Picture Credits: Netflix
While much of our coverage of Netflix’s gaming library focuses on the comings and goings (such as the new Conjuring game incoming), much of its close-to-100-title library regularly gets quiet behind-the-scenes updates. Most of the time, these are routine, but titles like Netflix Playground regularly get expansions, and two other games have just been updated with tie-ins to some of Netflix’s biggest IP.
Let’s break it down.
K-Pop: Demon Hunters Comes to Toca Boca Jr
Picture Courtesy of Netflix
If you have kids, chances are you’re already very familiar with Toca Boca Jr, the wildly popular sandbox app that has two entries in the Netflix Games lineup, with the most recent being Kitchen, dropping back in July. The central premise of the games is to give younger players a colorful space to create, build, and play. Now, the game is getting a fresh coat of paint to tie into K-Pop: Demon Hunters, Netflix’s most successful movie of all time.
The update brings a complete visual overhaul, with most stages and characters getting HUNTR/X-style easter eggs, including a menu music change featuring the Golden track. Players can also cook up some fun, themed dishes for the kick-ass girl group members by picking out food from the fridge.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen K-Pop: Demon Hunters hit Netflix Games. There’s an entire section in the Netflix Playground app, plus Overcooked launched with some fun skins from the movie too.
It’s a great way of keeping fans engaged with the IP given that we’re still years away from the sequel, although Netflix is doing what it can to keep it top of mind, including its Netflix House expansions later this year plus a concert coming up very soon.
Stranger Things Takes Over Solitaire
Netflix’s most-played (yes, even to this day it’s #1 as we speak!) classic Solitaire mobile game is getting a major crossover of its own, courtesy of Hawkins, Indiana.
While Solitaire (developed by the veterans at MobilityWare) is typically your standard, relaxing card-stacking experience, this new Stranger Things update injects the Upside Down right into your deck. Players can expect to customize their boards with themed backgrounds, unique card backs featuring iconic imagery from the hit sci-fi series (think Hellfire Club logos, demogorgons, and retro 80s aesthetics), and perhaps a few spooky visual flair effects when you clear a board.
It’s not the first time Netflix has utilized Stranger Things in its gaming roster—titles like Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, and previously Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales are already fan favorites—but it’s great to see the flagship series subtly crossing over into the more casual puzzle games as we eagerly await the final season. We’ve also seen the IP used in Netflix’s Minigolf game among other titles in the past.
Have you noticed these crossovers in your Netflix mobile apps yet? Let us know what you think of them in the comments below!