Netflix has released a mobile game called Squid Game: Unleashed, based on its hit series Squid Game.
The game transforms the intense survival drama into a multiplayer party game, drawing comparisons to Fall Guys.
Players compete in groups of 32 across simplified versions of the show’s iconic challenges, such as “Red Light, Green Light” and the glass bridge race.
The game’s visuals follow the show’s aesthetic, with green tracksuits, masked guards, and plenty of blood. However, it lacks the emotional depth of the series.
Without any story elements, the game feels disconnected from the personal struggles and moral dilemmas that defined the show.
Unleashed introduces mechanics like respawning, which removes the life-or-death tension central to Squid Game. While this makes the game more accessible for quick mobile sessions, it strips away the core appeal of the series.
Matches are short, and losing doesn’t mean elimination, making it feel more like a casual race than a high-stakes battle for survival.
Despite being free for Netflix subscribers (and temporarily for non-subscribers), the game mimics free-to-play models with unlockable characters, costumes, and emotes.
However, these features can feel jarring. For example, players can make characters like Kang Sae-byeok perform a twerking emote, which contrasts sharply with the show’s tragic tone.
While Squid Game: Unleashed succeeds as a fun mobile party game, it fails as an adaptation. It captures the surface elements of the show but misses its deeper themes, leaving fans with a game that feels more like a parody than a true extension of the series.
