Poppy Playtime has yet to completely escape controversy, but the franchise earned itself much more respect after its third chapter saw a dramatic improvement in quality. Now Poppy Playtime will continue to a fourth chapter, and many details are already available for review.
Without a doubt, Poppy Playtime is perhaps the most controversial indie horror game. The game's first chapter was solid, as was the second, but both lacked substance beyond great animation and some great chases. The fear factor was lacking, and the game's plot did little to differentiate it from other mascot horror franchises such as Five Nights at Freddy'spp. and Bendy and the Ink Machine. Fan concerns over NFTs, overzealous merchandising and the alleged behavior of studio MobGames founders added fuel to the fire.
What Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 will bring to the table
Fortunately for Mob Entertainment, Poppy Playtimethird chapter won the horror fans back. Its genuinely creepy sequences, such as those surrounding the characters Catnap and Dogday, mix well with incredibly solid gameplay to make for a great experience. Now Chapter Four is on the horizon, and there have been some developments regarding its content. Fans are already expecting it to follow up with the ongoing plot of The Prototype, an intelligent being that has assimilated other monsters in their entirety, but more concrete details have now emerged.
Release date January 2025
In the teaser trailer reveal Poppy PlaytimeThe next chapter, the most hard and fast piece of information that fans can analyze is the release window. Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 will be released in January 2025, barring delays. Chapter 3 was released in January of this year, which means that the gap between chapters will be almost exactly one year. It's also the longest gap between chapter releases for any of the chapters, and it could be longer considering how Chapter 3 was delayed.
The black sheep
Chapter 4's teaser trailer focuses on a black sheep toy, a character that looks like one of the smiling animals from the previous chapter. This sheep has never been seen before, and is shown to be feasting on the remains of the animal swarms from Chapter 3 (stacked around in huge numbers).
In an interview with Game Rant, Mob Entertainment CEO Zach Belanger called Poppy Playtime Chapter 4's villain the one he “has been most excited about for quite some time”, so this sheep creature may not take a central role given its diminutive stature and lack of unique features compared to the animal swarms. On the other hand, the sheep currently have top billing on the chapter's Steam page, following in the footsteps of previous main villains.
An environment Deep Underground
Mob Entertainment has been tight-lipped about Chapter 4's details, and the Chapter's Steam page is following in those footsteps. Little news is confirmed in the text, except for the fact that the player will indeed go deeper than ever before. This is made even more clear by the images used on the Steam page, most of which show a distinctly subterranean setting. Purple handprints are also shown, confirming that the jumping hand mechanic from Chapter 3 will be making a return.
In Mob Entertainment's aforementioned Game Rant interview, Zach Belanger also stated that “fans can expect the highest quality, most stable, most optimized, and best user experience of any of our games to date.” This will be especially reassuring to those who are burned out Poppy Playtime Chapter 2, which launched with a large number of bugs. The issue of stability and bugs has been less present as chapters have continued to be released, but maintaining a high standard is always welcome.
