We're just a couple of days away from the release of Poppy Playtime Chapter 5, so there's no better time to give yourself a refresher on the lore. That's what I'm here for. As a certified Poppy Playtime fiend, I'm very familiar with the history and goings-on of the Playtime Co. factory. To properly prepare you for Broken Things, Mob Entertainment shared a collection of three found-footage clips, the Restricted Tapes, and I'm going to break them all down for you, so you can better understand their significance.
However, before I leap into the lore from those videos, allow me to give you a very quick rundown of Playtime Co.'s history. Elliot Ludwig founded the company in 1930, and it went on to become the most renowned toy manufacturer of its time. Things weren't always smooth sailing, though, as the company suffered a turbulent 20 years until the creation of the Poppy Playtime doll in 1950.
To begin with, Playtime Co. merely created toys to make children happy, until Ludwig lost a close family member (many believe it was his daughter), which ultimately led to a change within the company that resulted in the heinous experiments you're all too familiar with.
I'd be here all day if I got into every facet of the lore, so I'm not going to recap the first four chapters; I'm just going to focus on the aforementioned Restricted Tapes. The first one, titled Conditioning, is from November 22, 1990, and it features Dr. Newman and Dr. Preston, two of the scientists working for Playtime Co. Immediately, you notice a stark difference between the two, with Newman not caring about the pain and suffering she's causing, while Preston clearly has a conscience.
They're taking a mangled experiment somewhere, discussing how the experiments are "so feral" and how strange it is. Eventually, you see Poppy Playtime's Catnap (Experiment 1188) locked in a small room, staring at a screen, with the doctors watching from behind glass. You're about to witness the cruel conditioning that the Playtime Co. scientists subjected the experiments to, as you hear Catnap say the words "Theodore. My Name is Theodore."
That's because, before becoming Catnap, he was Theodore Grambell, one of the orphans from Playcare. He formed a close bond with Experiment 1006 (Poppy Playtime's Prototype), frequently getting into trouble, which, ultimately, led to his selection for the Bigger Bodies Initiative. The Catnap we see in Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 is inherently evil, but the first of the PPC5 Restricted Tapes clearly shows that he wasn't always this way, as he's desperately clinging to his identity.
Later in the tape, after some time passes, you see the toy locked in a room again, with Newman asking what its name is, to which Experiment 1188 responds, "My name is Catnap" - according to video subtitles, it took 49 days to force this poor boy to forget who he was. The video ends with you in a first-person POV running down a hallway, straight into an outraged Catnap, before turning and trying to get away. My gut tells me that this is a scientist who's about to become a fatality in The Hour of Joy.
The significance of video one is that you can see cracks beginning to form among the scientists: Preston points out that what they're doing "comes at a cost," while Newman shrugs and feels no remorse, deeming it all necessary. Preston shows empathy and perhaps even regret at the cruel methods Playtime Co. uses to 'condition' the experiments, forcing them to forget who they truly are. It's abhorrent, cruel beyond measure, and you get a first-hand look at why the toys you've encountered throughout the factory are either terrified, evil, or a mixture of the two.
Moving on to video two, known as Condemnation, it's dated August 8, 1995. That year should ring a bell to you, as it's one of the most important in Poppy Playtime lore. You're about to witness some of the fallout from The Hour of Joy. The clip begins by showing a series of rooms caked in blood, evidently from the toys having their way with the staff of Playtime Co. Preston and Neman are hiding, hoping someone will save them. Keeping with her blasé attitude towards the whole thing, Newman declares that it "will be one hell of a cleanup operation."
There's a time skip to August 13, 1995, and the two scientists are still hiding, but no longer waiting for a rescue that'll never come. Instead, the pair are being proactive, having drawn a map of the facility to plan a route to escape on foot - to say they're desperate at this point is an understatement, as you can hear the fear in their voices when they discuss the best course of action.
Time for another skip to August 18, 1995, and this time you hear the two scientists talk about what they'll do once they're out, leading to a nice tidbit of information: Newman has no life outside of the factory, for she grew up in Playcare and remained within the walls of Playtime Co. ever since. How could a woman who's been there be so cruel to the orphans? How many other staff members have spent their entire lives there, from child to employee?
That empathy and guilt spill out of Preston, and the man ultimately says he "couldn't stand by and watch it happen anymore." Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Preston of Playtime Co. is the mastermind behind the release of the experiments; he's the cause of The Hour of Joy, along with other staff members who seemingly grew a conscience. Granted, he didn't expect the fallout to be as severe as it was, but that's still a lot of blood and gore you can see throughout the factory.
Before Newman can fully degrade Preston, a toy busts into the room they're hiding in, with a gloved hand coming through the gap - at a glance, it appears as though this could be Poppy Playtime's Huggy Wuggy. Next thing you know, Preston is running through the factory, straight into a figure that knocks him to the floor, which then grabs him as the clip fades to black.
The most important lore takeaway from the second video is that The Hour of Joy is an intentional event, though Preston probably didn't intend for everyone to die. That's the other curious thing: Preston and other staff members are the actual ones behind it, not the toys or the Prototype. Still, the true mastermind of all of this, Experiment 1006, makes his presence known in the third tape.
Video number three, titled Salvation, begins with yet another look at the dark, bloody halls, but this time you're following Dr. Newman's POV now that she's apart from Preston. She slowly makes her way through the factory, panic clearly setting in at an alarming rate (toys are trying to kill her, so I get it), but she eventually breaks into a run as it's clear something is following her.
Unfortunately for this rather despicable human being, she runs straight into the Prototype. This results in her apologising for her part in everything in a bid to save her life, only for Experiment 1006 to tell her that she's not "the only one to say that today," the other being his "good friend" Preston. I imagine many of the staff tried this method when The Hour of Joy began ten days ago. The Prototype then points out that Dr. Preston was always nice to him, while Newman was not. The screen fades to black as the Prototype strikes Newman, leading to the next part of the tape showing Experiment 1006 in a lab, speaking to Preston as he puts a toy down on a table.
Here's where things get really interesting: that toy has human eyes - it's Dr. Preston. The Prototype turned the scientists into toys, cementing his status as the true mastermind behind everything.
We've long known that the Prototype is the big bad of Poppy Playtime, but who would have guessed just how deep it ran? After that collection of tapes, many things are clear, from the poor and horrendous treatment of the experiments to how The Hour of Joy really began, but it also raises some questions. What happened to Newman? Did the Prototype really kill her? Where is Preston now? How many other staff members did the Prototype turn into toys?
I think we'll get the answer to those questions and more on February 18, when the Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 release date finally arrives. Watching these videos gives me a haunting realization: with context, we finally understand what the words "we're still here, find the flower" in the letter summoning you to the factory mean - some of the staff, like Preston, are indeed still there, and it looks like they still need our help.