Mascot horror Psychological horror Short horror Horror PS1 horror

Play Things

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Nineteen dolls, a set of tests, and some of them want blood.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam, itch.io
Price: Free
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (99% of 144 reviews)
Length: about 1.5 hours for one ending
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse and keyboard, first person: move, look and interact; hold F to take cover where the game asks.
Made by: Burning Eye (ReynTheStrange)
Released: 2025

Get it on Steam itch.io (free, pay what you want)

What frightens You test children's dolls in a dim, blood-stained facility to judge which are ordinary toys and which are cursed and bloodthirsty; each comes with a case file of the death it was found beside, the wrong call lets something loose, and the place you are kept in is not what it seems.
Content: jumpscares, blood, pixelated gore, violence, references to child abuse, references to self-harm and suicide, alcohol and drug use, shows your pc's name.

Play Things is a free first-person horror game by Burning Eye in which you test a collection of dolls to decide which are just toys and which hide a dark curse. Each doll comes with a case file from a family tragedy, a wrong verdict has consequences, and the facility you work in is not what it seems.

About Play Things

Play Things is a free horror game made by ReynTheStrange (Tomáš Woldekiros, who also voices it) under the name Burning Eye. It first came out on itch.io, where it passed 30,000 downloads, and was released on Steam in May 2026. It is voice acted in English and Czech.

You work in a strange facility, alone or perhaps not. Dolls are brought to you one at a time. Each has a clipboard file: who owned it, and what happened in the house where it was found, often beside a body. Through a series of tests in an observation room behind glass, you have to decide whether the doll is merely a toy or something that conceals a curse. Some are ordinary. Some are filled with bloodlust.

The story mode, Normal Mode, always has the same 19 dolls, each designed and written by hand, and four endings. The maker estimates about an hour and a half for one ending. An Endless Mode with randomly generated dolls and events is announced but not yet in the game. The look is deliberately rough low-resolution 3D: chunky dolls on a wooden chair, a checkered floor, bloody handprints on the glass.

The fear comes from the files as much as from the dolls: the case notes touch on murder, abuse and self-harm, and the game warns of jumpscares and that it reads your computer's name at one point, which streamers may want to know. It suits players who liked inspection horror such as Dollmare or I'm on Observation Duty and want something short with a story behind it.

How to play Play Things

Download Play Things free from Steam or itch.io and start Normal Mode.
Read the clipboard file that comes with each doll: its owner and where it was found.
Run the tests in the observation room and watch how the doll reacts.
Decide whether the doll is good or dangerous; a wrong call has consequences.
Play again and judge differently to see the other endings.

Screenshots

Play Things screenshot: a black-haired doll in a purple dress stands on a wooden chair on a checkered floor while a thermometer reads -3.3 degrees

Play Things screenshot: a doll with long grey hair, a yellow spotted dress and glowing white eyes stands alone in darkness

Play Things screenshot: the test room under a yellow Danger sign, an empty chair behind the glass and a dark doorway beside it

Play Things screenshot: a clipboard case file for the doll Vivian, found beside the body of its six-year-old owner's strangled mother

Tips

Read each case file closely; the details often hint at what the tests will show.
Watch the room as well as the doll during a test, including the thermometer.
When a doll gets loose, look for cover nearby; the maker's tip for one doll is to hide under the table and hold F to pull the cardboard over you.
Turn off your stream overlay or be ready: at one point the game shows your PC's name.