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There aren't many successful, nostalgia-based YA indie horror video game hits on the market right now, but the two that are on there are doing pretty damn well. I'm talking about Five Nights at Freddy's and, more importantly for our current purposes, Poppy Playtime, the game that follows an ex-toy company employee through a maze of sinister playthings. Recently, Playtime creators Zach and Seth Belanger sat down with Fangoria magazine to revel the inspirations for their hit game, and one of them has our eyebrows raised.

That is, A24's nihilistic family drama horror (and one of the great spooky films) Hereditary.

Fangoria interviewer Rebecca McKendry was the one to get the answer out of the brother team, after asking about the earliest stages of their ideation process.

"Beyond having a deep backstory," answered Seth "We drew quite a bit of inspiration from other movies, games and media in the horror genre that were visually appealing, including Hereditary. It was easy deciding on the horror genre as the direction that we wanted to take, as that is the type of media we are interested in ourselves."

In case you don't know, Hereditary is a 2018 film starring Toni Colette who experiences supernatural occurrences in the wake of her mother's death. Lauded as one of the most frightening films of this century so far, the movie put director Ari Aster on the map, allowing him to make follow-up horror hit Midsommar.

The news that Aster's feature debut helped inspired a cult hit YA game brings up a host of questions, including whether or not Ari Aster has played through a chapter or two of Poppy Playtime. After all, rumor has it that Poppy Playtime is getting its own adaptation from Legendary Pictures in the near future, and it'll obviously need a director.

Poppy Playtime Chapters 1-4 are available now.

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
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And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.