APoppy Playtimefan has posited that Poppy and Doey aren’t to blame for the terrible events that happen throughoutPoppy Playtime Chapter 4, while reminding us who the true villain is. After the recent release ofChapter 4in this wide-spanning episodic horror experience, players can finally begin to understand more of the complex plot thatPoppy Playtimedelivers. Beginning with a former Playtime Co. employee returning to investigate those who went missing, this story has far evolved from what anyone expected.

Heading to Reddit to share their frustrations, playerApprehensive_Ring_39exclaims thatfans should be holding Prototype accountable for ruining Safe Haven and enacting the Hour of Joy massacre, not Poppy or Doey.While many may point their fingers towards the other characters as they failed to help in numerous ways, it’s often forgotten that these beings are children. Prototype, on the other hand, seems to run things with fear, manipulating others to achieve their goals. Plenty of players were in agreement, withElixirStormYTwriting:

A render of the Prototype’s claw with a blurred image of the same claw using Mommy Long Legs as a puppet in Poppy Playtime.

“I fully blame the Prototype for all of it. Yes, Poppy is a bit reckless and same with Doey, but we’re forgetting an important detail — They’re still children. In a VHS tape, Poppy LITERALLY talks about wanting her fathers guidance — How is she evil or whatever like people call her, when she doesn’t know any better.

“The Prototype meanwhile, is a monster through and through. He orchestrated a mass genocide of people, innocent or not, he asserted a basically tyrannical rule, where he prevented anyone form leaving the factory, he HUNTED DOWN survivors to kill them, his MERE VOICE was enough to make Kissy shake from fear and the one individual, who literally planted all the bombs, blew up safe haven and massacred everyone inside just because of his strange obsession with Poppy.”

CatNap Poppy and Kissy Missy from Poppy Playtime

The Prototype Might Just Be The Real Villain In Poppy Playtime

This Manipulator Schemed It All

While there are some bold theories thatProtoype may actually be a good guy, the general consensus is this isn’t the case. As one of the most intelligent experiments, and the only one that didn’t require food or substance to survive, this character is set-up to be the perfect antagonist. After escaping confinement, Prototype manipulated a young boy to sabotage Playtime Co, becoming the first of many characters that this villain forces to do their bidding.

Poppy Playtime Chapter 4: 10 Lore Updates You Need To Know

The mysterious lore and dark history of Playtime Co. has sparked the creation of many theories, and this new information will fuel more.

Some more recent events are a better indicator of their destruction though, withPrototype committing a factory-wide massacre and infiltrating the toy’s Safe Haven in an attempt to stop Poppy’s plans to destroy the factory.While people like Poppy and Doey have caught some of the blame from some players for their varying actions, both Redditors seem correct in their defenses of Poppy and Doey. Forced to become toys in Playtime Co’s sick experiments, these characters shouldn’t take the blame for doing their best.

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Poppy Playtime Is Filled To The Brim With Mysteries

Countless Theories Rule Poppy Playtime

There are a lot of mysteries withinPoppy Playtime, leaving fans to come up withplentiful theories of their ownas to how the story all ties together. With varying VHS tapes to discover throughout the game, and many characters' identities left a little more obscured, there are a lot of details that require players to make their own connections. It’s impossible to know if all the characters you encounter can completely be trusted, making every new piece of information becoming yet another question to ask.

One of the largest theories of the bunch has to be the idea that the founder ofPoppy Playtime,Elliot Ludwig, is actually the antagonist known as Prototype.While theidentity is still up for debate, it’s considered highly possible that he was forced to become this Experiment-1006. With so many more mysteries still to uncover, players can enjoy Chapter 4 ofPoppy Playtimefor themselves, revealing more pieces of this elaborate puzzle.