consistent content. Netflix seemed doomed to go down the same path when it launched its first batch of games, an unimpressive list that included mobile games. That slow start may have put the steamer on the wrong foot as only 1% of subscribers were reportedly engaging with its gaming offerings earlier this year.

A lot has changed in the past few months. Netflix has gone from zero to 60 since June, seemingly releasing a notable new game every few weeks. That sudden explosion hit another high note this week with the release of Desta: The Memories Between, a standout mobile title that’s exclusive to Netflix members.

Related Videos

While Netflix may not have a true killer app just yet, it has built up an impressive library of games in just a few short months. If you already have a Netflix subscription, you might want to start paying attention to what’s included with your monthly payment. By the end of the year, you might find yourself playing Netflix games more than you watch shows on the service.

Related

Mobile done right

Netflix’s growth as a serious gaming competitor is sudden, but not necessarily surprising. The company turned heads in 2021 when it acquired Oxenfree developer Night School Studio. It was a statement acquisition at the time. In picking up an indie studio with a critically beloved game under its belt, it seemed like Netflix understood that content was king. Just having games wouldn’t be enough — they needed to be good.

Netflix was slow to capitalize on that moment, but that changed in June. The first signs of success came when the streamer launched Poinpy, one of its first notable exclusives. Created by the studio behind mobile hit Downwell, the colorful vertical platformer gained positive buzz from major gaming publications like Gamespot and Polygon. At the moment, it’s the second-best-reviewed mobile game of 2022, according to Metacritic, just behind a port of 2019’s Dicey Dungeons.

A blue cat chasing a creature.

The streamer would make two key moves the following month. July brought two top-tier indies to Netflix subscribers: 2021 hidden gem Before Your Eyes and a new mobile version of the critically acclaimed Into the Breach. It wasn’t just that Netflix had locked down two great games, but rather that it landed versions of them that benefitted from a mobile port. The unique webcam-controlled setup of Before Your Eyes is less cumbersome on a phone, while a tactical grid-based game like Into the Breach feels like it was built for touch controls.

That seems to be an intentional strategy so far when it comes to ports of existing games. The service just added a mobile version of Oxenfree, a narrative game that only requires some simple taps to play. The service will get a mobile version of this year’s Immortality too, which could wind up being the definitive way of playing it if all goes well. Even those who have played titles like this before may find themselves wanting to revisit them with more tactile controls.

Netflix’s original offerings are nothing to write off either at this point. Just this month, the service added two solid titles from indie developers with histories of success. Lucky Luna is a maze-like platformer from the team behind Alto’s Odyssey that plays like a modern reimagining of Pac-Man. Its latest game, Desta: The Memories Between, comes from Monument Valley studio Ustwo. While it’s a total departure from that classic, it’s a charming tactical dodgeball game with an emotionally resonant narrative at its core.

Desta and their friends toss dodgeballs in Desta: The Memories Between.

What’s perhaps most important about all the games mentioned is that none of them include microtransactions or the usual financial trappings often associated with mobile gaming. Like Apple Arcade, Netflix seems intent on giving subscribers complete experiences that aren’t loaded with ads and hidden fees. In a year where Diablo Immortal has raised ethical questions about the sometimes predatory nature of free-to-play games, Netflix is currently offering a much-needed counterpoint.

Netflix’s game library is still growing, but there’s a lot of promise on the horizon. We already know that the service will add another standout indie gem in Spiritfarer and a mobile version of Devolver Digital’s upcoming Terra Nil, a promising reverse city builder. If you want to avoid having a gaming backlog as long as your Netflix queue, you might want to start playing now.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
2023 is already an excellent year for rhythm games
The heroes of Hi-Fi Rush stand together.

Just days into 2023, my podcast co-hosts and I fell into a discussion about rhythm games. In talking about the golden age of music games like Guitar Hero, we began to mourn for a genre that had seemingly fallen out of fashion among mainstream audiences. Sure, niche indies like Melatonin still release regularly and Ubisoft’s Rocksmith quietly exists, but we were left to wonder if the genre was long past its peak.

I’ve never seen a video game conversation age so poorly so fast. Now two full months into the year, 2023 has already been a godsend for fans of rhythm games. That was initially thanks to Tango Gameworks’ excellent Hi-Fi Rush, but that’s only the most high-profile example. Between an excellent Final Fantasy title, indie hidden gems, and a wealth of VR music games getting a second life thanks to PlayStation VR2, 2023 is shaping up to be the year of the rhythm game.
Feel the beat
For music game aficionados, 2023 started off on the strongest note possible thanks to Hi-Fi Rush. The Game Pass title is a character-action game, not unlike Devil May Cry, but with a unique musical twist: every action is more effective when performed to the beat of the game’s soundtrack. While music-based action games aren’t new to gaming (see last year’s Metal: Hellsinger), Hi-Fi Rush cracked the genre wide open and discovered mainstream success.

Read more
You need to buy the best Wii U game before the eShop closes down
A Nintendo Wii U gamepad flat on a table.

If you're a Nintendo fan, you should pull out your calendar and put a big red circle around March 27. That's the day that both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop will officially shutter their doors. It'll be your last chance to pick up digital copies of all digital games, from Virtual Console classics to first-party exclusives.

There is no shortage of good games worth picking up before that deadline happens, though some of the systems' best titles can be purchased on other platforms. There's one game in particular, though, that finds itself in a precarious position: Affordable Space Adventures. If you even have a passing interest in the Wii U exclusive, you'll have to act fast, because it'll go fully extinct at the end of the month.

Read more
You can compete in the Olympics eSports Series by playing a $1 baseball game
A pitcher holds a ball in WBSC Baseball Power Pros.

A $1 baseball game shadow dropped by Konami during a Nintendo Direct, WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros was a very odd release in February. That said, the purpose of its launch and low price point is becoming clearer as the International Olympic Committee revealed that it's one of the featured games in its Olympic Esports Series 2023 lineup.
WBSC eBASEBALL: POWER PROS - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Starting this month, players can start competing in featured games like  Power Pros to qualify for the Olympic Esports Finals 2023, which will take place at Singapore's Suntec Centre between June 22 and June 25. A more arcade-like and low-poly take on the sport than something like MLB The Show 23, Power Pros was a fairly small-scale and simple game that mainly stood out because of its low price point. Clearly, its international baseball focus and approachability enticed the IOC, who've decided to elevate its esports status.
Esports has been popular for quite a while, although the most popular esports titles are games that can't really be emulated in real life, like Starcraft 2, League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Fortnite. The IOC is taking a decisively different approach with its esports competition, instead choosing to include games that emulate real-world sports, with the IOC calling it a "virtual and simulated sports competition." That ultimately results in an unexpected esports game lineup that also consists of Tic Tac Bow (archery), Virtual Regatta, Virtual Taekwondo, Zwift (cycling), Gran Turismo (motorsport), Just Dance, Tennis Clash, and Chess played on Chess.com.

This unorthodox approach to esports is why a Konami game like Power Pros, which came out less than a month ago, isn't the most in-depth baseball simulation out there, and only costs $1, made the cut. Still, there is something exciting about the barrier of entry for an official Olympic competition being this low.
WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros is available now for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. 

Read more