Squid Game on Netflix is a hit show, no other way to describe it. It has become a world wide phenomenon rather quickly and staid at that high level with each new season. One thing that is missing in the Netflix shows popularity is a game. There is one official game (available on Android and browser but it is a battle royale style game – 32 players start, only one winner (similar in style to the show). What if you are rocking the original Game Boy and are a fan of Squid Game though? Developer 64 Bits Animation has you covered.
Fans Coming to the Rescue
While Netflix are not keen on licensing out the property, fans have been creating games of varying quality for a while. Squid Game for the Nintendo Game Boy stands out because, well, it is the only Squid Game for the original Game Boy, I believe it is the only game based on the show for handhelds, or consoles, as well.
Obviously, some concessions had to be made to make the game work on the aged Game Boy hardware. For one, forget 3D anything. Instead, challenges are laid out in a 2D side scrolling manner, some featuring level depth, others restricting you to a single plane.
Having lived through the heyday of the Nintendo Game Boy, I can honestly say, 64 Bits Animation did much better than what commercial ports based on movies/television shows would have dropped on fans.
Green Light, Darker Green Light
Considering the lack of color on the original Game Boy anything color related is out the window as well. There are three endings, a secret harder mode, in the game. You are able to choose Story Mode, Practice Mode, and finally (as long as you unlock it) Hard Mode which gives you access to the true ending – is it good or bad? Find out with your Game Boy.
They have included 6 games to play through as well as cutscenes to progress the story – a rarity for Game Boy games.
Then there are the extras.
Squid Game will work on real Nintendo Game Boys (and later models with backwards compatibility, I assume). To commemorate that, 64 Bit Animations has included a printable game manual, printable box art and cartridge sticker and they have set this release at $0 so you can grab it all right now and tip as you feel you want to.