Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 is simply across the nook, with its January 2025 launch window drawing ever nearer, but we nonetheless know valuable little about what to anticipate. Or can we? When it got here to Chapter 3, we already had a number of trailers, the Deep Sleep identify, and a wide range of completely different hints at this level, giving us a fairly strong thought of what to anticipate on our subsequent foray into the manufacturing facility.
Nevertheless, whereas particulars are comparatively sparse this time, we would know greater than you suppose. Okay, possibly it’s extra correct to say that we’ve bought our theories, however a few of them do have weight and a few strong lore to again them up. Plus, Tilly (PT’s guides editor) and I truly bought just a few issues proper the final time we did this.
In our Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 theories article, we had been right in our evaluation that Poppy Playtime’s Kissy Missy is our buddy and that CatNap used the purple fuel to place the kids to sleep – two fairly large issues to be proper about, so we’re fairly happy with ourselves. Admittedly, we had extra to work with when forming our predictions for Deep Sleep, however we gained’t let that cease us from making an attempt to gather some ideas on the subsequent entry.
Firstly, whereas we all know that Yarnaby is the large unhealthy toy of Poppy Playtime Chapter 4, I nonetheless can’t assist however really feel drawn to Poppy Playtime’s Boxy Boo. As quickly because the credit rolled on Deep Sleep, I had a intestine feeling that we’d see that toy within the subsequent chapter, primarily as a result of he’s the one one from The Hour of Pleasure videotape we haven’t seen but, and he options so prominently within the spin-off Challenge Playtime.
I nonetheless suppose there’s probability that Boxy Boo will seem in Chapter 4 in some capability. Or maybe he’s destined to be the star of a special chapter additional down the road – in spite of everything, we extremely doubt that the Poppy Playtime sequence will finish with simply 4 chapters. The sequence continues to be extremely fashionable, with the primary three chapters even getting a bodily launch in latest months, and there are nonetheless loads of secrets and techniques left to uncover, so we don’t see our adventures within the manufacturing facility coming to an finish any time quickly.
Transferring on to a set of toys we all know seem in Chapter 4, the Poppy Playtime Nightmare Critters designs seem to reflect these of the Poppy Playtime Smiling Critters, with every Nightmare Critter showing to distinction with a corresponding Smiling Critter. This leads us to imagine that there’s some type of rivalry between the 2 strains of toys, maybe even extending from the unique promotional cartoon that they’re based mostly on. The Nightmare Critters are extra like angsty teenagers relating to character, significantly darker than the childlike personalities of the Smiling Critters. Maybe Baba Chops and co are deeper within the manufacturing facility as a result of they weren’t fashionable, failing to achieve the identical heights as CatNap and DogDay.
Nevertheless, Tilly thinks there is likely to be one thing a bit extra sinister concerning the relationship between the 2 units of toys, mentioning that Baba Chops, a Nightmare Critter, eats a mini Canine Day within the first teaser trailer. She believes that the brand new bunch is dominating the Smiling Critters, proving to be a higher menace. Actually, that is sensible to me as nicely. Every chapter has stepped up the sport, introducing increasingly more threats, and we all know Chapter 4 is essentially the most horrifying but, so it stands to motive that the toys we encounter will probably be extra harmful than the final.
Moreover, we all know that CatNap used the Smiling Critters to do his bidding. So, now that CatNap is gone, does Yarnaby see a gap to step into energy, utilizing the Nightmare Critters to take action? If that’s the case, we want the toy luck, contemplating what the Prototype did to CatNap on the finish of Deep Sleep.
Talking of CatNap, we’ve lengthy thought that his heinous fuel belongs to him alone, however one take a look at the Yarnaby trailer reveals that the Purple Smoke is making its return in Chapter 4, and seems to be touring deep into the Poppy Playtime manufacturing facility through some pipes. However why? We all know that the Purple Smoke is a semi-hallucinogenic, sleep-inducing fuel that may induce maniacal habits and nightmares, therefore the explanation CatNap was discontinued to start with. Perhaps this fuel is what makes the toys beneath a lot worse than what’s come earlier than. Sure, we’re assuming that the toys are extra lethal in Chapter 4, however contemplating they’ve gotten progressively worse throughout the primary three chapters, Tilly and I really feel it is a honest assumption.
One other chance, as identified by Tilly, is that Playtime Co. used the fuel to manage the experiments that reside deeper within the manufacturing facility. When you pay shut consideration all through the Yarnaby teaser trailer, you may catch sight of bars, cells, and surveillance cameras, main us to imagine that we’re about to enter a jail or one thing akin to at least one. If that’s the case, utilizing the fuel round right here is sensible, and it appears probably that we’re going to wish to maintain our masks shut as soon as once more.
Earlier than we go any additional, let’s take a second to consider who or what may reside in these cells. The obvious take is that the scientists housed failed (or harmful) experiments in them, although we expect there’s additionally an opportunity that among the youngsters ended up right here – maybe those who misplaced their sanity throughout the horrid experiments. One other chance is that it’s not simply orphans that Playtime Co. experimented on, however criminals from outdoors the manufacturing facility, too – possibly they’d a shady cope with the federal government to supply take a look at topics as they continued their analysis. Both approach, whoever the corporate stored right here, it’s clear that they wanted some safety measures, and we expect considered one of them is Poppy Playtime’s Yarnaby.
The kid who turned Yarnaby was Quinn Navidson, a younger lad who fashioned fairly an attachment with Physician Henry Swayer after making an attempt to downplay his intelligence within the Recreation Station. Sawyer brainwashed him, turning the boy into Experiment 1166 – in any other case referred to as Yarnaby. The physician meant to make use of him as a private bodyguard, however Playtime Co. later ‘eliminated’ Sawyer, inflicting Yarnaby to lapse into an unresponsive, grief-stricken state. Given the character of this firm, we assume that ‘eliminated’ truly means ‘killed, so we expect it’s unlikely that we’ll see Sawyer anytime quickly.’ Sawyer’s alternative, Dr Carmine McKabe, then deemed Yarnaby a failure, finally leaving his destiny to the higher-ups.
