Poppy Playtime: The Story Up to (and Including) Chapter 4

As a mascot horror game, Poppy Playtime stands out with its unique story and its nuanced take on several characters, most especially the antagonists. Although the series has drawn comparisons to Five Nights at Freddy's, which is another equally successful horror franchise, Poppy Playtime's exploration, puzzles, and the story of Playtime Co. Make it clear that its lore is just as interesting to invest time in.

Recently, it was reported that Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 was finally coming to consoles after being PC-only since the game launched in January 2025. It's great news for Poppy Playtime fans who either want to relive the fourth chapter's story or will play it for the first time on their consoles. It's been a while since Poppy Playtime released its first three chapters, so a refresher might be needed for some fans of the franchise.

poppy playtime's poppy looking scared with blood on the wall

Poppy Playtime's Lore Should Avoid One FNAF Pitfall

Poppy Playtime may be ending soon. Which can be a good thing to avoid the same storytelling flaws as Five Nights at Freddy's.

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By Jackie Arias

What Has Happened in Poppy Playtime So Far?

Poppy Playtime begins with an unnamed protagonist, who is a former Playtime Co. Employee, returning to the abandoned toy factory after receiving a letter stating that there are survivors who needed to be saved. Armed with their trusty Grabpack and hand attachments, their adventure kicks off with a series of puzzles to access certain areas, as well as clue-finding to give players a background about what happened in Playtime Co before the events of the game.

As the protagonist explores the factory further, they get chased by the first antagonist of the game: Huggy Wuggy, a sentient toy with long limbs and blue fur. The once-friendly mascot transforms into a deadly monster that's adamant to murder the player, even chasing them inside a vent. Huggy Wuggy later falls to its death in the depths of the factory, which would lead to the protagonist discovering and releasing Poppy, a sentient doll, being kept in a glass box. Poppy eventually becomes a recurring presence in Poppy Playtime as she guides the protagonist to find and rescue the Playtime Co. Survivors.

As players go through Poppy Playtime's first three chapters, they discover that Playtime Co. Is not just a toy factory that brings happiness to kids, as it also conducts experiments on humans, particularly orphans, through the Bigger Bodies Initiative. There are many documents and VHS tapes in Poppy Playtime's maps that give a glimpse of the terrifying experiments being done on children, who often end up being many of the notable allies, like Poppy and Kissy Wissy, and antagonists, like Huggy Wuggy and CatNap.

While the first Poppy Playtime chapter gives players a taste of what's to come throughout the series, the second and third chapters go deep into the human experimentation happening within the factory before the events of the game. This eventually led to The Hour of Joy, a murderous canon event that happened in Playtime Co. In 1995, where the Bigger Bodies Initiatives experiments started attacking every employee. This was orchestrated by the Prototype, a mysterious creature that's being teased to be the final boss enemy in the game, and has been seen in Poppy Playtime Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 collecting the remains of Mommy Long Legs and CatNap after the protagonist defeats them. The running theory is that the Prototype is turning itself into an amalgamation of all the dead toys in an attempt to escape the factory and kill everyone in the process.

What to Expect in Poppy Playtime Chapter 4: Safe Haven

Minor spoilers for Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 ahead

Poppy Playtime Chapter 4: Safe Haven picks up after the ending of Chapter 3, where the protagonist and Poppy go down an elevator to the factory's so-called "Safe Haven." Here, the protagonist meets Doey the Doughman, a colorful creature made of play dough and Poppy's friend who takes care of terrified toys who've been experimented on by Playtime Co.

The story further expands on the Bigger Bodies Initiative and the people behind them, as well as more hostile experiments that came out of it, such as new enemies Yarnaby and Baba Chops. So far, it's one of the most important Poppy Playtime chapters of all, and players can find tons of lore strewn around the map. Plus, Chapter 4 might even be the penultimate chapter, especially if the Prototype will be showing up in the next one, so console players definitely have something to look forward to.

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