Escape from Playtime is a new game from Mob Entertainment, the studio behind the popular horror series Poppy Playtime featuring murderous toys. This installment focuses on cooperative gameplay: up to eight players control the Smiling Critters, plush creatures from Chapter 3, and infiltrate the abandoned Playtime Co. factory to collect parts and escape alive. The game genre is action-survival (extraction), where the objective is to enter, gather resources, and exit before death.
The game was released in early access on PC (Steam) on October 21, 2026. It costs 29.99 Brazilian Reals (R$), but is available for a special launch offer of 26.99 R$ until November 4. The game supports Portuguese subtitles.
Players familiar with titles like Lethal Company or R.E.P.O. will immediately recognize the familiar formula: a group of friends, a dangerous location, a proximity-based voice chat, and plenty of screams. Escape from Playtime takes this concept and places it within the Poppy Playtime universe, which already has a large audience in Brazil.
A strong point of Escape from Playtime is its scale. Since the characters are toys, ordinary human locations transform into massive labyrinths. The office corridor resembles a warehouse, a table becomes a mountain, and any sound in the darkness carries a different weight when you are the size of a plush toy.
The game maintains the visual and auditory identity that made Poppy Playtime recognizable: it is a colorful and dilapidated factory, toys with strange smiles, and a soundtrack that knows how to disappear so silence can be frightening. For fans of the series, it is the same factory seen from a new angle. The plot also aligns with the official chronology: the action takes place after 'Fun Time' and before Chapter 1 of the main series.
Escape from Playtime belongs to a genre that the gaming community has dubbed friendslop—simple, inexpensive, and chaotic cooperative games where enjoyment depends more on the group's reactions than on the gameplay itself. And here, that formula works.
The key element is the proximity chat. You only hear those near your character; therefore, when someone moves away from the group, their voice fades. This creates excellent moments: a friend disappearing while screaming in the corridor, shared fright upon a creature's appearance, and subsequent laughter. With an active group, every session turns into a story to tell.
What sets Escape from Playtime apart from other games in this genre is its verticality. The Critters can climb walls, furniture, and structures, opening up alternative routes and making exploration more engaging than just moving through corridors.
Items also have their own characteristics. They simultaneously serve as tools for progression and objects to be collected and taken back. This dual function constantly generates small decisions: use the item now to solve a problem or save it to ensure loot at the end of the run. Since the factory map changes in every game, these choices are never exactly repeated.
The problem with Escape from Playtime arises when there are no other players. Playing solo is boring, too punishing, and poorly balanced. Everything that makes the game successful in a group—conversations, shared scares, and task distribution—simply disappears.
Furthermore, the punishment is palpable. If you die, the run starts over from scratch. In a group, a teammate can still deliver the loot to the exit. Solo, death results in the loss of all progress in the current session, creating the feeling that the game was not designed for this scenario. For those without friends to play with, this is the most significant drawback of this review.
It should be noted that Escape from Playtime is in early access, meaning it is not yet complete. Mob Entertainment predicts that this stage will require about a year and promises to add new zones, enemies, items, and cosmetics by 2027. The studio has also warned that the price will increase in version 1.0 when more content becomes available. Those planning to play are better off buying now.
Escape from Playtime is a good purchase for those who have a group of friends ready to play together, who enjoy light horror, and who have already enjoyed Lethal Company or R.E.P.O. For Poppy Playtime fans, the recommendation is even simpler: the game expands the series universe from a new perspective and remains affordable.
Those who play alone should refrain for now. Without company, the game becomes repetitive and punitive, and there is nothing in the solo experience to compensate for it. However, if the goal is to play with friends, 29.99 R$ for several nights of horror and laughter is a fair price, and until November 4, it drops to 26.99 R$.