// THE VERGE — GAMING
Netflix’s next TV gaming experiment will scare the hell out of you
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The studio behind Oxenfree is back with a brief, terrifying title called Unhinged.
The studio behind Oxenfree is back with a brief, terrifying title called Unhinged.
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As part of the latest evolution of its gaming initiative, Netflix has made a big push into cloud-based games you can play on your TV, much in the same way you’d watch a movie or show on the service. So far, these games have been pretty tame. Things like trivia, party games, and a weirdly dated FIFA. But Netflix’s next release goes in a completely different direction: It’s an interactive horror experience that’s gruesome, terrifying, and quite possibly the future of the company’s gaming efforts.
The new game is called Unhinged, and it launches on Netflix on June 30th. It’s developed by Night School Studio, which is best known for the Stranger Things-esque adventure game Oxenfree. Netflix acquired Night School in 2021, and since then the studio released a sequel to Oxenfree and some experiments, like a Black Mirror tie-in. But whereas Night School’s previous efforts were spooky around the edges, Unhinged is straight-up horror. And it’s done in a way that feels right at home on the streaming service.
“We wanted to make sure that this could feel like a TV show or a movie,” explains Night School cofounder Sean Krankel. “There are so many people out there who might love an interactive horror experience, but who don’t want to get good at aiming, survival mechanics, or rationing their ammunition. All of our design decisions were about how to make this thing really simple to interact with and approachable.”