When it comes to movies and TV, Netflix-style subscription services are a bit of a scam. They’re designed to give the appearance of value, rather than actual value. The hope is that you’ll just keep paying and never really think about how much or how little you use it – let alone do the math to see if it’s more cost-effective to just buy the products you really want, rather than having access to a whole range of products you could It’s FOMO as a business model, awfully tempting, and a great way to make a bunch of your money disappear, about $15-20 a month.
What makes it bearable are the moments when it You feel like the one who’s getting away with something. Simply watching stuff on Netflix doesn’t cut it, but if you play games – the ones that come free with your Netflix subscription – then it does.
“Wait, Netflix has games?” is a fairly common headline, with the implicit gag being that no Netflix subscriber comes to Netflix to play games and that the streaming giant is wasting its time chasing them. That may be so. But there’s no reason you shouldn’t benefit from a puzzling act of corporate hubris.
Netflix’s game library is small but pretty spectacular. And more importantly, all of these games run well on smartphones or tablets – the devices you’re most likely to use Netflix on anyway. The service launched with early hits like Poinpy and spectacular ports such as Into the breach – and more games have been added since then.
Consider tellerDaniel Benmergui’s witty puzzle game about playfully rearranging characters, scenes and desires to tell mix-and-match comic stories. Or one of the very best games of 2022, the intricate mystery The Fall of the Golden Idol. Treat yourself to the classic chaos of Sonic Maniaor the visually strange but still playable remastered trilogy of Grand Theft Auto.
Did you know you could fucking play immortality right there on your damn Emily in Paris Machine? Profane!
Of course, none of this will be cool once Netflix decides it should charge extra for it. So this isn’t a blanket endorsement of Netflix’s current inexplicable plan to add games to its lineup. Instead, consider this an urgent suggestion to anyone who is currently a subscriber: If you’re going to enjoy Netflix’s shows, you might want to add their games to your entertainment lineup, and immediately.
Because that’s another way subscription services take advantage of you: They suggest that what’s available now will always be there, while technically promising nothing of the sort. Since we’re talking about a company that popularized forced scarcity of streaming catalogs, it’s probably safer to assume that by the time you find time to watch that cool show or movie you’ve been meaning to watch for ages, it’s already gone. The same is probably true for games, too, so I say smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em.
Of course, you can also buy these additionally and don’t have to worry about anything.
