The next instalment in Mob Entertainment's popular horror franchise is on the way, and I've got a few Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 theories that I need to get off my chest - we're going to learn about some of Playtime Co.'s darkest secrets as we venture even deeper into the factory, and I can't wait to see what else is going on. I'm sure you all agree that the secrets we already know about are pretty wild, so my expectations are pretty high for the next part of the story.
Tilly, our guides editor, and I are usually pretty on the ball with our theories, as evidenced by our Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 and Poppy Playtime Chapter 4 theories, but I'm flying solo this year, so I'm interested to see how accurate my ramblings are when PPC5 rolls around.
Anyway, here are some of the theories rolling around my head, though you can be sure that I'm constantly thinking of more, as this game continues to live rent-free in my mind.
Lily Lovebraids
Months ago, we caught a glimpse of new character names in Mob Entertainment's public trademarks, and one of them has to be the toy that appears at the end of the Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 cinematic trailer. This mysterious toy appears before Poppy after she falls out of the vent she's running through, but we only get to see her legs, feet, and long, purple, braided hair. That's all I need to see to believe that this new character is Lily Lovebraids - and I need to get the obvious out of the way: she absolutely gives off Rumi vibes from KPop Demon Hunters. I wonder if she serves as an inspiration for the toy, given how hugely popular the character has become since the movie hit Netflix.
Putting her Rumi-esque appearance aside, Lily Lovebraids is clearly to be an antagonist in Chapter 5, but just how big will her role be? I believe she's going to be the main villain, despite the alarm bells going off in my head and telling me she might not be all that important after Yarnaby's lacklustre presence in Chapter 4.
Immediately, I can't help but draw a comparison to Mommy Long Legs, as Lily says, "we're going to have so much fun," which has a very similar feel to what Mommy says in her trailer, "a new playmate." It seems like we're about to experience another Fly in a Web scenario in Chapter 5, except, instead of the Game Station, we're deep in the labs for whatever games Lily Lovebraids has in store.
I also can't help but notice that the end of her braid kind of resembles a scorpion tail, making me think that she can attack you from afar, which lends itself to another theory I'll get into later (hint, it's gooey).
Huggy Wuggy turns it around
From the screenshots on Steam, the end of Chapter 4, and his general attitude in A Tight Squeeze, it's fair to say that Huggy Wuggys is out to get us once more, but what if that's not the case the entire way through? What if the Wugster decides to swap sides? There's a chance, albeit slim, that Huggy may have a change of heart and, after pursuing you for at least the first half of the chapter, come good and become your unlikely ally.
Granted, I don't really have many receipts for this, beyond it's a vibe that I get. I can't help but think our one true pal through all of this, Kissy Missy, is going to turn up, and perhaps she's the key to Huggy Wuggy coming good in all of this. There has to be some camaraderie between these two - I refuse to believe that there isn't.
The Prototype absorbed Doey
Doey's story absolutely breaks my heart, and I'm still not over him going from friend to foe after breaking due to the Prototype's hideous actions in Safe Haven. Now my heart bleeds once more after hearing his voice in the Chapter 5 cinematic trailer - "We're not just things gone wrong, we're people." Those words are a gut punch, and they're true. Poppy Playtime's Doey and the other experiments, who just want to live peacefully, are people, and they deserve so much more than what they get.
However, we defeated Doey, killed him at the end of Chapter 4, so hearing his voice like this gives me chills, and not the good kind. We know precious little about the Prototype, but what we do know doesn't paint a pleasant picture for Doey. It's possible that the Prototype has absorbed Doey, making him part of Experiment 1006 - we know he essentially grafts toys to himself after Mommy Long Legs' terrified words, "he'll make me part of him." With that in mind, it seems plausible that after our fight with Doey, the Prototype picks up the pieces, forcing Doey to become part of what he thought so hard against, which is cruel beyond words.
That's the theory I'm going with, but there's a second possibility for his voice appearing in the cinematic trailer, and it's the one I'd prefer, even if I don't believe it to be the case at the moment. The Prototype can mimic voices; we know this from his outstanding performance as Ollie, so there's a chance he's merely using Doey's voice to mess with Poppy's head.
The Prototype captures Poppy
I think that the Prototype will capture Poppy, and that we'll have to go on a rescue mission, even though some of us can agree that the titular character doesn't really deserve our help. She's the reason we're still in the factory after her shenanigans with the train at the end of Chapter 2, and then she abandoned Kissy Missy and us at the end of Safe Haven, so she's really not high on my list of priorities if I'm honest.
Still, she's clearly a key part of whatever the Prototype is planning, so it stands to reason that he will catch her, putting some serious pressure on us, as his plan finally comes into action. An ominous voice, that I can only assume is the Prototype, tells Poppy that "it's time to come home." Further fueling the theory fire that he's going to get his hands on Poppy, it also lends itself to the suggestion that Poppy is Elliot Ludwig's daughter and that the Prototype is Ludwig himself.
The bubbly goo
In the teaser trailer, we catch a glimpse of some pink and orange goo bubbling on the floor, which we then see again encasing a Poppy cardboard cutout as it burns. I'm calling it now, this goo is something we need to deal with. In the Deep Sleep trailers, we caught a glimpse of the red gas, which turned out to be a very important mechanic in the chapter, and I think we're getting the same treatment here.
The way that it's trapping the cardboard cutout has me thinking that we get stuck in place if we walk in it, making it an obstacle to avoid at all costs - the question is, what toy oozes this stuff? Is it Lily Lovebraid, our new villain? Is it the Prototype? Perhaps it's neither, and it's another antagonist.
My gut feeling is that, thanks to her scorpion tail-like braid, it's Lily Lovebraids who utilizes the goo, which makes sense when you think that scorpions use venom, with a couple of species even being capable of spewing it around.
Chapter 5 isn't the end
The series is going to go beyond Chapter 5; I believe that, though I'm in the minority, with many in the community claiming that PPC5 will be the finale. With the return of Huggy Wuggy and the introduction of new toys, one seemingly being an important antagonist, I don't think PPC5 is the conclusion of the story; instead, it's going to set up the grand finale in Chapter 6. Again, I'm sure you're going to need to save Poppy, which would surely be part of the final act, and the trailers for Chapter 5, along with the events preceding it, make it seem that the end goal of the next installment is for Experiment 1006 to get Poppy.
I could be wrong, and the majority of you who think we're about to see the story end might be right, especially as the Steam description for the games reads "face off against the deadly puppetmaster behind the horrifying events of Playtime Co.," but perhaps it's because I'm not ready to say goodbye to the factory yet that has me theorizing on Chapter 6 happening, and that being where Poppy Playtime reaches its climax. Plus, we're finally in the Labs where the Prototype lives. I feel that this area has the potential for two chapters in itself, one with us entering, and the other with us trying to escape.
Another potential, albeit highly unlikely, direction for the game to go in is that you do face off against the Prototype in Chapter 5, but it turns out there's an evil beyond him, which then leads to a sixth chapter. Again, it's not a strong theory at all, but it would certainly be a twist that most players wouldn't see coming.
So, what do you think? Do you agree with my theories, or are these merely the ramblings of a mad woman who clings to hope that one of her favorite horror franchises has more life in it beyond Chapter 5? Whatever the case, let me know. I'm curious about what you all think awaits us as we enter the Prototype's domain.