Throwback Thursday: Ranking Every FNAF Game – Part One
Last Thursday, I discussed my thoughts on the FNAF franchise as a whole as it celebrates its 12th anniversary. The link to that article can be found here. Today, I want to continue the trend of FNAF discussions by beginning my ranking of (almost) every game in the franchise. Of course, a few ground rules need to be set:
- Although I do enjoy FNAF’s lore, my rankings will primarily be based on my enjoyment of their gameplay, with the lore coming second. Feel free to discuss/provide your own rankings in the comments!
- I haven’t played Into the Pit or Secret of the Mimic yet, so both of these entries will be excluded from the list.
- I will avoid ranking spinoffs, such as FNAF World and Special Delivery.
Number 10: Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach
When Security Breach’s first few trailers were released in 2021, I was immediately excited. The Pizzaplex seemed massive in scale, and I was happy to see a new intriguing franchise villain with Vanny. Unfortunately, when the game itself finally released, it felt like the aspects I liked were completely watered down.
The open-exploration gameplay is passable (with some interesting ideas sprinkled throughout, such as Freddy’s upgrade system and the boss fights). Unfortunately, the gameplay never gets far past being just ok. Truthfully, it becomes extremely repetitive, with not much variety besides running back and forth to certain locations. Additionally, the survival aspects of the game (such as using the Fazwatch for cameras) feel extremely undercooked, especially for a FNAF game.
In terms of the lore, Vanny’s role in the actual game felt more like a confusing cameo at best, with the game’s tone attempting to be more kid-friendly than actually scary. Also, the story’s inclusion of “Burntrap” felt extremely underwhelming, poorly planned/executed, and overall just a cop-out.
On top of this, the game was (and in some cases still is) extremely buggy and unpolished. Judging by the amount of scrapped content, it feels like Steel Wool had a much better game in mind than what ultimately became the final product. The amount of disappointment I had over Security Breach (especially after the incredible Help Wanted) makes it my least favorite mainline FNAF game of all time.
Number 9: Five Nights At Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2
Honestly, there’s not much to complain about with Help Wanted 2. It serves as a decent enough sequel to the original game, with some genuinely fun minigames. As an example, I enjoyed the fast-paced nature of the Restaurant minigame, as well as the segments where you fix Helpy.
However, there is just something about the game that doesn’t fully click with me. Maybe it was more of the focus on the less-scary Security Breach animatronics, or the original game just feeling more charming. It could also simply be the game feeling like a continuation of the original game rather than an evolution. Regardless, I feel that Help Wanted 2 does not reach the heights of its predecessor. It is honestly forgettable in the grand scheme of the franchise, even if it does have some highlights.
Number 8: Five Nights At Freddy’s: Help Wanted
The original Help Wanted being this low on the list is a testament to how much I enjoy all the other entries. The FNAF franchise and virtual reality is a combination that sounds obvious, even if it took 5 years into the series to officially happen. With this game, Steel Wool proved to fans (at the time) that they were absolutely qualified to manage the series.
The minigame experience in VR is excellent, especially when replaying the original quadrilogy in this new format. Steel Wool really went above and beyond recreating the offices/rooms of these games in a 3D format. Of course, recreations are not the only type of minigames that Help Wanted offers. I especially enjoyed the Animatronic Repair portions. While they are similar to the repair segments of Sister Location, playing through them in VR makes them even more terrifying.
That is actually another aspect of the game that I appreciate. Unlike its sequel, Help Wanted is consistently scary. Animatronics can and do pop in your face constantly, adding a level of “realness” that can’t be experienced with a computer screen.
Finally, Help Wanted is somewhat light on lore. Still, Steel Wool’s use of the now fan-favorite Glitchtrap was a welcome addition. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of how Steel Wool utilized this character for Security Breach.
This concludes the first 3 entries in my FNAF ranking! Stay tuned for the next installments in the series over the coming Thursdays.
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