On your 2nd birthday, whilst your mother is feeding you birthday cake, there’s a knock on the door. You hear the start of an argument with a man, but the sound and visuals become distorted like there is a sinister force at play. When your mother comes back, she has a present from the visitor, and takes you to your room. Placed in a playpen, it seems that the Teddy that was in the box can walk and talk. At night, Teddy is whisked away by a force and your crib is overturned, leading you to search for him. You are then on a quest to find your mother and need to explore four creepy areas and locate some memories.
In the Museum mode, you can explore the concept art and cut content. Teddy was originally the main antagonist, but the team changed direction to focus on the family dynamic. He still seems a combination of sinister but somewhat comforting - at the same time. He doesn’t speak much in the main levels, but does quip lines telling you that you are not safe, and need to keep moving forward.
Since you are a toddler, you are low to the ground, and there is an intentionally limited depth of field which makes your eyes feel weird after a while. The movement is also strange because you can crawl fast, and have a slow walk. You can run, but will fall after several seconds.
You often have to climb onto small objects which means the camera is shaking around. I also found the baby’s breathing/grunts unsettling whilst he was doing this. Much of the horror is delivered through the music, ambience and sound effects, and that sound always made me think there was a threat nearby.
You often open cupboard draws to create stairs, or move objects such as chairs- in order to reach door handles to progress. In the final stage, you are introduced to throwing and need to throw a ball to knock down a couple of objects.
The only other gameplay element is to avoid monsters that appear in 2 levels, then if you play the bonus Prologue, there is one there too. You can sometimes see or hear when the monster is coming, but then there’s the distorted visuals/sound when it is too close. You need to scramble under a table or find a cupboard to avoid. The first is Hyda in the forest, a tall banshee that stomps and shrieks. The second is the Heap, a coat monster that is attracted to sound and will come when you smash the glass bottles scattered around the floor.
The level design is pretty linear, although there’s a few areas with branching paths but you need to visit each of them.
The game is played at night and features dark areas. You can cuddle Teddy to emit some light, but it doesn’t really produce much. It’s useful in a couple of areas though.
Aside from the darkness, although the game looks childish, it's not a game for kids due to these horror moments. The story is a bit underdeveloped but the idea is that his parent’s have gone through a divorce and these memories and perceptions are his interpretation of it. The Prologue was an extra addition, but it doesn't reveal too much. The main game lasts around 2.5 hours.