Summary

  • Netflix Games' library is expanding with the addition of popular indie titles like Hades, Braid, and Katana Zero, offering current subscribers great value for their subscription.
  • Exclusive games based on Netflix's original properties, such as The Dragon Prince: Xadia and Chicken Run: Eggstraction, are also coming to the platform, showcasing visually stunning and mechanically fun gameplay.
  • Netflix Games is currently available on mobile devices, with the potential for expansion to smart TVs through beta testing of cloud gaming services, providing the opportunity for an even larger game library in the future.

Netflix Games' library is starting to look better and better. The service, which is available through the streaming giant, first launched in November 2021 with slim pickings. Its catalog mostly consisted of simple, casual mobile-style games, like matching puzzles, dominoes, and poker. It began to expand with a series of games based on Netflix's original movies and TV series: The Queen's Gambit Chess, the Love Is Blind dating sim, and a whole host of Stranger Things-inspired retro-style arcade games.

But in more recent months, things have begun to change. Non-Netflix properties and iconic characters began appearing on the service, with mobile games featuring SpongeBob SquarePants, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Hello Kitty suddenly popping up in the library. Well-regarded indie darlings soon ed them, and publishers began releasing games like Oxenfree 2 on Netflix while skipping Xbox. And based on Netflix's recent announcements about the future of the service, it's only going to get better from here.

Oxenfree II Lost Signals Review
Related
"Still Nothing Quite Like It" - Oxenfree II: Lost Signals Review

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals doesn't always break new ground, but players can find plenty to love in its authentic characters and refined gameplay.

More Incredible Indie Games Are Coming To Netflix

Hades, Braid, And Katana Zero Will Be Available Soon

Lots of incredible indie games are coming to Netflix over the next few months, making the service a great deal for current subscribers. All Netflix games are available with an active subscription, with no additional fee charged for any of them. The newest additions represent a huge expansion to its already impressive library - it seems like Netflix just keeps racking up indie hits. In particular, the latest crop seems to focus on award-winning instant classics, many of which have received plenty of buzz since their release.

Netflix Games will soon include Zagreus may return in the sequel, due to start early access soon. Braid, the mind-bending puzzle platformer originally released in 2008, will also be available on Netflix Games soon. It features a series of unique mechanics, and a challenging narrative that deconstructs tropes of typical game stories and protagonists.

There's also Katana Zero, a side-scrolling hack-and-slash in which players control a time-slowing assassin who can predict the future. Its fast-paced combat and slick visual style have drawn apt comparisons to Hotline Miami. The action RPG Death's Door, heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda series with top-down, item-based dungeon-crawling gameplay, will also be available soon.

There are also a couple of new, exclusive games coming to Netflix, most of which are based on its original properties. In particular, the co-op action RPG The Dragon Prince: Xadia, based on the animated series of the same name, looks visually stunning and mechanically fun, with giant boss battles and dungeon-crawling action. The top-down stealth game Chicken Run: Eggstraction will be released alongside the Netflix movie Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, developed entirely in house by animation studio Aardman.

Other Great Indie Games Already On Netflix

A screenshot from the game Kentucky Route Zero

There are already many excellent indie games available in Netflix's library for players to enjoy. In particular, the surreal adventure game Kentucky Route Zero stands out. In it, players take control of a truck driver who gets lost on the way to a delivery, and undergoes a strange odyssey along a dark highway. The roguelike Metroidvania game Dead Cells is also available, featuring side-scrolling action combat with procedurally generated levels, enemies, and rewards. Reigns: Three Kingdoms is a light strategy game. Players must build decks of army generals, make sweeping policy decisions with a swipe of a finger, and seek to conquer as much territory as possible.

The interactive story puzzler Twelve Minutes is also available through Netflix Games, requiring players to escape from a small, isolated room within a time limit. It features the voices of actors James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe. There are also some decent games based on Netflix's original properties; the Stranger Things arcade games can be entertaining diversions, especially for fans of the show.

Since they come with a Netflix subscription, there's no risk for current subscribers in trying these titles currently available. And as long as they maintain their subscriptions as Netflix continues to add new games, there will be plenty more interesting titles to try soon.

How Netflix Games Work

Netflix logo to the left with a compilation of several video game images to the right, including exploding kittens, TMNT, and more

Netflix Games is currently only available on iPhone and Android devices, but Netflix is in the process of beta testing cloud gaming services on smart TVs. Some games are exclusive to certain devices - for example, Hades will only be available on iOS. There's no word yet on whether the TV versions will include the same game library as Netflix's mobile version, but if anything, there's the potential for an even larger game library with a cloud-based service. Since cloud gaming is mostly free of the restrictions imposed by the hardware it's streaming on, Netflix Games could expand to include more technically demanding games in the future.

But for the time being, all Netflix Games are playable on mobile devices, which means they all use touchscreen controls by default. Controller varies game by game. Most Bluetooth-enabled controllers are compatible with most smartphones, so it's as simple as connecting the two. Switch Pro Controllers and JoyCons, PS4 DualShock controllers, PS5 DualSense controllers, and Xbox wireless controllers are all Bluetooth-enabled, so players who already own one of the above should be able to pair them with their phones. Controllers designed specifically for mobile devices work just as well in games that them.

ing and launching Netflix games is only slightly more complicated than streaming movies. Simply open the app, navigate to the "Games" section using the menu at the bottom of the screen, and select a title. Tapping on the "Get Game" button opens the relevant page in the App Store or Google Play Store, from which the game can be ed. It's also possible to find specific games directly from the App Store/Google Play Store's search bar. And with that, the game is installed, and can simply be accessed from its own icon on the home screen like any other app.

It's nice to see so many wonderful, hidden gems pop up on Netflix. The catalog might not be completely worth a brand-new or renewed subscription, at least not yet. But for current subscribers, it's absolutely worth browsing Netflix Games' library - and it seems like it's only going to get better.