Who is Yarnaby in Poppy Playtime: Chapter 4? Experiment 1166, explained

This Bigger Bodies experiment should have a cuddly nature because its cuteness tricks you into a false sense of security. It isn’t until it opens its face, revealing a mouth within a mouth, both bloody with chipped teeth, that you realize Yarnaby is just another monster you’ll have to run from in Poppy Playtime: Chapter 4.

If you were wondering who Yarnaby is in Poppy Playtime: Chapter 4, here is everything we know about this Bigger Bodies project.

Spoiler warning for Yarnaby’s story and the events of Poppy Playtime: Safe Haven.

Poppy Playtime: Experiment 1166 Yarnaby, explained

Yarnaby is similar to Pug-A-Pillar. Its almost cutesy appearance matches its behavior and motives. Yarnaby is a more docile creature that follows the authoritative or parental figure around.

These smaller projects house orphans from Playcare inside, just like Huggy Wuggy and Mommy Long Legs. These experiments were conditioned and trained to follow orders. Unlike previous enemies we’ve had to defeat, Yarnaby doesn’t have high self-worth or autonomy to fight his own battles. He can’t see what’s happening to him from a different perspective. He’s susceptible to the manipulation of Harley Sawyer—The Doctor—making him one of the many enemies you have to defeat in Safe Haven.

Yarnaby origins, explained

The Bigger Bodies Initiative had conducted experiments on Quinn Navidson, a Playcare orphan whose consciousness was transferred into Yarnaby. While Quinn purposely performed mediocre—hiding his true talents behind his shy, socially reclusive exterior—Harley Sawyer tricked him into giving his all in an upcoming Game Station test. It was then decided Quinn would become Yarnaby after he excelled in trials. Quinn quickly developed an attachment towards Sawyer, who became a Bigger Body with an unknown purpose. This attachment was forcedm however, as Sawyer restricted the visitor list so that he was the only one who could visit Quinn. This created a loyal servant for The Doctor to use when Sawyer’s body was taken from him.

Safe Haven details Sawyer’s plans for Quinn and describes his limited speech and inability to problem-solve, comparing him to a dog and cat. This made Quinn more susceptible to manipulation, a prime candidate for Sawyer to trick. In contrast to every other foe we’ve faced in Poppy Playtime, Yarnaby keeps a firm grip on his purity and innocence. While he is seen consuming other toys and wants to kill us, he only knows how to follow orders and doesn’t think to question his “master.”

We don’t really defend ourselves against Quinn. Instead, we spend most of the time hiding and running from him. While you get the death screen when Yarnaby grabs you, he never feels like a real threat. In reality, I just feel bad for him.

Shown as a loyal servant, Yarnaby blindly follows The Doctor’s order, resulting in his own demise. His obedient behavior and lack of critical thinking created a Bigger Body that ran at his objective, regardless of what obstacle stood in his way. This sadly led to his untimely death that (compared to other experiments) we weren’t the leading cause for. We can blame The Doctor for Yarnaby’s short and sad story.