Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted (originally titled Five Nights at Freddy's: Virtual Nightmare, often shortened to Help Wanted, abbreviated to FNaF: HW or FNaF VR and also known as Five Nights at Freddy's 7) is a 2019 virtual reality survival horror video game developed by Steel Wool Studios and published by ScottGames and Lionsgate Games. It is the seventh installment of the Five Nights at Freddy's video game series and is chronologically set after the events of the sixth game. The game was released on May 28, 2019 for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets on Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation VR headset on PlayStation 4.[1] A non-VR version of the game was released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 on December 17, 2019, with a Nintendo Switch port on May 21, 2020 and an Oculus Quest port on July 16, 2020. The game will also be available on the Xbox One, although no release date has been given as of June 2020.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted
Steam storefront header
Developer(s)Steel Wool Studios
Publisher(s)ScottGames
Lionsgate Games
SeriesFive Nights at Freddy's
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest
ReleaseVirtual Reality
May 28, 2019
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4
December 17, 2019
Nintendo Switch
May 21, 2020
Oculus Quest
July 16, 2020
Xbox One
October 27, 2020
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

The game presents itself as "the Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience", produced for the fictitious company Fazbear Entertainment to help improve its public image after a series of debilitating lawsuits. Gameplay focuses on a series of minigames based on previous games in the franchise, in which the player must evade attacks from sentient animatronics and perform dangerous maintenance tasks around a pizzeria. The game's canon establishes that an unnamed indie developer made video games based on the events from the previous games.[2]

The game was positively received by critics[3] and is among the top selling virtual reality games on Steam.[4] An eighth installment, Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, is set to be released in December 2020.

Gameplay

The game contains 50 playable minigames, which can be accessed from the game's hub. Many of these minigames recreate the mechanics of the previous games in the series, with their controls adapted to be better suited for a 3D virtual environment. The minigames are divided into groups by game of origin, and sorted by increasing difficulty (for example, minigame Night 1 of the FNAF 1 group is easier than Night 2, and so on.)[5] In all minigames, losing results in a jump scare.[6]

The original Five Nights at Freddy's inspires 5 minigames that recreate each of the game's five nights (levels). Situated in a security guard's office, the player must survive a full night shift by conserving power and avoiding attacks from four animatronics, which can be observed through security cameras. All visuals of the game are updated from 2D renders to 3D models, and all buttons and controls are laid out around the 3D office for the player to physically interact with.[7] For example, the camera feed, which previously obscured the player's entire screen, is displayed on a monitor on the player's desk. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and Five Nights at Freddy's 3 are adapted in a similar manner, with updated visuals and concrete UI.[6]

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 inspires two different types of minigames. The Night Terrors minigames adapt the gameplay of some of its main levels, in which the player must ward off animatronics from entering their bedroom by strategically opening and closing the doors. Some of these minigames allow the player to move by "teleporting" to different locations within view, a common VR locomotion method.[8] The original game's "Fun with Plushtrap" minigame is adapted as one of the Dark Rooms minigames, in which the player must use a flashlight to locate small animatronics around an unlit area.[6]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, itself composed of several minigames, lends its mechanics to multiple types of minigames. The Parts & Service minigames require the player to perform maintenance on several animatronics by opening compartments and swapping parts around their bodies. Vent Repair takes place in a maintenance shaft, in which the player must solve puzzles by flipping levers and pressing buttons while repelling animatronics with a headlamp.[6] One Night Terrors game and one Dark Rooms game are also adapted from Sister Location.

Winning each minigame in normal difficulty unlocks its counterpart in Blacklight Mode, an advanced difficulty mode that adds visual and/or auditory distractions to each game (e.g. balloons floating around the room, loud music playing, et cetera). Winning all minigames in both difficulty modes unlocks one final game, Pizza Party. Unlike the other games, Pizza Party is a maze which utilizes teleporting movement.

Collectible coins and cassette tapes are hidden throughout the various minigames. Collecting coins unlocks virtual toys that can be played with at the in-game Prize Counter, while collecting tapes unlocks audio logs that the player can listen to.[2][5]

Downloadable content
  • Curse of Dreadbear is a Halloween-themed downloadable content pack for Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted. The DLC was released in three parts, with several "waves" of new minigames released on October 23, October 29, and October 31, 2019, for a total of 10.[9] The DLC pack includes new animatronic characters, returning animatronics from previous games, and a Halloween-themed hub.[10]
  • Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted is the non-VR version of the game. The only two new additions are a loading screen and a teaser revealing a new game, later revealed to be Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach.

Plot

In recent years, the corporative entity Fazbear Entertainment came under fire for several incidents and disasters that allegedly occurred at their various locations (the events of the six previous games), which have been established as urban legends. This problem is aggravated by a horror video game series based on the legends, created by an unnamed indie developer.[2] In an attempt to overturn the bad reputation these rumors gave the company, Fazbear Entertainment commissioned the "Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience", a virtual reality game meant to make light of the rumors and convince players those events were completely fictitious. However, this narrative is contradicted by sixteen cassette tapes hidden throughout the game, which contain logs recorded by one of the game's developers.[2]

