"Every kid has that one toy that scares them. Imagine if it came to life."
Mr. Hopp's Playhouse is an indie Survival Horror Stealth-Based Game by Moonbit Studios.
Released on October 7th, 2019, you play as a girl named Ruby, who is unnerved by the stuffed rabbit (which her Nana Esther made for her) that sits on a stool. One night, she gets out of her bed and goes off to find her parents, unaware that she's in danger...
The game's mechanics are inspired by Lasagna Boy by Trashy Rascal Studios.
The game can be found on itch.io
and on Steam.
A sequel called One Hour With Mr. Hopp was created for Halloween 2019, and another sequel called Mr. Hopp's Playhouse 2 is currently in development with a tentative release date on Easter 2021. The teaser can be seen here and the official trailer here.
Mr. Hopp's Playhouse contains examples of:
- Alone with the Psycho: Your parents have gone missing, so it's just you and Mr. Hopp inside the house.
- Artificial Stupidity: Sometimes, the Hopp AI patrols require the player to wait a little too long.
- Big Bad: The titular Mr. Hopp is Ruby's demonic stuffed bunny who traps her in her house and seeks her out to kill her.
- Bottomless Magazines: You'll never have to worry about your handgun/slingshot running out of ammo once you get it.
- Bowdlerise: The blood in the master bedroom was removed and the handgun in the safe was replaced by a slingshot in version 2.0, which is also the Steam version. Consequently, the story as well as one of the endings were altered slightly to fit with these changes.
- Content Warnings: At the very beginning:"This game contains scary themes, flashing visuals, and jumpscares. Player discretion is advised."
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: If you get caught by Mr. Hopp, after a jumpscare, you'll just be sent back to the progress from the last major item you found.
- Easter Egg:
- In the attic, when you have exactly three tapes, there is a door that will lead you to a black room full of giant, floating eyes. In the same zone, after collecting the fifth tape, you will also find a message of Hopp that says as follows: "Nana looked into the fires of Hell... and she saw me".
- If you put "1987" as the safe code, you will be jumpscared by Golden Freddy. Yes, that Golden Freddy.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: When you run into "Nana" near the end of the game, the Visibility Meter goes from "Hidden" to "Visible" to a flashing "Danger" the closer you approach her. After Ruby only gets a few words in, a gigantic Mr. Hopp appears before her.
- Game-Breaking Bug:
- There has been an issue where by the end, dying at all makes your gun refuse to work on subsequent attempts until you exit to the main menu and come back.
- If you crouch at the end to try to dodge out of the way, it doesn't act as if you've been caught, but you can't move and you are stuck crouching.
- Hell Is That Noise: Mr. Hopp's growling, stomping, radio-static and music box-tune are signs he's nearby.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: Mr. Hopp's patrolling sound is an eerie nursery room-esque theme.
- Jump Scare:
- When you get caught, Mr. Hopp's face flashes across the screen. There are two different versions- one in the early part, and one after the first tape onwards.
- Three in relation to the tapes- on the way to the tape player, Mr. Hopp briefly appears in the dark basement; after finding the second one, his arm breaks through one of the walls; and after finding the fourth one, his arm breaks through the floor.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane:
- Is Mr. Hopp actually possessed/demonic, or is it all just in Ruby's imagination? It's never made clear how he is alive, or if he's alive at all and it's all just Ruby's imagination. Though Ruby's father finding the toy unsettling and then hearing weird noises at night along with his wife, and the "Sleep Tight" ending where he kills Ruby, hint Mr. Hopp is very real.
- Also in regards to Esther. Was she just suffering from dementia or is something more sinister and supernatural occuring? Scrawling on the wall that reads "Nana looked into the fires of hell... and she saw me" seem to lean more towards the latter. However, Ruby being an unreliable narrator makes this somewhat dubious.
- Multiple Endings: This game has three endings.
- "Sleep Tight": Ruby goes back to bed, and Mr. Hopp is looming over her.
- "Escape Artist": The normal end. Ruby shoots Mr. Hopp with a gun/slingshot, and the police arrive and take her and Mr. Hopp away. Ruby escapes.
- "Firestarter": The Secret End, obtainable if Ruby gets a lighter and matches. Ruby starts a fire, which results in her house and Mr. Hopp burning down. Ruby escapes.
- Nightmare Face: Getting caught will treat you to a flashing screen with Mr. Hopp's mug.
- Nothing Is Scarier: You never know when Mr. Hopp will appear due to him often hiding behind walls.
- Privacy by Distraction: Can be invoked by the player. While stepping on the wrong toys at the wrong time will definitely lead Mr. Hopp right to you, the toys can also serve as a distraction; it makes it easier to control where you want him to end up.
- Retraux: The graphics and gameplay can certainly bring Clock Tower (1995) to mind.
- Run or Die: You have no means of fighting off Mr. Hopp and can only hide, until you find a gun/slingshot in a safe, that is.
- Scare Chord: Plays when you get caught.
- Shout-Out:
- Somewhere, you can find a red balloon.
- At one point, you can hear the static that plays when Slenderman sees you.
- You can find a doll of the Doom Marine if you meet certain conditions. It plays a snippet of the classic theme from the first mission and shows the "A Secret Is Revealed" message from the original game.
- Putting "1987" in as the safe combination triggers a jumpscare from Golden Freddy from Five Nights at Freddy's.
- Sprint Meter: Ruby has a Stamina meter that drains when she runs.
- Stealth-Based Game: In addition to hiding and running away from Mr. Hopp, you have to be careful while exploring. Footsteps can be deafening, and toys will make noise if you accidentally step on them (you have to jump over them when walking), which can draw unwanted attention.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Ruby is only 10-11 years old, of course she's going to be outmatched against Mr. Hopp, until she gets a gun/slingshot at least.
- Returning to bed right after a fresh murder scene? You might as well dig your own grave while you're at it. Mr. Hopp will find you and kill you without hesitation.
- Firing a gun inside of your house, especially at nighttime? Don't be surprised when the cops come banging down your door. Subverted in the newer version where the gun is replaced with a slingshot.
- Tragic Keepsake: Mr. Hopp is the only thing Ruby has to remember her Nana by. Subverted since it's Ruby's parents who believe this to be the case, but the stuffed rabbit completely freaks her and them out.
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: When you pick up a gun/slingshot from the safe, you can use it to shoot Mr. Hopp.
- Visibility Meter: You have one labeled "Status", which can go from "Hidden" (green) to "Visible" (yellow) to "Danger" (red) depending on where you are and how much noise you make.
- A Winner Is You: Beating One Hour with Mr. Hopp will grant you a gold star "for your troubles".
