ST. LOUIS – Evil toys, an abandoned factory, and puzzles, oh my!

An animation company located in St. Louis recently released chapter one of a new online horror game.

For the past six years, Enchanted Mob has been producing videos and content based on other video game characters on YouTube. Now, the company has developed the first chapter of its new online game called “Poppy Playtime.” 

The setting takes place in an abandoned toy factory called Playtime Co., where you the player were once an employee. You have come back 10 years later, and you must navigate through chapter one by solving puzzles.

“Poppy Playtime” is an introduction to horror and the game is suitable for ages 8 and up, according to Zach Belanger, chief executive officer of Enchanted Mob.

“There’s just these big, evil, scary toys. It’s not gruesome, it’s not gory, it’s not nightmare fuel,” he said.

The size of toys has a lot to do with the scare factor in the game.

“If a toy is one foot tall, and you’re five feet tall, you’re not going to be scared by a tiny, little toy,” Belanger said. “What sounds scarier, you being one foot tall and a toy being one foot tall, or you being the same size you are now with a 10 foot (tall) toy walking in behind you?” 

At the start of the game, there is a cinematic video that resembles a toy commercial advertising a Poppy Playtime doll inspired by the 1950s.

“It’s very akin to the 1950s doll commercials that if you were to watch them, you would be surprised, at least we were surprised, at how freaky and creepy they really were unintentionally,” Belanger said.   

A favorite part of the game among the developers so far is a very intense sequence that takes place at the end of chapter one. 

“The whole chapter is a very slow, not super scary buildup. But then at the very end, it just hits the fan,” game director Isaac Christopherson said. “It’s a very fast-paced, very, very heart-pounding, panicky-inducing sequence.”   

Belanger added that they received a lot of feedback from players about the ending sequence saying, “it was the scariest experience they’ve had in a game in a very long, long time.”

Each chapter of the game will have a different objective for players to accomplish. The objective in chapter one is to find a poppy flower.

As the development of future chapters is underway, Belanger said he is looking forward to the creation of new characters, harder puzzles, and fine-tuning the game’s art style. 

Christopherson said he is looking forward to continuing with the game’s storyline and reading theories from players on where they think the story may lead.

“The game is doing really well on STEAM at the moment – selling a lot of copies, and reaching a pretty wide audience, so we’re excited to continue,” he said.   

Also in the works is a mobile version of the game, as well as merchandise.

To play “Poppy Playtime,” visit STEAM. For information about Enchanted Mob, visit the company’s website.