Meant as a warning for future players, the tapes expose a lawsuit happening during the game's development, involving an incident with a past employee, which threatened the game's completion. In addition, the tapes reveal that Fazbear Entertainment hired the indie developer to create the video game series based on the alleged legends, before cutting ties with him; the games were part of an elaborate ploy to discredit the rumors surrounding the company.[2] Most importantly, the tapes warn of a malicious code that was uploaded to the game from an old animatronic's circuit board. This code takes the form on an aberrant character known as Glitchtrap, who reveals himself as a digital reincarnation of William Afton, who attempts to escape from the game by possessing the player's avatar. It is implied that the circuit board containing the code was acquired from the remains of Springtrap, who was possessed by Afton's soul.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted contains three endings, depending on the player's choice:

  1. Upon completing all other levels and playing the final level "Pizza Party", the player will enter a dark room with animatronics and a tape. Glitchtrap will appear and gesture for the player to follow him behind a curtain. After doing so, the player will appear on a stage while a show starts, implying they "became" an animatronic and is now trapped in the game while Glichtrap is seen dancing gleefully in the background.
  2. If the player fails to follow the tapes' instructions, they and Glitchtrap will body-swap, with the player being in Glitchtrap's place.
  3. If the player follows the tapes' instructions, they will be taken to a room with handprints and scratches all over it. Glitchtrap will appear on the other side of a door, shushing the player before backing up into the darkness. After this, the player will receive a Glitchtrap plush. The player, whose name is revealed to be Vanny, a follower of Afton, tells the plush that no one suspects anything, assuring him that she won't let him down. The later installment reveals that Glitchtrap is now in Vanny's head.

After the non-VR version was released, there was a door in a level which lead to a snowy Christmas tree farm. In the distance, there was a silhouette of a large building being built, with a billboard that said now hiring. This was later revealed to be a teaser for Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, which takes place in a newly built, 80’s-style shopping mall.

Development

On August 19, 2018, Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon confirmed on his Steam thread that he would be making a Five Nights at Freddy's virtual reality game in collaboration with an unspecified studio.[11] On March 25, 2019, during Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play live stream, announcing several new games coming to the PlayStation 4, a trailer announcing the game was shown, and the developer was confirmed to be Steel Wool Studios.[12] The game debuted publicly at PAX East from March 28 to March 31, 2019,[13] and was available at subsequent PSVR demonstrations before its release.[14]

Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon initially approached Steel Wool Studios with the idea of recreating the original Five Nights at Freddy's in virtual reality. He liked the studio's first proof-of-concept so much that he expanded his initial plan to cover all of the previous Five Nights games. Many aspects of Cawthon's character designs had to be updated to look convincing and remain scary in a 3D environment, including their movements and finer details.[15]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic80/100 (PS4)[16]
53/100 (Switch)[17]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid9/10 (PS4)[18]
IGN8.3/10[19]
Nintendo Life3/10 (Switch)[20]
TouchArcade4/5[21]

The game was met with positive reviews from critics, holding a score of 80 out of 100 on Metacritic.[22] Reviewers praised the game for its effective use of virtual reality and its success in introducing new mechanics while preserving the series' feel and atmosphere, while being accessible for players new to the series. However, the game's frequent use of jump scares could make it less scary and more obnoxious over time for some players.[3][23][24]

The game is listed as one of PlayStation's "Favorite Horror Games of 2019"[25] and is one of the top 30 best selling VR games on Steam.[4]

The game was nominated for the Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game at the New York Game Awards.[26]

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gollark: But not everything gets logged, somehow.
gollark: I have socklogd or something.
gollark: Yes, but it doesn't seem to work as well.
gollark: One thing I miss from void is systemd-like journalctl.

References
  1. "FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S VR: HELP WANTED on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  2. "r/fivenightsatfreddys - Transcript for Tapes FNAF VR Help Wanted". reddit. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  3. Bolt, Neil (2019-05-28). "[Review] 'Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted' Revitalizes Tried and Trusted Scares". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  4. "Steam Search". Steam. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  5. Bolt, Neil (2019-05-28). "[Review] 'Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted' Revitalizes Tried and Trusted Scares". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  6. "Review: Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted". Destructoid. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  7. "Review: Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted". VRFocus. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  8. "Teleportation demo | Google VR". Google Developers. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  9. "Five Nights at Freddy's VR adds Curse of Dreadbear DLC for Halloween". Destructoid. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  10. "Steam Community :: Guide :: FNAF VR: Curse of Dreadbear Guide (Updated Oct. 31)". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  11. "Upcoming Projects Mega-Thread! :: Ultimate Custom Night General Discussions".
  12. "Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted Coming to PS VR". 2019-03-25.
  13. "PAX East 2019 Dates Announced, Badges Now on Sale". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  14. "'Five Nights at Freddy's' is even more creepy in VR". Engadget. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  15. Crecente, Brian; Crecente, Brian (2019-03-29). "'Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted' Features More Detailed Frights". Variety. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  16. "FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S: HELP WANTED (PS4)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  17. "FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S: HELP WANTED (Switch)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  18. "Review: Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted". Destructoid. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  19. "Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted - Recensione". IGN Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  20. "Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  21. "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Mini-Views Featuring 'Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted', Today's New Releases, and the Latest Sales". TouchArcade. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  22. "FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S: HELP WANTED (PS4)".
  23. Devore, Jordan (2019-06-01). "Review: Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted". Destructoid. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  24. Graham, Peter (2019-05-28). "Review: Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted". VRFocus. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  25. "Our Favorite Horror Games of 2019".
  26. Sheehan, Gavin (2020-01-02). "The New York Game Awards Announces 2020 Nominees". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
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