Do you like horror-themed games where you get spooked and have chills down your spine? If yes, you will love “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
In a span of almost a decade since the first game in this series launched, the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” franchise has garnered a considerable number of fans worldwide who are constantly intrigued by its profound lore.
And it is clear to see why. In this piece, you will revisit every game in the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” franchise.
1. ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ – The First And Original (2014)
The first – and the original – “Five Nights at Freddy’s” game (if you just have a space for one “Five Nights at Freddy’s” game, you should have this) launched in 2014.
Set in a family-run pizzeria, the game has players taking on the role of Mike Schmidt, a nighttime security guard. Now Schmidt has to complete his shifts on the job without the animatronic-characters-with-homicidal-tendencies that wander the pizzeria at night catching him.
To accomplish his mission, the game gives players access to security cameras to track the animatronics throughout Schmidt’s shift, as well as a set of steel doors to lock them out. However, using the cameras and steel doors will drain the limited electricity in the game, so you better hurry up and do things right.
2. ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s 2’ (2014)
Next is “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” which was released shortly after the first game launched. But, even though it is the second installment in the series, it is actually a prequel to the first game.
Like the original game, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” happens in a fictional pizzeria where the player assumes the role of a security guard who must defend himself from the villainous animatronic characters who like to wander the restaurant during the night.
3. ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s 3’ (2015)
Partly because of the massive reception from the fans, Scott Cawthon, the game’s developer, released a third installment, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 3.” The game chronologically takes place 30 years after the first game’s events. A horror-themed attraction based on the restaurant chain seen in the first two games is present.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 3” involves players assuming the role of an unnamed security guard this time. Also, this character has to defend himself from an enfeebled animatronic known as Springtrap roaming around the attraction as he battles with hallucinations of other withered animatronic characters.
4. ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s 4’ (2015)
In 2015, those drawn to the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” game series thus far found themselves treated to another game that followed the previous installment. The game is “Five Nights at Freddy’s 4.”
Meanwhile, this point-and-click survival horror video game, unlike the previous games, takes place in a child’s bedroom. Players must avoid being attacked by nightmarish animatronics stalking them and the child.
5. ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s: Sister Location’ (2016)
Another “Five Nights at Freddy’s” game was launched in 2016, and this time, it does not carry in its name a number denoting its order in the series.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location” does not take place at a Freddy’s Fazbear’s Pizza restaurant or in a child’s bedroom, but instead at the pizzeria’s sister location called Circus Baby’s Entertainment and Rental, hence the game’s title.
Circus Baby’s Entertainment and Rental features its own set of animatronic characters, central to which is Circus Baby.
In this game, players take the role of a new employee who must do maintenance work at the facility where the animatronics are and defend himself from the acts of these animatronics that become mobile and homicidal when the night falls.
The gameplay of “Sister Location” differs from the previous “Five Nights at Freddy’s” games since players can move between rooms and have different objectives to accomplish every night.
6. ‘Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator’ (2017)
Though the gap between the releases of the previous game and “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator” is longer than the predecessors, this game is still equally exciting, especially since the gameplay is almost entirely different as it is a point-and-click business simulation survival horror game.
Taking place after the events of the third game, “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator” is a simulation game that has players managing their own franchised pizzeria. Though the gameplay is described as such, players will also need to survive against hostile animatronic characters in the game for multiple nights in a row.
7. ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s: Help Wanted’ (2019)
Not that the developers got bored of releasing new games, but the next game in the series launched around two years after the previous game. Nonetheless, this game offers something unique.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted” is actually a virtual reality survival horror game this time, developed by Steel Wool Studios and published by ScottGames.
The gameplay revolves around the fictitious cooperative entity, Fazbear Entertainment, that needs help improving its public image after a series of enervating lawsuits following various incidents and disasters at its multiple locations.
8. ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach’ (2021)
“Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach” is a first-person survival video game from the same companies that made “Help Wanted.”
This game differs from the rest of the installments in the franchise, as it features only one night instead of five. Plus, the gameplay is free-roam.
Players of “Security Breach” take the role of a young boy, Gregory, who must evade hostile animatronic characters, and a night security guard in a shopping mall that keeps some morbid secrets.
It seems that nothing is stopping the developers of this franchise from releasing new games in the series. Last May 2023, Steel Wool Studios announced a direct sequel to “Help Wanted,” titled “Help Wanted 2,” scheduled for release this December 2023.
If you haven’t played “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” you better try this right now.
