Poppy Playtime: Chapter 4 is finally available for consoles. I had assumed the franchise has gained enough traction to release day-one cross platform, and I stand corrected. It does appear the developers wishes to err on the side of indie; irregardless of how big it has become since the Chapter 1. Due to the nature of episodic release, the review may contain some spoilers. Please do refer to Chapter 1-3 review first, if you haven’t given it a read.

With Minor Spoilers, Spiel

Inconsistencies and repetitiveness in puzzles are still the central issue. Chapter 4 introduces multiple new puzzle elements, but only few of them actually stick around long enough, let alone have been used in previous chapters. And ones that do repeat are too rudimentary — looking for batteries in the arena. The environmental puzzles, ones without the suspense of being chased, do not stir the anticipation to see something new. And the ones with the hostile NPCs merely annoy the players with rehashed AI mechanic. If anything, it has a similar flaw akin to Miss Delight. It has a vicious cycle of rewarding cool-headed players, and if you didn’t panic, you will never panic.

I am less surprised the game turned into the path of Portal. The game is turning the factory into a puzzle-ridden environment. The classic puzzle platformer has well established what it means to bind the universe, the plot, the characters, and the puzzles. Solving a puzzle or solving an accidental environmental puzzle had immediate rewards in universe, in plot, to characters, to all three elements. In Chapter 4 of Poppy Playtime, it’s not immediately obvious how solving a puzzle will reward the protagonist. All of the boss confrontations also occur in the midway of solving another puzzle — escaping the threat is only secondary. In fact, it never makes the guarantee that the end result will be some sweet safety.

As I am writing this, the console version of the game that is released 6 months after the initial PC release is still bug-ridden to the level of unplayable in some levels. Some of the boss mechanics weren’t even functioning properly. Worst offender of all was that the game, in general, had item interaction issue; either I couldn’t pickup an item, or insert the key item to the receptacle.

Conclusions: What is Chapter 4 Trying to Sell?

Chapter 4 shifts its locations at least 2-3 times. These locations, according to the in-game lore, are built to serve specific purposes that are far from simply being a quaint factory — and it is an issue of level design. In any other games where they have make-shift places, the nuance of history, what it was originally for, is kept. It’s what keeps the ball rolling. And it’s also what enables the diversities in puzzle mechanics without disrupting immersion. It’s what Chapter 4 has shed, or lost.

As I have written on the pricing issue previously, Chapter 4 is priced at rather unconvincing price point of $22.99. Perhaps the developers are preparing for more drastic turn of events, but players are now paying for the episodic release of Poppy Playtime as AA or AAA title. Chapter 4 does not make a strong case to support that new price tag.