Cheap thrills
Version Reviewed: European
- review by Fraser Gilbert
Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1 was always destined to be a hit on Xbox. You take a game with Five Nights at Freddys inspirations, slap a ridiculously cheap £4.19 / $4.99 sticker on it, and it’s bound to wind up in the “Top Paid” Xbox charts before long. That’s exactly what’s happened within its first few days on sale, but is it any good? The answer is yes!
In Poppy’s Playtime, you find yourself exploring an abandoned toy factory as an ex-employee as you try to discover why everybody has disappeared. Chapter 1 takes you on a very short adventure that’s primarily all about puzzle-solving rather than jump-scares, although there is a segment in here that’ll give you heart palpitations!
But yeah, the focus here is much more on puzzle-solving than anything else, and some of those puzzles require you to think outside the box. Along the way, you’re given a tool called the GrabPack that allows you to interact with objects – such as maneuvering platforms and connecting fuse boxes – and this ultimately allows for more creative and varied tasks. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself getting stuck on more than one occasion, but at the same time we don’t think anything here is overly unfair.
Of course, a big selling point for Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1 is its creepy atmosphere, and that’s definitely apparent from the minute you start the game. There might not be much direct horror in Chapter 1 as some would like (aside from that pretty exhilarating segment we mentioned earlier), but it consistently conveys a sense of unease.
Just keep in mind before you make a purchase that none of the other chapters exist yet on Xbox, and depending on how difficult you find it, Chapter 1 could take you less than an hour. We still don’t think it’s particularly bad value considering the low price point, but you’re not getting much longevity here. Hopefully Chapters 2 and 3 will arrive on Xbox in the near future, but until then this is still a decent buy if you’re interested. Just don’t blame us if you have a nightmare or two!
Fraser is the News Editor at Pure Xbox, where he spends his time reporting on the biggest stories in the world of Xbox and beyond.
