Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 Review – Coming Full Circle

Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 Review

The Poppy Playtime saga continues with the latest release; Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5. It’s worth noting that if you haven’t played the first four chapters, you should probably turn back now. Chapter 5 is a direct sequel to the fourth chapter and would make very little sense to gamers jumping into the franchise for the first time. The first Poppy Playtime chapter is free, so if you’re new and wondering what all the fuss is about, I’d recommend starting there.

Much like the previous chapters, Chapter 5 takes The Employee even deeper into Playtime Co. New locations to explore, lore to discover, and horrors to face all await you. However, this time around, the lurking presence from the previous chapters finally makes his big reveal. It’s finally time to meet The Prototype.

Broken Things

To avoid significant spoilers, I won’t dive too deep into Chapter 5’s story. The twists and turns in the Poppy Playtime saga are one of the reasons the franchise is so beloved. Chapter 5 begins exactly where Chapter 4 ends, with the return of Huggy Wuggy. The menacing creature has just been chasing you, but you made it into a room and closed a massive steel door behind you. Huggy Wuggy screams at you through the window as he bangs and bangs his lanky arms against the door. Eventually, Huggy Wuggy breaks through, and so begins the first of many chase sequences littered throughout Chapter 5. The intense chase with Huggy Wuggy is such an iconic callback to what made the original chapter so popular.

After your chase with Huggy Wuggy, you’ll find yourself in a new area of Playtime Co. without your trusty GrabPack. This is where you’ll encounter your first new tool; Glowby. Glowby has two functions: flashlight and blacklight. You’ll use the flashlight to help navigate through darker sections, as well as scare of some creepy new creatures. The blacklight can be used to view hidden writing scrolled thoughout Playtime Co., including arrows that help provide some direction for the player. There are some telltale signs when hidden writing is around, as you’ll see markers strewn about wherever hidden writing is. In addition, Glowby has an LED screen that interacts with certain elements in the environment. If a hidden item is nearby, it’ll alert you. It’s a convenient addition to your tools.

New Tools of the Trade

Fortunately, it won’t take long until you find a replacement GrabPack.  Along with the new GrabPack are some really cool GrabPack upgrades that will show up throughout the game. One of those upgrades are magnetic bands that give players the ability to grapple to specific anchors. These add a new level of exploration in some of the latter areas of Playtime Co. Another addition includes a GrabPack hand that can absorb certain forms of energy (ie: heat, cold, electricity). This is used to solve a variety of different puzzles.

Familiar Gameplay Loop

The gameplay loop of Chapter 5 is very similar to previous chapters. There are sections where you’ll rely on exploration. Other sections where you’ll rely on solving puzzles. Chase sequences are quite frequent. In fact, there might be more chase sequences in Chapter 5 than any previous chapter. Most of these sequences are pretty straight-forward and shouldn’t cause too many issues with long time fans. One “hair-raising” chase sequence was anything but straightforward. Appearing just past the half-way point of the game, it was incredibly frustrating trying to figure out where to go. Despite some new movement abilities, like the grappling, Chapter 5 is still very much a linear game. However, there are some areas where exploration can lead to hidden collectibles.

There hidden collectibles includes stuffies based on the new Outimals, along with documents, cassette tapes and VHS tapes that all provide some backstory and context for Playtime Co. Of the three VHS tapes, the second Yellow VHS tape was quite amusing. The Red VHS tape alluded me, but I’m sure I’ll find it on my next playthrough. While most of the cassette tapes were pretty enjoyable, there was one cassette tape that included a recreational drug reference that felt out of place for a Poppy Playtime game. Even though the game deals with mature content, younger players are also big fans. I would argue that it was the popularity among younger players that really made Poppy Playtime as popular as it is. It is important developers be particularly cautious with certain content.

Deep Back Story

Lore has always been a huge foundation to the Poppy Playtime saga, and Chapter 5 makes no exception here. In Chapter 5, we witness even more brutality and deception towards the children. One of the more interesting moments in Chapter 5 is a collection of flashback sequences featuring one of the franchise’s key characters. A new character to Poppy Playtime, Ms. Gracie, takes the franchise to a whole new level of creepiness. Think “Ms. Rachel” but with a very evil undertone. There are more new allies and enemies introduced, but I’ll avoid spoiling any further surprises. Suffice to say, Chapter 5 does a masterful job of pushing the overall narrative along.

My five or so hours with Chapter 5 was an enjoyable experience. There were only a couple sequences throughout the game that gave me some real challenges, including the previously mentioned chase sequence that was incredibly frustrating. The game crashed on me once. My oldest son played through the entire chapter too, and it crashed on him once as well (in a different area). However, in my time with Chapter 5, the game was updated four or so times, so clearly the developers are actively ironing out any reported issues and bugs. Chapter 5 is an excellent continuation of the Poppy Playtime saga. Even though it’s likely a year away, I’m eager to see how things play out in the next chapter.

***Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 Steam key provided by the publisher for review.***