Introduction
The 9th installment in the titular horror series was released on December 16th. It was developed by Steel Wool Studios, the same company behind Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted. After a long and uncertain wait, audiences have mixed feelings because of how different it is from previous games. It is widely debated whether this change was needed to keep it fresh, or too different to the point of becoming unappealing to fans.
The Story and Why it's Different
Security Breach takes the FNAF franchise in an entirely new direction. Steel Wool Studios scrapped the fixed-position office job where the thrill comes from anxiously checking security footage awaiting a jump scare, for a more open-world and in-your-face story-based gameplay. This is a stark difference from the expected subtle way the true storyline and lore are usually conveyed.
You play as Gregory, a young child lost in a never before seen environment, an impossibly huge “Pizza Plex,” as he tries to find his way out after hours with the help of Glamrock Freddy. This Pizza Plex is filled to the brim with stage areas, a daycare, below-ground storage areas, and other places to explore and hide.
Glamrock Freddy is the newest in the lineup of over 20 versions of Freddy Fazbear throughout the franchise and has a completely new personality. Instead of spending long nights avoiding his death wish against you, he has a kind personality and wants to help you out.
With his guidance, you receive hints and pushes in the right direction to find your way out of the Pizza Plex. You do this with the help of a “Faz-Watch,” with which you can check your map, see missions, your current goal, and other features.
It is unclear who Gregory is in relation to the franchise’s main story, and whether he has been an unnamed character here the whole time, or someone completely new and unrelated.
Throughout the game, you have the option to hide in a compartment in Glamrock Freddy’s torso to remain undetected by the other animatronics. Although he is here to help you, he can run out of battery and will have to be recharged at certain points in the game.
This serves as a challenge as when this happens you will be left on your own for a bit. Throughout the night, you must avoid the other animatronics and enemies while exploring the environment and collecting items to help you through rooms and areas.
Unlikely Help
Glamrock Freddy actually being the one helping you and trying to keep you safe is a complete about-face in terms of expected motifs in the franchise. It is widely accepted that the various animatronics in the series are your enemy, through the signature jumpscare(s) that span along every game. This has been the case for about 7 years, which is why it is such a shock when the game was released.
Months before the game was put out, Funko figures of the characters were leaked online. One of these included Glamrock Freddy with Gregory sitting in his chest, leaving fans to speculate and form opinions. However, the other main animatronics that perform at the arcade are still out to get you and must be avoided by either hiding, actively running away, or both.
The other 3 in the lineup are consistently following you down with no mercy.
This radical overhaul of what seasoned fans are used to certainly gives a new perspective of the animatronics motives as a whole.
Meet The Team
Additionally, instead of a new iteration of the classic four, Bonnie, Chica, Freddy, and Foxy, Bonnie and Foxy have been replaced by new characters by the names of Roxanne Wolf and Montgomery Gator.
There are also other non-human enemy characters introduced, such as the Sun and Moon animatronic in charge of the daycare, and the robots in charge of security and passing out maps to you throughout the night.
These “Glamrock” animatronics are the most fluid and lifelike yet, with walking and moving animations almost human in nature. This begs the question of their history, what era this game is set in, and how it fits into the timeline of the other games if at all.
This is a worthy endeavor to speculate as Scott Cawthon has said certain works in the overall franchise aren’t canon, such as the novel series.
The other games are set in the early to mid-80s, but judging from the modern look of the Pizza Plex and how advanced the animatronics are, it can be presumed that it takes place further in time. Especially since the character of Gregory seems to be new to the story, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume this is true. However, some fans believe Gregory could be the character dubbed “The Crying Child” from earlier games, based on the similar look of their shirts.
Who We’re Running From
It seems that the main villain is named Vanessa (AKA Vanny), the security guard of the Pizza Plex. After hours, she dons a white rabbit costume, with her main motive being to catch Gregory. She was first introduced in FNAF: Help Wanted, so it was predictable that she would be included in the story as the same studio worked on both Help Wanted and Security Breach.
Alongside Gregory, she is a relatively new character to the franchise, as fans are used to a new version of the animatronic roster being included. She is connected to Glitchtrap, a version of Springtrap, the main antagonist of the 3rd game in the series.
At the beginning of the game, it is established that Gregory is running from her, and trying to find his way out to avoid her for an unspecified reason. This is also a first because rather than your expected haunted animatronic enemy, she is human and willingly wears a suit which she can take off or put on whenever she wants.
Previously, the only “alive” human character in a suit was Springtrap, but he is stuck inside the suit and cannot take it off, and is essentially dead inside it. Additionally, in past games, you are the one playing as the security guard of the pizzeria. The role reversal of the security guard now being your enemy is an interesting twist to provide a fresh spin on the series as a whole.
Conclusion
Overall, this complete uprooting of everything we once knew and established from past FNAF games can be jarring, but is certainly an exciting and creative twist to add to the franchise and serves as a fresh spin from yet another long week watching security cameras.
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