Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 Review (PC)

As I stood on the precipice of the conveyor belt, fully aware that the next step would send me even deeper into the cutesy but oddly sinister playground that was once a beloved toy factory, I realized that, although so far from home, I was closing in on my objective. Playtime Co., as horrifying as it might’ve been to the naked eye, was on the verge of unraveling its casket of secrets, and with it, a dismal truth that would knock me for six and force me to travel far beyond the point of no return. Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 loomed before me, ushering me toward yet another recently conjured downward spiral in its plush-centric nexus. Naturally, I took the leap of faith, all the while Huggy Wuggy and its troupe of sinister souls nibbled at my ankles from the nearby shadows. Something, somewhere, was about to happen.

Poppy Playtime, for those who’ve yet to take the plunge into its dark waters, is a first-person survival-horror game, and one that, at present, has just the three chapters strapped to its core. The third, aptly titled Deep Sleep, is the latest installment to connect itself to the overarching narrative—an episodic journey that, from recent memory, has been spinning yarns since 2021. The question is, is Deep Sleep a step in the right direction for the franchise, or is it, more or less, glorified DLC with little to zero distinctive features of its own? Let’s talk about it.

Playtime Certainly Isn’t Over, Friends

Deep Sleep serves as the third segment in the Poppy Playtime series, and acts as a continuation of Fly in the Web, which launched back in 2022. This time around, however, the ground floors of Playtime Co. are no longer the primary setting for the protagonist’s endeavors; it’s the basement—an underground network of spooky corridors and chambers that, if you can believe, once stood as the staging grounds for an orphanage. Poppy Playtime being the twisted creation that it is, though, said orphanage is no longer the home to countless smiles and canned laughter. On the contrary, all that remains are distant screams, blood-soaked mattresses, and, of course, a series of mascots that wallow in the shadows.

Once again, players take on the role of The Player—an intuitive character who, in an attempt to unravel the secrets of Playtime Co., has since managed to wheedle through a web of sadistic traps and dodge the watchful gazes of several former mascots. As The Player, you must embark on a new journey, one that happens to take place within the newly discovered orphanage that oddly idles beneath the sacred grounds of the Playtime Co. factory. The only issue is, the staff are no longer around, nor are the residents that once called the place home. Instead, it’s just you, and not to mention the cryptic cries of a seemingly harmless friend. And no, it doesn’t want to be your tour guide. Go figure.

In case you missed out on the previous episode, Fly in the Web ended with the protagonist riding aboard a locomotive through the underbelly of the Playtime Co. factory, which ultimately led to the cart derailing and knocking the character unconscious. Before that whole fiasco came to a close, a banner reading ‘Playcare’ appeared in the distance.

Back in the Saddle

Mechanically, Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 isn’t all that different from the first two episodes, in the case that there are multiple puzzles to solve, locations to explore, and a good portion of foes to evade and strategically overcome. Unlike the first couple of tales, however, Deep Sleep offers a new tool—a Gas Mask, of all things, that players must utilize to navigate a new section of the Playtime Co. complex. It isn’t a revolutionary bit of kit by any means, but it does add a bit of spice to a questionably stale blueprint — especially when it comes to tackling familiar areas with cliche puzzles and what have you.

Gas Mask aside, Deep Sleep also brings back some of its traditional components, namely the GrabPack—a double-handed device that players can use to grasp items from afar, and connect to various components and terminals to power up certain devices and electrical outlets. What’s more, it also features a slew of original monsters to confront, including an enormous cat (because, why not?), as well as a few familiar franchise favorites.

What’s great about Deep Sleep, really, is its length; it punches just below the four-hour markup. Unlike its predecessors, which could be mopped up in just shy of twenty or thirty minutes, give or take, the third installment delivers a drawn-out experience, and one that just so happens to conjure thrice as many puzzles to complete, as well as locations to explore. In addition to all that, it also provides more insight into the history of Playtime Co.—a paper trail that, in the case of the first two games, at least, wound up leaving a lot to be desired and certain answers cloaked by an ever-allusive overarching narrative.

Riddle Me This

Of course, more puzzles doesn’t necessarily equate to more fun. Having said that, Deep Sleep does provide enough of a selection of thought-provoking puzzles that not only take full advantage of the GrabPack, but also the Gas Mask and other environmental features, too. Granted, they don’t always make a lot of sense, nor do they all serve a purpose in the general flow of the story, but they do, if anything at all, boost the overall quality and depth of the campaign. And I think I speak for everyone when I say, you know, Chapter 1 never really found that biting point, as it wrapped up long before giving the player any chance to get accustomed with the tools and techniques.

For the most part, Deep Sleep is, in ways, a puzzle game, and only very rarely does it enter the survival-horror domain. Atmospherically, it boasts all the bells and whistles, and it does a pretty decent job of capturing the essence and evidently heavy vibrations of an abandoned orphanage that’s been lost to questionable research and experimentation. But aside from that, the game is, realistically speaking, a puzzle, and one that requires an immense effort to solve, no less.

Aside from the fact that a good chunk of the campaign is solving puzzles and the occasional obstacle course, Deep Sleep does also serve out a few nail-biting encounters with a vast array of new foes. Like before, there isn’t much you can do when coming face to face with a bow-sporting plush toy, but then, that’s sort of what makes it so darn appealing. In a typical survival-based scenario, you can die, and you can make a wrong turn that’ll ultimately lead to your demise. But then, that’s all the more reason to reroute your course and try again.

Verdict

Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 is arguably the best episode in the series to date, and one that, when put on a pedestal side by side with its predecessors, shines bright enough to put the whole portrait into perspective. Sure enough, this isn’t something a sequel can often achieve, much less survive long enough to warrant another link in the chain. But the fact is, Deep Sleep does do just enough to keep the snowball cascading down its seemingly endless path, and at this point, I’d be shocked if it didn’t continue its journey through the rabbit hole.

It’s almost a shame, in ways, that Mob Entertainment has only just harnessed the absolute power of its IP. Realistically speaking, Deep Sleep could’ve been a cog in the initial contraption — not a DLC for a game that struggled to topple over the twenty-minute marker. But then, I can also see why the devs opted to space out their plans, too, as each new addition does, of course, keep the project relevant and ticking over. It’s a hard one to call, really, and I can’t help but wonder whether or not Deep Sleep would’ve been better as an extension to the original game, and not a whole other standalone expedition.

To cut to the chase and answer the original question of whether or not Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 is worth the price of admission — yes, it most certainly is, and not just for the sake of bridging a few gaps in the overarching narrative, but for the newly refurbished casket of curiosities that it conjures by the boatload. When all’s said and done, Poppy Playtime has a great deal to offer, and Deep Sleep, at least at the time of writing, is the series’ magnum opus, clear as day.