Poppy Playtime is an indie survival horror game in which the player, an ex-employee of the Playtime Co. Toy Factory, returns to the facility 10 years after the entire staff disappeared inside the building. At the beginning of the game, players receive a message claiming that the employees are still alive, but once inside the factory, they’re threatened by the terrifying Huggy Wuggy who comes to life and tries to kill them. Not much is known about what Huggy Wuggy is or where he came from, but the game draws multiple connections between him and the mysterious Experiment 1006.
Created in 1984, Huggy Wuggy is Playtime Co,’s most popular and best-selling toy, as well as the company’s mascot. However, the Huggy Wuggy that players are confronted with is nothing short of an abomination. A closer look at Huggy Wuggy reveals a sinister truth about the nature of this monster as he can be seen breathing when players first encounter him in the first area of the game, and he bleeds when he falls from the catwalk after the final chase. Additionally, a pair of human eyes can be seen inside his toy eyes, and these eyes will follow the player around, suggesting that they aren’t just there for show. Huggy is not just some type of murderous animatronic, but is actually a living, organic creature, turning this nightmarish toy into something even more twisted.
Huggy Wuggy isn’t the only living toy in the factory, however, as Poppy Playtime’s trailers have shown that Poppy herself has organic parts as well. Her eyes are bloodshot and follow the player, and her voice box bleeds when it’s removed from her neck. The fact that she insists she is a real girl takes on a much darker tone in this context, and with the connections between her and one of Playtime Co.’s employees, Stella Grayber, the game implies that Stella may have somehow been transformed into Poppy herself. If it’s true that Playtime Co. managed to find a way to transform human beings into living toys to achieve its goal of making the most lifelike toys on the market, then it’s likely that Huggy Wuggy and the rest of the toys in the factory have a similar origin story.
Poppy Playtime - Who Is Huggy Wuggy?
Despite being Poppy Playtime Chapter 1's main antagonist, not much is actually known about Huggy Wuggy, leaving players to piece together who or what he is through little hints and pieces of hidden lore found throughout Poppy Playtime. The game mentions a prototype known as Experiment 1006 that seems to be connected to Huggy in some way, and while it’s possible that Experiment 1006 is Huggy himself, there’s evidence to suggest that it’s something else entirely. The first time players are made aware of Experiment 1006 is during one of the game’s 10 random death screens, which reads, “Exp. 1006. Isn’t he wonderful?” While this cryptic message raises more questions than answers, this experiment is mentioned again in one of Poppy Playtime’s hidden VHS tapes.
Before reaching Poppy’s door, there’s a gray VHS tape on the catwalk only labeled “Unknown,” and when played on the nearby TV, players will hear a log from one of Playtime Co.’s scientists who talks about Experiment 1006 in more detail. This log seems to have been recorded during whatever incident caused the disappearance of the factory’s employees 10 years prior as loud screaming and banging can be heard in the background. According to the tape, Experiment 1006 went missing before the incident occurred, but the scientist is absolutely certain that the events taking place are related to this experiment in some way despite his absence. Experiment 1006 notably has the ability to coordinate and cooperate, and the scientist mentions that the other experiments of his type have the same ability, implying the existence of others like him.
However, according to text found in Poppy Playtime’s trailer, Experiment 1006 apparently has no need to eat despite having a working digestive tract, setting him apart from the others of his type who apparently require large portions to survive. The source of this text is unknown, but it also notes that Experiment 1006, which it refers to as the “prototype,” is exactly the vessel that Playtime Co. was trying to create. While the nature of this vessel and Playtime Co.’s true intentions are a mystery, there are a few discrepancies between what is known about Huggy Wuggy and the information about Experiment 1006 available in the game, suggesting that the two may not be the same despite what Poppy Playtime may lead players to believe.
When players are confronted with the “Exp. 1006” death screen, it makes sense to assume that this title refers to Huggy Wuggy, since he’s obviously directly responsible for their death. Additionally, Huggy Wuggy’s familiar screeches and footsteps can be heard very clearly in the gray VHS’ log, and since the scientist has no doubt in Experiment 1006’s connection to the incident occurring in the background, it’s logical to assume that Huggy, who was apparently on a rampage through the facility at the time of recording, is Experiment 1006. However, the way that the scientist speaks about Experiment 1006 implies something else entirely.
Poppy Playtime - What Happened To Experiment 1006?
The scientist at the end of Poppy Playtime specifically mentions the absence of Experiment 1006 not just once, but twice during the recording, which makes it seem like Experiment 1006 has not only gone rogue, but is in an unknown location and may have even escaped the facility. Huggy Wuggy’s location, on the other hand, would have been very well known at this time if he was running amok in the factory, especially since Huggy apparently managed to catch the scientist at the end as the log cuts off.
Huggy was hardly missing during these events, so it wouldn’t make sense for the scientist to speak about him the way he speaks about Experiment 1006. In addition, it seems odd that Huggy Wuggy would devour players when he catches them if he truly is Experiment 1006, who notably doesn’t need to eat. Between these discrepancies, the game seems to imply that Experiment 1006 is not actually Huggy Wuggy as players have been led to believe.
If Huggy Wuggy isn’t Poppy Playtime’s Experiment 1006, this mysterious prototype’s true nature becomes even more cryptic despite the fact that it seems to be the key to uncovering what happened to Playtime Co.’s employees 10 years ago. It also breaks the one seemingly clearest connection between Huggy Wuggy and Experiment 1006, which is the death screen that is shown when Huggy Wuggy kills the player. Before listening to the gray VHS, the appearance of this death screen reads as though the player is being asked about their opinion of Huggy Wuggy, but with the implication that the two aren’t the same, it begs the question of how this message relates to the player’s death at all.
The other death screens all seem to encourage the player to continue searching the Playtime Co. factory, with messages like “Don’t die just yet” and “It’s too early to die” followed by the phrase “Get up.” While there are some others that stand out, including the “INNOVATION IS KEY, THANKS SCIENCE!” message and the encrypted text that seems to translate to “Stay. They need help,” the “Exp. 1006” screen doesn’t have any other obvious connections to the game. However, it’s possible that Exp. 1006 actually refers to the player and remarks on their success as a prototype, which could be the reason that this message is displayed when the player dies.
Poppy Playtime’s lore makes several references to the idea of immortality, most notably as Stella laments that she can’t live forever in her interview, which can be heard by playing the pink VHS. In Playtime Co.’s quest to create lifelike toys, it’s possible that they may have also managed to fulfill Stella’s wish for immortality when they transformed her into Poppy, turning her into a toy that can’t die despite its organic nature. As an ex-employee of Playtime Co., it’s entirely possible that the player character was experimented on just like Stella, and the absence of Experiment 1006 during the incident that caused the staff’s disappearance would explain why the player didn’t vanish with the rest of them.
If the player truly is Experiment 1006, then the mysterious death screen could be praising their ability to actually defy death as one of Playtime Co.’s successful prototypes. While there are still plenty of questions left unanswered and a ton of mysteries yet to be discovered, Poppy Playtime Chapter 2 will be released early in 2022 so players can continue to uncover the horrific truth hidden in this factory.