Just a little while…
It’s not exactly a new game, but we need it. Do you know how long until there’s a new, Netflix-crashing season of Stranger Things? We doubt you really want to know. There’s talk of 2025, maybe even 2026. Ouch. Luckily, there are ways to keep us busy in the meantime, like listening to Running Up That Hill on repeat, and playing Stranger Things: 1984. But is the latter really a good idea?
Stranger Things: 1984
Stranger Things: 1984 can be found as a game on Netflix and in this game, which was previously available as a separate game on Google Play but is now only accessible as a Netflix game. The further advantage is that you do not have to pay extra money, except for your Netflix subscription, and that you are not asked for money in the game itself. In fact, it doesn’t even show any advertisements, although Netflix seems to want to lay an egg on that…
Before then, let’s just enjoy Stranger Things, because that’s absolutely what you can do with this game. It feels a bit like an old-school Zelda game, because you experience an action adventure in thick pixels. The game is already several years old, which means that it is mainly based on the first season of the series. That’s no problem, because it’s still one of our favorites, with the bicycles, the nerdy games of Dungeons & Dragons and that lurking danger of the Demogorgon.
Dungeon crawler
In this game, Hopper receives a rather disturbing phone call late at night: four children are missing and he is going to Hawkins National Laboratory to seek redress. Then in this game you will save a certain hero from the series in each chapter. The entire town of Hawkins has been pixelated and the best part is that you can switch between the different rescued characters. Not that the game has nothing to do with Stranger Things: it is also a fun game in itself. Each character has their own specialty and they can show it in the dungeons. Or actually: should you show it?
This game is for you… a free download, because you can choose different difficulty levels and it will take you 7 to 10 hours. So you can really immerse yourself in everything Stranger Things and you will also be challenged. We’re glad Netflix added this game to its collection, because it’s an asset. It’s also great how much you have to switch between characters in this game: sometimes Hopper just doesn’t fit somewhere because it’s too tight, and then another character can shine again. There is also a lot to collect, so the game never becomes boring, although it doesn’t have that tendency anyway, because the difficulty structure is very well put together.
Although this game doesn’t necessarily rely on its Stranger Things theme, that is what makes the game feel unique. Furthermore, it mainly resembles old dungeon crawlers and although there is nothing wrong with that, there are of course a lot of them already. The adventures in Hawkins are definitely a welcome addition, and not just because the fifth season is still so long in coming.
