Five Nights At Freddy’s or “Fnaf Games” is a famous video game series originally developed by Scott Cawthon. He is an American video game developer, although he is no longer associated with team Fnaf.
Fnaf is a series of horror video games comprising nine survival horror games. The latest release of the game “security breach” was released in 2021, while the first video game was released in 2014. Since then, it has won the hearts of an enormous audience and gained worldwide popularity with a massive fan base.
Fnaf started as a simple video game with some basic controls only. However, Fnaf became a massive franchise with a lot of fun in various genres and spin-offs. Also wrote some films and books about it.
Since Fnaf is a nine games long series, this number of games sometimes makes it difficult for people to figure out which ones to play first. Since the rating of these games does not depend on the order of years in which they were released. If you are also caught up in this situation, you have come to the right place. Carry on reading to find out the top 8 Fnaf games to play.
What are Fnaf Games?
Fnaf games is a point-and-click survival horror video game in which you play a character who works at Freddy Fazebear’s Pizzeria, usually as a security guard. The game comprises several animatronic characters who come alive at night and do terrifying things. As you run for your life, they chase you around, trying to kill you. What could be scarier?
Although it’s common to expect the recently released games to be the best of all, this can be true in terms of visuals and graphics only. However, all games of the Fnaf series are ranked by their fanbase mainly based on their fear factor. Because of this, not every Fnaf game released was as well-received as the last one.
Here’s a rating of the top 8 Fnaf games from best to least highlighted by Mustips:
1. The Original “Fnaf” 1, Which is a Classic.
The first game released is evergreen as it remains the top rated of the series to this date. Although it was a straightforward game with ordinary graphics, it was still at its most compelling with the original release. All elements released in this debut would remain throughout the franchise. Features like the use of security cameras, remote lighting, various minigames, phone calls, and of course, jump scare, lots and lots of jump scares made it unique and had many gamers hooked to playing the game over and over again. Because of the game’s simplicity, the subsequent sequels were released very quickly. They were released so quickly that team Fnaf even bagged a world record. Even after the release of so many other games in the series with amazing graphics and new features, true Fnaf fans still rate this original release as the best among all others.
2. Fnaf 5: Sister Location With New Animatronics
The fifth Fnaf game came out with multiple surprises for its fans, set up in a new location with brand new animatronics. The fifth game brought about a significant change in its gameplay. Unlike the first four games in which the player was stuck in a single room fighting off animatronics in a monotonous loop, the sister location offers several different locations to traverse. It allows you to roam freely and explore other areas, making playing more enjoyable.
You can crawl from a central hub area through vents to different rooms. Each of these rooms has its minigame-based missions to complete. It took a very radical approach compared to the former games. Moreover, this unique approach was a perfect factor. It captivated the attention of a lot of new fans, further increasing the Fnaf fanbase. The new approach brought forward by the sister location is very well appreciated by the original Fnaf fanbase as well to this date. You don’t want to miss out on this game!
3. Help Wanted: A Virtual Reality
Help Wanted was the first ever Fnaf game officially launched in virtual reality. According to the editors of Game Empress, this completely changed the game’s outlook. Everything seemed to have come to life as most of the weird characters seemed very scary, as if they were actually in your room, especially if you play it in a dark room. The horrifying experience is unreal. It is undoubtedly the scariest of all other games as we face to face with Freddy and his friends like never before. It gives the player freedom to explore different areas, and jump scares become even more fun and scary as the characters seem very close and personal. Everything in the help wanted seems much more realistic and immersive. It is haunting. The backstory is also pretty creepy, making this game one of the best to play regarding its fear factor.
4. Fnaf 3: Is It a Good Game?
Fnaf 3 was released in 2015 and remained amongst one of the top 5 Fnaf games to have ever been released. This launch came out with one of the unique ideas the series has ever seen, which helped keep the players’ interest level high. Fazbear’s fright is a fantastic and nasty location for a horror game. It makes the game as decrepit and eerie as possible. You find yourself in an office drenched in a spooky green light source with broken wires and gunk clinging to the walls. It gives the authentic look of an old abandoned haunted place, with the game’s previous animatronics used as mere decoration pieces. This makes you feel like whatever you’re dealing with in this game is far worse and scarier than the previous ones.
