While it’s fair to say that nobody pays a great deal of attention to Netflix’s gaming output, which consists mostly of ports or mutually beneficial tie-ins, that may be about to change. With the release of Unhinged, a unique interactive horror experience that blurs the lines between movie and video game and provides an extremely low barrier to entry, the streaming giant is potentially delivering a trans-media experience that could give its interactive offerings real, unique legs.
There’s a case to be made that this is the kind of pivot Netflix needs to make to be compelling in gaming, and also that this is the way they need to do it, with the only necessities for being involved an active subscription and a smartphone – two things that everyone watching Netflix almost certainly already has. The crowd-pleasing nature of the horror genre, perfect for a family or group of friends to gather round and indulge in together, makes Unhinged an even smarter proposition, with a big-name voice cast doing a lot of marketing heavy lifting for good measure.
What is Unhinged?
While Unhinged is technically a video game and will be offered as such, being accessible from the Netflix Games row of existing subscriber accounts, it’s clear that minimal, more immersive interactivity is central to the intended experience. That comes from a smartphone, connected to the account via a scanned QR code.
The phone, which doubles as a controller, allows the player to seamlessly control the hands of the protagonist, which are tracked via the phone. This allows manual control of a flashlight and various other immersive gimmicks. When your character, Ava, receives an in-game call or text, your actual phone responds, even playing specific audio while the more bombastic elements come through the TV.
By video game standards, this is incredibly limited, but to non-gamers it’s enough interactivity to feel impressively novel. Even for the more experienced players, the limited interactivity allows Night School Studio, the group behind narrative adventure Oxenfree and its sequel, to drum up the technical quality and cinematic presentation. Both camps seem to be catered for by the game’s settings, which include a Story Mode in which death is impossible, and a Standard Mode that creates pressure in high-stakes moments with an on-screen timer.
A Survival Thriller With A Difference
Unhinged follows a woman named Ava, voiced by Zoe Kravitz (High Fidelity, The Studio, navigating an apartment building wracked by a Category 5 hurricane. With the power out, she’s forced to navigate almost blind, her only link to the outside world being her best friend, Claire (Sadie Sink, Stranger Things), who lives in the building across the street.
Based on the trailer, it seems like the storm is the least of Ava’s problems, as it quickly becomes apparent that a dangerous intruder is pursuing her through the building. She’s locked inside, but she’s very much not alone, and throughout the experience she’ll have to contend with various obstacles, some of them murderous, as the story delivers twists and turns.
Through all this, Ava’s phone – and thus the player’s – is the only way she can survive.
An All-Star Voice Cast
While the voice cast of Unhinged is necessarily limited, Netflix clearly haven’t skimped on the names, helping to lend some seriousness to the production despite its obvious limitations as a video game.
While Ava and Claire are voiced by Zoe Kravitz and Sadie Sink, respectively, the apartment building’s super, Ben, is voiced by Troy Baker, a video game voice actor of incredible renown. It’s a bit of stunt casting to combine Hollywood talent with a beloved video game stalwart, so Netflix obviously knows what they’re doing here.
The music and sound design, though, come from film and TV faithfuls Jason Hill (Mindhunter, Gone Girl) and Ren Klyce. In terms of its presentation, Unhinged is very much styled as a first-person movie, albeit one that you’re in some degree of control of. It’ll be available to all Netflix subscribers without any ads or in-game purchases from June 30, 2026.
