The Black Mirror series 7 episode Plaything has its own free to play mobile game – the fluffily disturbing Thronglets, from the developers of Oxenfree.

Series creator Charlie Brooker is back this week with more Black Mirror, and among its sextet of tech noir episodes you’ll find Plaything. A quasi-sequel to the 2018 interactive episode, Bandersnatch, it’s another twisty sci-fi tale filled with references to the British games industry. And continuing the interactivity of Bandersnatch, Plaything now has its own free-to-play mobile game.

Called Thronglets, it’s almost identical to the game seen in the episode itself – a mash-up of mechanics seen in such pioneering games as Little Computer People, Populous and Civilization. You start by hatching out a single Thronglet – a cute little critter that recalls the hapless mammals in Lemmings. Unable to fend for itself, the Thronglet must be regularly fed and washed – and then it begins to multiply,...