Overall creates a very dreadful experience. Even when the game offers zero threats, the atmosphere alone makes you worry about what will happen next. This game starts 30 years after Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria has closed, but the main character is back with a bunch of surprises to make you jump out of your seat as you play this amazingly dreadful game. As the animatronics have been burned, they return to take revenge on you. However, this game can keep you on your toes because of the new mechanics. Overall, Fnaf 3 is one of a kind. It is the scariest game of the series and one you surely don’t want to miss out on!
5. Fnaf 2: Sequel to the Classic Remains a Classic
The second game in the series continues like the original one. Still, it brought around seven new animatronics, which made it quite stressful to play as the previous match had about four animatronics only. Apart from new animatronics, some noticeable changes in gameplay made it more enjoyable to play. In the game, you are put in a security office wearing a Fazbear mask, and then suddenly, you see new animatronics show up right in front of you. The lenses inside your cover give a wholly unique experience to viewing these animatronics. Staff at Game Devolution said The new lens view feature makes it even more horrifying. It looks pretty creepy and gives goose bumps to whoever plays the game.
One of the scariest characters, Mango, was also launched in this game by team Fnaf. It’s arguably the most dangerous of the games, but that also means it’s more stressful and challenging to win. The new animatronic is horrifying, and the concept of being caught by it genuinely fills you with dread.
6. Fnaf World: Released as a Broken Game
Fnaf world was a complete flop as it came out to be released as a broken game, and it was also one of the most expensive games of the entire series, the errors found in this game made it clear that the game was not worth its high price. It seemed as if team Fnaf had rushed to release another game before improvising or finishing it. Therefore it is considered a bad game in its genre.
It is a weird game that seems to be an odd combination of strategic and regular Fnaf-style gameplay. It can feel very disorienting at first, especially for a non-Fnaf fan, giving a “what on earth is going on” kind of feel, but after the first two nights, it starts to make sense as the game approaches some stability. Although quite surprisingly, Fnaf world is not merely a horror game for any reason yet also the most disturbing game released in the series. Previous fans of the series only well receive fnaf world as this game ends the long stretched storyline.
Still, if you haven’t played the previous games or are unaware of the storyline, this game is certainly not for you. It’ll leave you utterly confused about what’s going on and can even make you question your life at some point. In short, there was a lot of lacking in this game.
Also received the fight mechanics poorly in this game which is supposed to be the main feature of any video game. Scott Cawthon, the developer of the game, also apologized for rushing into releasing this game; he wasn’t happy with the review that Fnaf world received, because of which he announced to offer complete refunds to anybody who purchased the game at that time!
7. Security Breach: Just a Visual Treat or More Than That?
The latest Fnaf game of 2021 named “security breach” does not seem to be great either, mainly because there’s nothing scary about the entire game. It doesn’t fit in the genre of a horror video game. Although some jump scares are startling, they are primarily goofy or predictable. Unlike the former horrifying jumpscares found in the previous games, there’s nothing about the atmosphere which is remotely scary. It is bright and colourful, making it clear that making it a horror game was not a priority for anybody working on it.
8. The Ultimate Custom Night: Not a Standard Fame Game.
Close to the very bottom comes the ultimate custom night released in 2018, which is more of a strategic game than a horror game with not much of a surprise factor. Instead of featuring a strong narrative, it is a customizable collection of wave-based game modes. It allows the player to pick from a different bounty of animatronics found in previous Fnaf titles. Selecting their difficulty levels before spawning them into an evermore challenging environment to see how long we can survive their advances. There is a great deal to remember. On more complex difficulties, the game becomes a near-impossible barrage of enemy waves that only a few have managed to overcome.
Overall, the latest game releases are not very well receive by fans, and it seems as though the Fnaf franchise was doing a great job with the first few releases, but with time the newer releases seem to have lost their spark. Therefore, the Fnaf fanbase eagerly awaits a new game release with a mix of classic Fnaf-style gameplay and the latest graphics and visuals. If this sort of game comes out, it will undoubtedly be a breakthrough in the history of the Fnaf series.