Best Poppy Playtime monsters, ranked

Your favorite Poppy Playtime monster may stand out to you for the way they look, the way they act, or for simply being downright terrifying. Regardless of your reasoning, here is our ranking of the best monsters in Poppy Playtime.

Top seven monsters in Poppy Playtime

7. Small Smiling Critters

First on the list are the small Smiling Critters. These are the miniature version of the Smiling Critters, guardians of the Home Sweet Home Orphanage. The Smiling Critters feel like an upgraded, more polished version of the Mini Huggies from Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2.

The small Smiling Critters are a breath of fresh air in a mascot horror game filled with chase sequences. Having the ability to fight back in a game where you flee from everything creates a better balance for horror and adds another layer to the gameplay. Rather than continuously sticking to the Outlast formula of running and hiding from the horror, the projectile GrabPack allows you to fight back against the mascots in Poppy Playtime.

6. PJ Pug-a-Pillar

PJ Pug-a-Pillar is a uniquely terrifying Poppy Playtime monster. I’m unsure how something that looks like the Alice in Wonderland caterpillar mixed with a pug could be so damn creepy, but this monster really did it for me. PJ appears only in the Statues mini-game for Chapter 2.

The mini-game was to get to the other side of the room while keeping ahead of the monster at all times. Knowing that PJ is chasing you as fast as his little legs can carry him when the lights turn off is a terrifying thought that inevitably makes you panic while playing. I only wish we could have seen more from this mascot in the Poppy Playtime series.

5. Mommy Long Legs

Mommy Long Legs is the lead antagonist in Chapter 2. Her personality makes this mascot compared to others in the series. She stands out amongst the pack for her fake friendly demeanor that quickly turns sinister if she isn’t getting her way. I think Mommy Long Legs may have the best jumpscares in the entire game, as she can suddenly drop down from ventilation shafts and initiate a chase sequence in a moment where you thought there was no threat.

The downside to this character is that the entire chapter felt more one-note. With minigames as the focal point throughout Chapter 2, Mommy Long Legs reacts predictably as you complete each game.

4. Miss Delight

Miss Delight honestly terrified me when her chase section started in Chapter 3. Mixing puzzle-solving while being chased is one of the best moves Mob Entertainment has made so far. It made the whole section very different from any chase we’ve previously seen in the series. Miss Delight has a similar personality to Mommy Long Legs, but unlike what her name suggests, she is far more unhinged than any other mascot in Poppy Playtime.

The only downside to this character is the overused gameplay mechanic that renders Miss Delight completely useless when you look at her. Miss Delight only has power when your back is against her. The weeping angel mechanic is often seen in horror games (SCP: Containment Breach, Resident Evil 8: Shadow of Rose, Lethal Company, to name a few), but, Miss Delight will give you an absolute fright if you don’t know how she functions when you first meet her.

3. The Prototype

The Prototype is one of the most interesting monsters in Poppy Playtime. His appearance will likely be revealed in Chapter 4 as a horrifying amalgamation of all deceased monsters from previous chapters (similar to the Amalgam in My Friendly Neighborhood). But the lore centers around the Prototype, his identity, and whether he is actually the antagonist.

The Prototype is not inherently evil nor terrifying, but he is a core component of the Poppy Playtime story by bringing a lot of questions to the table that revolve around his identity. I believe that the finale will reveal Poppy as the real antagonist behind it all, but until that moment, my mind will continue to imagine what horrors await behind the Prototype’s mechanical arm.

2. Kissy Missy

Kissy Missy is an iconic mascot that has continued to show presence throughout the Poppy Playtime series. Appearing as the only true ally to the protagonist, Kissy Missy often guides the player to the next event, whether it be by Poppy’s side or by literally unlocking the path into the next area of the chapter. Kissy Missy is a great character down to her mannerisms and appearance.

Acting as Huggy Wuggy’s counterpart, her appearance initially scares us because she looks like Huggy. But after you watch her behavior, you’ll quickly note how Kissy Missy isn’t on the Prototype’s side. I hope to see far more of Kissy Missy in Chapter 4, but I also believe that she’ll play a huge part in the story and tell us whether we can truly trust Poppy or not.

1. Huggy Wuggy

Huggy Wuggy has to remain the top pick for the best mascot in Poppy Playtime. Being the original villain of the series, Huggy Wuggy has a great chase sequence to introduce the player to a new mascot horror to obsess over, with the impressive character design and movement in the chase sequence garnering great interest that quickly moved onto caring about the expanding lore with each chapter’s release.

While I believe Poppy Playtime isn’t the right game for children, it certainly ruined my childhood as I turned around to face Huggy Wuggy contorting his body to squeeze through the vents in a desperate attempt to consume me. While the contents of Chapter 1 are far simpler than the improved gameplay and story in Chapter 3, there is a reason why players continue to search for Huggy Wuggy more so than any other mascot in Poppy Playtime, and it’s not because of his cute smile.