Our principle is that the higher-ups noticed the identical potential for Yarnaby as Swayer, finally turning him into some type of a guard or surveillance measure within the jail. There’s each probability that the desk and surveillance digital camera within the Yarnaby trailer as soon as belonged to Henry Sawyer, however, contemplating the later occasions of the Hour of Pleasure, we expect we’re onto one thing with our ‘he’s lifeless’ principle, even when he survived on the time. This additional helps our assumption {that a} higher-up turned Yarnaby right into a bodyguard to guard themselves as an alternative. Who is aware of, maybe even the Prototype has one thing to do with this, as a result of, as Tilly factors out, “the Prototype makes use of the entire foremost toys as its underlings till it now not has use for them.”
Diving even additional into a possible connection between Yarnaby and the Prototype, it’s closely implied by the Chapter 4 Icepick ARG that Yarnaby can sew toys collectively, as proven by the Huggy plush sewn collectively by Yarnaby’s threads. Through the Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 trailer, we see the silhouette of what we imagine to be the Prototype, seemingly made up of a number of recognizable Poppy Playtime characters morphed into one. And, on the finish of Poppy Playtime Chapter 2, Mommy Lengthy Legs screams, “he’ll make me a part of him.” Is it doable that Yarnaby is the one connecting these toys to the Prototype? If that isn’t the case, Yarnaby is likely to be copying Experiment 1006. Both approach, it’s one thing to contemplate.
Past Yarnaby being a doable guard within the jail, we additionally want to deal with the eyes that seem on the pc monitor, indicating somebody is watching. This leads us properly to our hypothesis on what the brand new mechanic could also be. In Deep Sleep, you want to use a fuel masks to traverse by areas filled with CatNap’s sinister purple fuel – one thing we strongly imagine you’ll have to do within the new chapter, too. Nevertheless, as Mob claims Chapter 4 is ready to be the most important but, we expect it’s probably that there’s going to be one other new gimmick. Nevertheless, myself and Tilly have differing ideas on what this is likely to be.
Because of the probability of you going to a jail and coping with somebody watching our each transfer with safety cameras and surveillance tools, Tilly believes that we might have to cover from each Yarnaby and the cameras – a powerful principle for certain, particularly when you think about our different speculations. Nevertheless, I believe there is likely to be a brand new mechanic by one more new toy.
Following the official unveiling of Poppy Playtime’s Pianosaurus, I can’t assist however take into consideration how the secondary antagonist can play a job within the new installment of Mob’s horror recreation sequence. Effectively, because it’s a musical toy with piano-like keys on its physique, what if there’s a portion of your journey wherein you want to depend on sound to find out the place he’s?
Each Poppy Playtime’s DogDay and Poppy Playtime’s Miss Delight have chase sequences in Chapter 3, similar to Mommy Lengthy Legs and Huggy Wuggy do of their respective chapters, so possibly Pianosaurus supplies that in Chapter 4 as an alternative, and I actually hope to see his musical aspect play a component in some way. You by no means know; maybe each Tilly and I are onto one thing with our theories on the brand new mechanic, that means we would have to keep away from cameras, hear for noises, and have restricted imaginative and prescient as a result of returning purple fuel. Yeah, we’d like to go away the manufacturing facility now, please.
Okay, we all know we aren’t leaving this hellhole any time quickly. We finish Chapter 3 on an elevator able to take us all the way down to no matter awaits beneath, and the trailer means that Chapter 4 picks up precisely the place we left off. Nevertheless, it’s attention-grabbing to notice that it seems like we’re revisiting the caverns in Chapter 4, an space you go to ever-so-briefly in Deep Sleep. From the glimpses we’ve seen thus far, these caves might function a mass grave for discarded (murdered) toys. If that’s the case, Yarnaby could possibly be the grave keeper so to talk, as we see a shadowy determine resembling the toy within the trailer, skulking among the many corpses on all-fours.
We’ve coated numerous floor for what we would see in Chapter 4 and the way the completely different toys might play a component, so permit me to maneuver from theories into wishful considering – we’re hoping that we’re going to save lots of Kissy Missy. I really like Kissy, Tilly loves Kissy, all of us love Kissy, and we have to save her. On the finish of Chapter 3, we start to experience the elevator again up into Playcare as she screams within the background, clearly being attacked, and within the trailer, we hear extra shouts from what seems to be Poppy herself. Is it Yarnaby who attacked Kissy? Is he dragging her by the cave system and additional into the manufacturing facility?
Whereas my intestine response tells me no, if we run with our principle that Yarnaby is likely to be making a transfer for extra energy, it is sensible that he’d immediately seem on CatNap’s turf after his demise. It is also so simple as the Prototype attacking her, as we all know he was within the space on the time. Regardless, we wish her again. I hope and pray we save her in Chapter 4, but when I put wishful considering to at least one aspect, we would not uncover what occurs to her till Chapter 5.
Effectively, that’s numerous unraveling we simply did, a lot in order that Yarnaby may in all probability sew Tilly and me to the Prototype with all that thread (please don’t). Whereas there are lots of extra theories with some benefit, these are those that give us pause for thought, and you’ll ensure that we’ll revisit this text to see how proper we’re when Mob Leisure lastly releases Chapter 4.
Within the meantime, try our Poppy Playtime story defined article to remind your self of what’s occurred thus far, then try our Poppy Playtime Poppy and Poppy Playtime Ollie guides to be taught extra about among the most necessary figures on this world.
