The video game “Poppy’s Playtime” has been a hit since it released chapter one on October 12, 2021. However, as an avid horror game fan, I hated the game at its original release.
Don’t get me wrong, the visuals are beautiful. The look of the game is one of the things I enjoy the most; its colorful looks and well-programmed textures are amazing. The problem is that the game seemed to be very lackluster in terms of actual horror.
It felt very fake and solely money-driven due to its insistence on already popular tropes instead of truly wanting to terrify fans by thinking outside of the box.
The game itself was scary, but it seemed like the game lacked creativity with the release of chapter one and chapter two.
The storyline is very similar to “Five Nights At Freddy’s,” in terms of dead children and walking toys/animatronics that are out to kill you.
There was a whole controversy regarding this, and the fanbase questioned the quality of the game that seemed to be solely focused on how much money the game could make.
However, the release of chapter three has completely changed my mind about “Poppy’s Playtime”. The creators upped the horrifying aspects within chapter three and expanded a lot on the actual plotline of the story.
The player finds themselves in a series of tunnels to a phone that is ringing, a character named Ollie is introduced and is the guide for most of the playthrough. Ollie’s identity is unknown but seems to be trustworthy.
We are introduced to the main villain’s power of the “red gas”. The main villain of the chapter is Catnap, one of the toys that were experimented on, and is a follower of the even stronger villain-the “Prototype”. Catnap’s design is, in my opinion, the creepiest one by far. He is a purple cat with a large open mouth, yet he doesn’t speak. We only see him as a plush version for most of the game, but during the boss fight he is much bigger. However, he has a body where the furry part is sticking to his organs (which a toy should not have).
We also receive a lot of lore that makes the game much more interesting. We find out the true horrors behind the toys, as the creator of Poppy, Ludwig, had quite literally created the monstrous toys by putting the organs of children into them.
Even worse, it is revealed that these children were orphans who grew up in the company within the daycare section of the land. This piece of information, and especially the way it is presented, was done beautifully.
The player is forced to do a series of turns within the daycare, and with each turn, an audio discussing a different part of the Ludwig mystery plays.
We learn a large amount of information with the discussion of the “Hour Of Joy”. This event is when the more evil of the toys, under the Prototype’s guidance, attack all the workers and the children within the facility.
This event makes the lore much more intriguing to me, as we learn more about the Prototype – who is seen as a god among the toys.
However, my absolute favorite part of the game is the introduction to Miss Delight. This character is a teacher at the daycare that seemingly goes crazy and either harms or eats the children. Her mechanic is not anything creative, she is like a weeping angel in the way that she can only get close to you if you look away.
Just her character design alone shows me how the quality of the game has improved. She looks like a chicken almost, kind of reminiscent of Chica from “Five Nights at Freddy’s.
During her appearance, the player must navigate through dark hallways and escape this cannibalistic teacher all the while. It is very stress-inducing, which I think perfectly creates the tension needed in horror games.
There’s many other aspects of the chapter that make the game ten times greater, but it’s better to experience this for yourself.
The hope is that the team continues to produce high-quality designs and gameplay for the future to preserve the hype around the game.