Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, the anthology’s interactive, choose-your-own (miserable) TV adventure, is being removed from Netflix on Monday, meaning you’ve got just a few more days to sample the series’ most experimental episode.
Set in 1984, Bandersnatch tells the story of Stefan, who makes a demo for a game called Bandersnatch based on a book once owned by his dead mother. The demo is picked up for a full release by game publisher Tuckersoft, bringing Stefan into the orbit of his personal hero, game designer Colin Ritman. Unlike most episodes of Black Mirror, how the story proceeds from there is up to you. At various interludes, you’re able to make choices about how the narrative proceeds, leading to one of five endings with variations in between. True to both the series and the era of games the episode is inspired by, most of those decisions lead to horrible consequences.
Bandersnatch was released in 2018, as part of a broader initiative within Netflix to create interactive, game-like experiences, with other branching narrative titles including Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend, and Minecraft: Story Mode, a Telltale game that was adapted to use Netflix’s interactive streaming tech. Lately though, Netflix has pivoted toward folding in a more traditional gaming service into its subscription, offering an array of downloadable mobile games on the service such as the Monument Valley series and the The Golden Idol games.
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Last year, Netflix removed all but four of its interactive specials from the service, and Bandersnatch was one of those titles spared from the cull. Ahead of those specials being pulled, Netflix spokesperson Chrissy Kelleher told The Verge that “The technology served its purpose, but is now limiting as we focus on technological efforts in other areas.”
Keller didn’t explain why the technology is “limiting”, which is a shame as without that explanation, the removal is rather befuddling. Not only is Bandersnatch a unique entry in Black Mirror’s anthology, it is as accomplished a Black Mirror episode as any of the others, well shot and directed, and just as darkly savage in its satire as the more conventional stories.
Fortunately, Bandersnatch isn’t the only Black Mirror episode to venture into the world of videogames. Prior to Bandersnatch, episodes like Playtest and USS Callister told gaming-adjacent stories. More recently, Plaything explored the world of games journalism, revisiting creator Charlie Brooker’s old writing haunt (and the first magazine I ever wrote for) PC Zone. That episode was also accompanied by a playable version of the game that features in the episode, a creature-rearing game called Thonglets.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch leaves Netflix on May 12.
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