I am going to avoid spoilers, but I finally saw Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch movie on Netflix. I am unsure whether this “choose your own adventure” thing is a good one-time gimmick that adds depth to this particular Black Mirror, or actually something for Netflix to continue investing on before it gets old. Who knows! What I know is that I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
There were actually a couple of scenes that had me grinning from ear to ear because of the scenario unfolding: so ridiculous, and a good match to my own equally-ridiculous decisions. But what really won me over was when I finally reached one of the actual endings for the film. Because I was so emotionally invested in the choices made, when that final scene unfolded in front of eyes, it did so in a way that perfectly portrayed the emotion (along with a good song to match the mood). The ending brought immense satisfaction to the story’s “conclusion.”
Granted, I’ve heard that there are a ridiculous number of permutations to the movie and a handful of real endings. Not everyone’s experience will be the same as mine. But if the choices by other people bring a response similar to mine – it is clear that this form of entertainment may be something to keep an eye on.
All this being said, it sucks that the experience is not available on Apple TV, though. I had to mention this because I am an Apple nerd, and tvOS does have access to the same native frameworks that are commonly used for video playback in iOS. And, as far as I can tell, Netflix is making use of these in their iOS app where you can experience Bandersnatch.
