The episodic horror of MOB Games that made its debut in 2021 has already been talked about in all sorts of ways and often for reasons unrelated to the world of video games. Net of the controversies raised by a product which in any case – as the official classifications imply – Poppy Playtime is not suitable for children, Poppy Playtime it rests on a certainly interesting narrative background, linked to the dark past of a large toy company.
From the founder of Playtime Co, until the birth of abominations like Huggy Wuggy and Mommy Long Legs, we want to review what we know about the universe of episodic horror and the monstrous creatures that inhabit it. Before continuing, we warn you that from now on you will find spoilers on the history of the game, so if you don’t want to ruin some surprises, we advise you to postpone the reading to a later time.
Playtime Co and the arrival of Huggy Wuggy
“You are about to see the most incredible doll ever invented. Her name is Poppy and she is the first smart doll in the world”. With these sinister words the founder of Playtime Co, Elliot Ludwig, presented to the world a revolutionary product for the company, which wanted to excel over the other large companies dedicated to the design and sale of toys. The figure of Ludwig, a divorced man and “survivor” of a serious family bereavement, is shrouded in mystery and we are not told how involved she is in the terrible experiments conducted at Playtime Co. Over the decades, the company has not made other than growing up and its management has done everything to give it a positive and respectable facade.
Among generous donations and charitable initiatives, think of the efforts made to host or encourage the adoption of orphaned children, she became increasingly loved by the public but in reality – behind the scenes – her employees were treated without a glimmer of respect.
However, all this is nothing compared to the experiments conducted inside the factories, because they have led to the birth of real abominations. Apparently funny and friendly, the furry one Huggy Wuggy was created in 1984 and with its warm hugs it has become a favorite of children. In the first chapter of Poppy Playtime, however, the players discovered his true face, that of a monster with haunted eyes and jaws full of sharp teeth, able to easily tear human flesh.
This is because the original mascot had to be the perfect living toy, a goal that the crazy scientists at Playtime Co attempted to achieve by inserting into the bluish puppet. a corrupt and perverse soul.
Of the human roots of Huggy Wuggy it is possible to notice within the adventure, because it was the creature who wrote “I’m so hungry” on the walls of the structure. The so-called Experiment 1170 was considered an optimal subject, because it was inclined to obey the orders of the researchers, at least until it massacred several.
Huggy later met some sort of partner in 1985. We obviously refer to Kissy Missy, which differs from the living toy mainly by its pink color. After chasing the protagonist for much of the first episode, Huggy Wuggy fell into the depths of the factory, banging violently against the factory’s pipes. In Fly in a Web, which is the second piece of the narrative puzzle, he did not appear in complete form but it is very likely that we will see him again in the future.
The dark origins of Mommy Long Legs
Also in the same color as Kissy Missy is another Playtime Co doll, the Mommy Long Legs at the center of the events narrated in the second chapter of the adventure. The MOB Games guys have prepared a perfect 90s-style spotwhich in the world of Poppy Playtime was broadcast to advertise the selling points of the toy, characterized by articulated and extendable limbs.
With the smiles of the young buyers who appeared in the commercial, Mommy also achieved great success, behind which there was a terrible story, starting with a chilling fact: originally the 1222 experiment was a human, to be precise. a woman named Marie Payne.
Once transformed into an abominable creature, the round-faced doll developed a visceral hatred of scientists and insiders, while maintaining maternal behavior with the other Playtime Co experiments and the same children, in front of whom she would never have shown hostile. Dominated by the desire to catch and kill the protagonist, Mommy Long Legs ended up in a shredder and – between spatters of blood and inhuman screams – she was finally defeated.
At some point, however, the upper part of his body she was swept away by a sentient claw, whose identity is known. This being, who will certainly play an important role in future plot developments, is none other than theExperiment 1006an instrument of death with high intellectual abilities and driven by the will to kill.
In fact, we know that during a test he pretended to escape from a strong room, hiding in a point not visible through the cameras, and this is how he managed to kill the unfortunate sent to the room to check the situation. Unfortunately not much else is known about him but we are sure that in the new episodes of Poppy Playtime things will change. In this regard, it is possible that the film based on the video game by Studio71 can shed light on the question, which is only one of the mysteries of this horror that remains unsolved for now.
