The choose-your-own-adventure part of the old game is back!
There are franchises that really know how to merge nostalgia and a remake into one. It’s hard to do because we hold so much love for the original, be it a movie, TV show, or computer game, but the creators behind Netflix’s Carmen Sandiego TV series does it well. Their new interactive Netflix episode goes back to its roots, and the choose-your-own-adventure part of the old-school computer game is back.
Netflix revived the Carmen Sandiego franchise last year, and now they’re giving us Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, a special interactive episode where we get to be in the front seat of all those critical life-and-death decisions. The World’s Greatest Thief, who uses her knowledge to do good, had her two crew members, Ivy and Zack, kidnapped by V.I.L.E., she has to do what she needs to In order to ensure the safety of her friends. And that’s where the fun begins for the viewer.
Instead of passively watching and wondering what’s going to happen, the interactive episode has an authentic video game feel. While watching the episode, options will appear on the screen, “Don a disguise or fly away? Stick to the plan or go rogue? Carmen’s on a mission — and she needs your help,” the description reads of the episode.
This isn’t the first time Netflix has tested out their interactive options. Previously You vs. Wild, Minecraft: Story Mode, and Black Mirror Bandersnatch all offered the viewer some control over the outcome with at choose-your-own-adventure twist.
This 45-minute special episode for Carmen Sandiego will have a varied storyline depending on which options are chosen. And it has a very real throw-back feel to the original computer game where the storyline depended on our actions.
The trailer has all the drama we love from the Carmen Sandiego storylines, and the decisions the viewer is given are ones the real-life spy would have to make pretty quickly. It’s time to dust off your spy skills and get ready to hit the driver’s seat again.
Credit: Netflix
The special interactive episode of Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal hits Netflix on March 10th.
