Mr. Hopp’s Playhouse Review

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Mr. Hopp’s Playhouse manages to make bunnies terrifying in this retro horror adventure game. American publisher PhatMojo brings British indie developer Moonbit’s 2D side-scroller to mobile. This title stays fresh with creepy jump scares that keep your heart racing while fighting your way to the exit.

When you begin Mr. Hopps’s Playhouse, you’re put in the shoes of a young girl named Ruby. Your first task is to head to her parent’s room after the nightlight goes out and her stuffed rabbit, Mr. Hopp is gone. Arriving at the parent’s room begins the horror as they are missing. Going back to your room, you get your first sight of Mr. Hopp walking around and the hunt begins. The controls are simple in this title due to the side-scrolling design. As you work your way around the map, you need to keep out of sight of Mr. Hopp who is roaming around looking for you. There are toys scattered along the map that you have to jump over to avoid drawing attention.

The game is straightforward. You will be told each task you have to complete.  The tasks range from finding your parent’s bedroom to finding six cassette tapes. The difficult part of the game is to avoid Mr. Hopp while finding the next item you need. This title has a complicated map that makes it tricky to find your way to certain rooms. Some of these rooms are easy to find while others are difficult to locate when you need them.

Jumping to Safety

Much like any side-scrolling platformer, there are obstacles along the way. Toys placed carelessly on the floor will make noises when you step on them. It’s important to jump over each one to lower the amount of noise you are making. Noise attracts Mr. Hopp and he will head straight for you. Even moving too quickly will create more noise that will draw his attention. It takes some practice to learn how to hop over the toys effectively.

Mr. Hopp’s Playhouse isn’t too scary. It has the moments that will make your heart race, but overall, it keeps you feeling anxious. If not because you are afraid to get caught by the demonic rabbit toy, but because you don’t want to have to start over from the last checkpoint. The jump scares are included at great moments that keep the game fresh. Each jump scare is new and brings more dread back into the game as you get closer to escaping the house.

One important tip to remember is that the creator of this title is British. At one point, you will have to enter a code. The code is a date that you have to enter the way you see it in the game—date before the month. It won’t work if you enter it the other way around.

Escaping the Rabbit Hole

Mr. Hopp’s Playhouse was created for PC by Moonbit, but PhatMojo brought the popular horror game to mobile. Unfortunately, it has a few bugs to deal with and it’s not clear where they originated. The biggest one is a missing element. Around the sofa in the one map area, it appears like you can grab something, but nothing happens. Either it’s an item that has been removed or the item icon is in the wrong spot.

Overall, Mr. Hopp’s Playhouse is a fun horror title that’s easy to play. It uses jump scares to keep you on your toes and its simple gameplay persists to the end. The 8-bit graphics give this horror side-scroller the retro feel the developer was going for. The storyline could use some better writing to make it clearer what’s going on. However, the gameplay is entertaining enough to make up for what the story lacks.