Black Mirror: Playtest’s Nightmare Mode Explained (& Why It Was Cut)

Black Mirror’s “Playtest” was supposed to be even scarier than it is now, but “nightmare mode” was taken out – here’s why it was removed and what it was meant to be. “Playtest” is commonly considered the series’ most traditional horror story out of them all. For example, it employs haunted houses, eerie figures, strange noises, and horrifying spiders that resemble Stanley Uris’s (Wyatt Oleff) mutated head in IT: Chapter Two. Showrunner Charlie Brooker wanted to go all out by including a special “nightmare mode,” which would’ve amplified the horror elements of “Playtest” for the viewer.

The episode was directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) and follows Cooper (Wyatt Russell), an American travelling through Europe to escape the heartbreaking reality that awaits him at home. After his credit card information is stolen, he turns to SaitoGemu to make enough money to return home, but the playtest and the prospects of even larger sums of money becomes his downfall. Charlie Brooker’s dystopian television series envelops the concept that technological advances will attribute to the downfall of humanity. This is somewhat epitomized in “Playtest,” as the advancement of video gaming equipment leads to Cooper’s death when his cellphone rings and disrupts the software.

While there were several changes made to the original “Playtest” script, the biggest happens to be its planned nightmare mode. Brooker initially hoped to include fourth-wall breaking, such as was used in Bandersnatch, and wanted to offer audiences with variations on the episode. His original vision resembles a traditional video game rather than a television episode. Nightmare mode was supposed to be one of the scariest aspects of “Playtest,” but it was taken out due to logistical feasibility.

Nightmare mode was intended to be a special option for viewers watching the episode for a second time; this feature would have offered variations of scenes that had been previously viewed. Had it been utilized in the actual episode, it is likely that it would’ve evoked feelings of deja vu in audience members – further blurring the lines between perceived reality and fiction – which could have evoked commentary on more complex concepts, such as “the Mandela effect”, from fans. Essentially, this mode of “Playtest” would have created an alternate reality that only certain people – those who dare watch the episode again – could access. While there are no specifics on what extra horrors nightmare mode would’ve included, it’s likely that Trachtenberg and Brooker would’ve gone all out with even more monsters and obscure creatures.

Logistically speaking, it could have complicated Netflix’s algorithm, as there were no specific triggers other than viewing the episode once that led to nightmare mode. Furthermore, it would’ve been overly complicated to have to reformulate how or when a specific subscriber returns to the original “Playtest” story. While a nightmare mode could have made the episode scarier for viewers and added layers to Cooper’s story, it also had the potential of completely disjointing the Black Mirror universe’s timeline and, possibly, the streaming service’s algorithm.

Despite the loss of nightmare mode, fans were given the choose-your-own-adventure stylized Bandersnatch only a few years later, which included what “Playtest” wanted to highlight when it was initially conceived by Brooker. As of this writing, there has yet to be any official announcement that the showrunner will return to the season 3 episode, but he did say that it was a possibility when it premiered in 2016. In the future, fans of Black Mirror may get the opportunity to experience the nightmare mode of “Playest”, if they dare.

About The Author