Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 Review: New Levels of Disturbing to Playtime Co

Chapter 5 of Poppy Playtime begins with an old advertisement for the new toys featured in the game – the Wrongside Outimals. After the commercial ends, the action immediately picks up where Chapter 4 left off, with Huggy Wuggy breaking down a door and you needing to quickly escape.

This chapter is full of details, but many are hidden and require careful searching. It’s a fast-paced experience, and the puzzles felt noticeably harder. While the chase sequences weren’t necessarily more difficult, they demanded quicker reactions and greater awareness of the environment.

Having followed Poppy Playtime since the start, I was eager to see where Chapter 5 would go after the dramatic events of Chapter 4, which introduced a compelling villain and hinted at the extreme measures Playtime Co. would take in the name of progress. However, Chapter 5 doesn’t rush ahead; it deliberately slows down. This slower pace is effective, allowing players to fully absorb the atmosphere of each location and making the moments of intense pursuit feel more impactful and startling.

A Quick Recap of Where We Are in the Story

Okay, so I jumped into Chapter 5: Broken Things, and honestly, I’d gotten a little fuzzy on some of the details from Chapter 4. That’s totally understandable with these episodic games, though! You play other stuff in between chapters, and it’s hard to have everything fresh in your mind unless you replay it right before. I didn’t bother replaying, and I figured a little refresh wouldn’t hurt anyway.

Before Chapter 5 begins, you’ve just beaten the Doctor, Harley Sawyer – the former leader of the process that turned people into toys. Because Playtime Co. couldn’t fully control him, they subjected him to the same procedure, trapping him as a watcher on screens. He was forced to guide others in doing his own work, becoming a powerful surveillance system he couldn’t use for his own purposes. He remained powered down until you arrive and bring him back online.

Discovering the horrifying experiments Playtime Co. performed on people, even children, you move through the lab and reach a heavily secured door. You realize this door is meant to keep people from venturing further into the factory, and the security is Huggy Wuggy himself. The chapter ends with Huggy Wuggy violently crashing into the door, right where you are.

Chapter 5 Comes with a Strong and Fast Opening

It’s no surprise that Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 begins with a frantic chase – Huggy Wuggy was coming for you at the end of the last chapter! I’ll admit, it was scary, but starting the chapter this way is actually a smart move. It immediately throws you back into the game’s intense atmosphere and also serves as a helpful tutorial. The obstacles you encounter while running are designed to remind you how to use the controls. By the time it ended, I felt comfortable with everything again – it’s a thrilling and effective way to get you back into the game.

After you finally break free, things calm down a little. You’ll soon meet Glowby, who quickly became my favorite character! I’d love to have a real one – even though it’s not really a toy, the game calls it a companion, which is close enough. Glowby is super useful: it’s a flashlight, black light, tape recorder, and even helps you find important items. You’ll be using the black light feature a lot in this section, as it’s key to solving many of the puzzles.

Once you rescue Glowby after the chase, the game slows down to a more typical pace for most of the chapter. This allows you to carefully explore the newest part of Playtime Co., which is even more unsettling than what you’ve seen before.

The New Characters and Puzzles of Chapter 5

When Poppy Playtime first came out, I didn’t think it would have more than a few chapters, let alone continue beyond that. I worried there wouldn’t be enough story to fill so many levels. But Chapter 5, which takes around four hours to play, introduces a lot of new characters – some help you, like Giblet and Chum, while others, like Lily Lovebraids and Ms. Gracie (who you only see on screens), are enemies. You even finally get to see the Prototype’s complete form. Each character feels unique, which makes the world more immersive and adds to the horror of realizing what happened to them – they were all once people.

I generally enjoyed the new characters. Lily is wonderfully unhinged, and her scenes are a highlight. Glowby is adorable with its expressive animations. However, Giblet can be irritating at times. Specifically, during a puzzle with both him and Chum present, his back-and-forth between encouragement and questioning your character’s well-being (“Did you hit your head?”) gets frustrating. It’s fair to note that your character has taken a few head injuries by that point! This puzzle already requires a lot of movement and careful management, and Giblet’s comments just add to the difficulty.

Chapter 5 features noticeably more challenging puzzles. I appreciate that they require more thought and aren’t immediately obvious, which encourages careful observation of the environment and helps you spot hidden details. However, some puzzles were frustrating because they felt like a dead end until you realized you’d overlooked something simple, often after repeatedly checking the same areas.

The puzzles in general feel more complex in Chapter 5, if not more difficult as well.

It’s pretty common for games to have tricky puzzles, and this one is no different. The game also requires you to switch between different hand types frequently, which can be frustrating. It’s just too easy to accidentally open the menu and equip the wrong hand, making you repeat the process.

The Story Stays Strong, and Unsettling

This chapter introduces a new feature: seeing events from another character’s perspective, which is a cool idea. However, some of the visual effects, like shaking and fast movements, could cause motion sickness – and they did for me. The same goes for a later chase scene. If you’re sensitive to motion sickness, be aware that certain parts of Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 might bother you.

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I usually don’t get scared playing horror games, but Chapter 5 really stood out and made me pause. There were some details that were deeply unsettling, even disturbing. I found myself needing to take breaks to process what was happening, and I even looked to Glowby for comfort! For a horror game like Poppy Playtime, that’s a sign the story and atmosphere are incredibly effective.

I’m trying not to give anything away, but this chapter was the first one that really made me pause and consider what was happening.

Honestly, Ms. Gracie really threw me for a loop! At first, I figured she was just someone brought in without knowing the full story, maybe even a pawn in a bigger game. But that idea quickly changed. I have a hunch about where her story goes, but I don’t want to spoil anything! Though, if you’re familiar with Miss Rachel – you know, the super sweet kids’ show host – you might get the same vibe I did. It’s like Ms. Gracie is what would happen if Miss Rachel had an evil twin!

Closing Comments

I thought Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 was really good! It’s a solid addition to the series, but it takes its time. This chapter focuses a lot on exploring the environment and uncovering the story. I personally enjoy that in a horror game, but players looking for constant action might find it a bit slow. Luckily, there are still some exciting, fast-paced chase scenes to keep things interesting, so it’s not all slow-paced.

2026-02-24 14:40