For Stranger Things Day, Netflix decided to surprise-drop a couple of games inspired by the show, with one being Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales. The game was pulled from app stores earlier this year, but players can now access it for free via their Netflix accounts.Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales is a mobile match-3 puzzle RPG created by Next Games where players follow Eleven and the gang on mysterious quests and battles against evil creatures, such as the Demogorgon and Mind Flayer. Other Stranger Things characters can also be unlocked and recruited as they progress.Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales was originally available on the App Store and Google Play Store, but was removed after Netflix acquired Next Games. It was showcased during Netflix's Tudum event last September, along with other games, but there was no release date. In a surprise to fans, Netflix dropped the re-release of Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales. Now that it's exclusive to the platform, subscribers can install the game on their mobile phones for free, with no ads and in-app purchases. The updated game will also include new Stranger Things storylines and dozens of character skins to reflect the show's recent seasons.
The puzzle game will join existing Stranger Things games, Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3: The Game. Both games have a retro art style similar to old RPGs. Another Stranger Things game that was announced yesterday was Stranger Things VR. This will give players a chance to take the role of Season 4 antagonist Vecna. Based on the short teaser, it seems that the game will show Vecna's backstory, where he fought creatures to survive the Upside Down. The VR game will release next year.
Making Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales a Netflix-exclusive will give fans a chance to play through the game without being hounded by ads. It will also give them a chance to relive the latest season as they play characters like Eleven, Will, Jonathan, Max, and Hopper. Plus, with the fifth and final season of Stranger Things coming out in the future, Next Games could find a way to incorporate the storylines to Puzzle Tales.
With Netflix branching out more into gaming through its own in-house development studio, it's not surprising to see it acquire many game studios to further expand the category. Its most recent acquisition was indie studio Spry Fox, known for hit titles such as Cozy Grove, Alphabear, and Triple Town. It wouldn't be surprising if Netflix continues this move in the near future, especially since it will add more games on the platform for subscribers to play, as well as amplify the talent of developers and studios.