When Netflix acquired Oxenfree developers Night School Studio, it seemed like the streaming company was starting to get serious about getting into the video game industry. What followed was unfortunately every indication against that, with layoffs at Night School and the shuttering of the triple-A team it spun up and attracted veteran talent for. Its games strategy has since been nothing but mobile iterations of some PC games or just straight-up mobile and party games, with the short-lived experimentation of interactive episodes like Black Mirror's Bandersnatch. Now, however, it seems like Netflix is levelling up its game, so to speak, […]

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Netflix has been steadily expanding its games library over the past few years, but next week marks its biggest original game yet. Unhinged will be available to all Netflix subscribers next week, offering a unique horror experience.

Unhinged is developed by one of Netflix's more renowned studios – Night School, who previously made Oxenfree and its sequel, both of which were big indie hits on PC before later coming to consoles.

To play Unhinged, you will first be asked to scan a QR code to link your phone. Your smartphone then acts as the controller for the game. You will hold your phone and move it to control the flashlight in the game. Then, any time the main character in the game receives a phone call, your phone will buzz and ring, before playing the dialogue. While phone call audio will play through your phone, the rest of the game delivers its sound through your TV like normal.

Players can choose between two modes, a standard mode that includes a countdown timer forcing you to make decisions and move through the game quickly, or a story mode without the timer, allowing you to play at your own pace and experience all elements of the story without fear. In standard mode, running out of time results in game over, sending you back to the last checkpoint.

Unhinged features Zoë Kravitz as Ava, Sadie Sink as Claire and Troy Baker as Ben, with music by Jason Hill and sound design contributions from Ren Klyce. The game launches exclusively on Netflix on June 30th with no ads or in‑app purchases.

KitGuru Says: I've never been keen on the idea of playing ‘normal' games on Netflix, but something like this should be right up my alley. Hopefully it stays up and doesn't eventually get removed like Bandersnatch did.