By Gavin Boyle
While Netflix claims to be focusing on creating child-friendly video games, the content it is actually producing oftentimes creates a playing experience only suitable for mature audiences.
“At Netflix, we have a mission to entertain people…” Alain Tascan, Netflix’s president of Games, said at the San Francisco Games Development Conference, per Deadline. “When we see the younger generation interacting with new games in particular, we feel that we need to be there to offer them something to do that’s really interesting.”
This focus on including a unique element is oftentimes where Netflix falls short in creating family-friendly experiences. The new BLACK MIRROR tie-in game, for example, presents itself as a cute game but quickly takes on a horror element — matching the dystopian storyline found in the series.
“A lot of the early conversation was [about BLACK MIRROR level expectations]. We can’t just do a standard game, ” said series creator Charlie Brooker. “It has to have some element that’s possibly unexpected or looks like it’s going one way and then another. There was a juxtaposition of making it look as cute as possible and having quite disturbing and dark things happen in it.”
Despite these horror elements, the game is rated as being appropriate for kids ages 12+ on the App Store, giving a very young audience to access the game. This rating, along with the cute art style, could trick many kids and parents alike into thinking the game is child-friendly, when, in fact, it could scar those who play it.
Similarly, when Netflix released the SQUID GAME tie-in game, it was rated at 12+, and Tascan encouraged kids to play the game with their friends.
Related: Warning! Netflix Makes SQUID GAME Video Game Available to Anyone
“SQUID GAME is Netflix’s most watched series ever, and we want everyone around the world to be able to take part in its return by making [Squid Game:] Unleashed available to everyone, which is a first for Netflix Games,” Tascan said last December when announcing it would have a free-to-play period, even for those not subscribed to Netflix. “Squid Game: Unleashed is all about playing with (or against) your friends in the iconic games from the series like Glass Bridge and Red Light Green Light, so we’re inviting everyone into the chaos this holiday season.”
While Tascan emphasized that this was a game for everyone, that is simply not the case, as children should not be exposed to a game that glorifies extreme violence.
“Research shows that children imitate, even from the moment of birth,” said Movieguide® founder Dr. Ted Baehr. “Children follow the examples that are set for them, not only in real life, but also in literature. Parables are examples of teaching tales people have used to help children learn how to live. Research shows that the entertainment media provide ‘scripts’ for a child’s future behavior.”
Even beyond the faith space, experts were calling for parents prohibit their kids from interacting with the series, explaining how it is harmful for their mental health and development.
“The level of violence is horrifying — more than most shows,” David Anderson, Head of School and Community Programs at the Child Mind Institute, said in a statement. “It’s a murder fest with the premise that out of over 400 participants, there can only be one survivor.”
It is extremely discouraging that Netflix is not only promoting these disturbing series through its video game library but is, furthermore, pushing the games towards kids — even when the series they are based on are rated TV-MA. Hopefully Netflix will begin to take its commitment to creating family-friendly games seriously, rather than claiming to do one thing while, in reality, doing another.
Read Next: How Netflix Shifted Its Games Library Strategy
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