As Emily in Paris season 4, part 1 takes Emily to new levels of chaos and costuming, I've decided to take a cue. I'm living my bisexual Parisian magazine editor fantasy thanks to a new Emily in Paris story game that's part of the Netflix Stories app.
The game, done in the 2010s story format a la Kim Kardashian: Hollywood or Demi Lovato: Path to Fame, was released Aug. 15 in tandem with the new season of the hit Netflix show. It allows players to step into the wild world of Emily and her friends, colleagues, and lovers. I played an advanced beta of the game for Teen Vogue and felt like I'd stepped into the alternate universe of my dreams.
I played it as myself, creating a blonde avatar named Claire and dressing her in outfits that fit right in with the extravagant, colorful, and often cringeworthy costuming on the show. (You can also pick your character's gender, sexual orientation, body type, and other physical attributes.) It was a tough call deciding among some egregious options — froofy skirts, ill-tailored brash blazers, and a full harness, to name a few — but eventually, I chose a little Serena van der Woodsen-esque schoolgirl blouse and jacket with neck ribbon and a pleated skirt to start my journey in Paris. (Somehow my character ended up looking like Beck from YOU, auspicious start.)
The setup is fairly straightforward: an American moves to Paris as the brand-new digital editor for the fictional French fashion magazine Enchanté, only to discover that her boss is a delusional print media obsessive who doesn't believe the brand should have an online edition or social media footprint. In this economy??
Claire must prove her mettle and build Enchanté's social following from zero to two million in four weeks. I asked Teen Vogue's social media manager Jillian Selzer about the feasibility of this task: her eyes grew wide, and she gave an emphatic “No.” Our audience development director, overhearing this discussion, simply laughed. Jillian added, “I would diplomatically ask her, in what world has she ever seen that be a thing?” Expecting outrageous results in an unfathomably short amount of time under the thinly-veiled threat of unemployment? Hey, the Emily in Paris story game has captured the current media climate.
But competing in a new media vs. old media battle royale isn't the only aspect of Claire's burgeoning French life in the game — she's also trying to find love in the city that practically manufactures it, and the suitors are everywhere. First, I met suave Olivier in a bookstore, where he waxed poetic about his father-son-like relationship with aging owner Jacques and flirted shamelessly with me. Soon after, I took a tumble over some cobblestones and was caught by pretty brunette Audrey, a mysterious florist who seemed immune to my shameless flirting (though she did give me a bouquet of hydrangeas).
Meanwhile, she quickly befriends Emily and Mindy and gets pulled into their romantic and professional schemes (and yes, there are cameos from Gabriel, Alfie, and Camille). The Emily/Mindy dynamic is particularly fun, as Mindy can't go two seconds without roasting Emily to death about everything from her workaholic tendencies to her dalliances in love.
What's a girl to do with so many crushes to handle? How will Mindy jab at Emily next?? When will there be time to earn two million followers organically??? See you next time on Claire in Paris.
You can play the Emily in Paris game on the Netflix Stories app, along with narrative games based around Selling Sunset, Virgin River, and Perfect Match.
