Summary
Five Nights at Freddy’sis amid a massive resurgence, as the franchise has celebrated a string of highly satisfying releases and reveals. In 2023 alone,FNAFfans have experienced a return to horror inFNAF: Security Breach RUIN, the conclusion to theTales from the Pizzaplexnovels, theFive Nights at Freddy’sfilm, and the surprise announcement thatFive Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2will release by the end of December. One month out from its release, fans have received no further details aboutHelp Wanted 2, leading many to speculate its finer details. However, hardcore fans recently discovered a tale withinTales from the Pizzaplex #8that may hint at its core concepts. This tale, titledDITTOPHOBIA, features a massive reveal that sets the stage forHelp Wanted 2, including how it connects canonically to the series’ earliest events.
Each video game entry in theFive Nights at Freddy’shas added something to the series deep and complicated lore. Chief among these titles is the originalHelp Wanted, which set the stage forFNAF’s modern era. Shocking fans,Help Wantedposited that every title up to that point had been an in-universe video game meant to capitalize on urban legends surrounding Fazbear Entertainment properties. Since then, various novels and games have begun to reveal the true canon. InTales from the Pizzaplex #8, the paradoxical canonization of one title seemingly sets the stage for the series’ future.
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Tales from the Pizzaplex Revealed the True Narrative Behind FNAF 4
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4is widely considered one of the series' most crucial and terrifying entries, pitting players against the Nightmare Animatronics from the confines of a small child’s bedroom while exploring one of the earliest events in the franchise’s lore. Fans have questioned the games’ canonicity since the release ofHelp Wantedin 2019. Four years later,DITTOPHOBIAreveals the paradoxical truth. While the events ofFNAF 4do canonically occur, the narrative surrounding its five nights of survival is a complete falsehood.
DITTOPHOBIAfollows a seven-year-old boy named Rory, who gets out of bed each night to find his previously locked bedroom and closet doors open, before suddenly being attacked bythe Nightmare Animatronics, perfectly mirroring the gameplay ofFNAF 4. Upon being caught, Rory awakens to an empty house before eating breakfast, feeling lightheaded, and going back to bed. One day, Rory hears a loud sound, like an engine failing, before he heads to bed. Sleeping peacefully for the first time in his memory, Rory then awakens to a jarring reality.
Following Rory’s restful night,DITTOPHOBIAunleashes an onslaught of major reveals. Rory discovers himself to be a late teenager who has been trapped in the same nightmarish cycle as part of a traumatic experiment on fear. Rory’s house is a testing facility attached to a series of disjointed rooms and tunnels, later revealed to bethe facility fromFNAF: Sister Location, and the Nightmare Animatronics are revealed to be mannequins with large costumes on them. Everything he has experienced is a total falsehood, made possible through hallucinogenic gas, and he has been relivingFNAF 4’s five nights for over 10 years.
How DITTOPHOBIA Sets the Stage for Help Wanted 2
In the latter half ofDITTOPHOBIA, Rory explores the Sister Location facility, during which the truths behind various mysteries from bothFNAF 4andSister Locationare revealed. In particular, the room featured inSister Location’s alternate fifth night is given full context, as it serves as the Observation Deck for Rory’s fear experiment. Within the chamber various gas pipes and cranks can be seen, background details that have long perplexed the fandom. More importantly, Rory seemingly discovers that the tunnels connectingSister Location,FNAF 4,Fazbear’s Family Diner, andFNAF: Security Breach’s various restaurants feature a mysterious elevator that travels further down. Given recent developments in theFNAFseries, this elevator could be either theSister Locationelevator or, more significantly, the elevator in which Cassie becomes trapped by the Mimic at the end ofRUIN.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breachrevealed that various Fazbear Entertainment venues were built atop each other, as fans discover an elevator connecting the Mega-Pizzaplex toPizzeria Simulator’s Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place. The title’sRUINDLC further revealed that the Pizza Place’s lower level was built atop another facility, housing the Mimic, a Scooping Room, as seen inSister Location, and another elevator downward.
Some fans may wonder whycreator Scott Cawthonhas chosen now to reveal the canonical nature ofFNAF4 and its connection to modern lore. However, many will recall that the only confirmed detail surroundingHelp Wanted 2is that it features theSister Locationelevator. Since the title’s announcement, fans have theorized how the elevator could be connected to the narrative set forth byRUIN, which made the first major connection between the series' true lore and theTales from the Pizzaplexnovels.DITTOPHOBIA’s redefining of theFNAF 4location and placement within the tunnels housing that elevator sets the stage for a title in which players explore its interconnected facilities.
The timeframe in whichHelp Wanted 2takes place has yet to be revealed. However,Tales from the PIzzaplex #8gives fans a good idea of where theFive Nights at Freddy’s series is headed. TheTalesseries, in general, has been critical in paving the way forFNAF’s new lore, with the series’ main antagonist, The Mimic, retroactively taking the reins from longtime villain William Afton. AsTales #8marks the series conclusion, fans have now been caught up toRUIN’s core narrative, with the Mimic’s final story placing it inthe room featured atRUIN’s conclusion.
With the late addition ofFNAF 4’s canonization and redefinition,Tales from the Pizzaplex’s closing of one chapter is the start of another. Just as the lore catches up with the present narrative,DITTOPHOBIApulls back the curtainon one of the franchise’s earliest events. Fans have been left to question the deeper implications ofDITTOPHOBIA’s various reveals, leading to various new theories. Luckily, they don’t have long until the answers are revealed, asFive Nights at Freddy’s:Help Wanted 2’s December release is just around the corner.
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Five Nights at Freddy’s is a first-person survival horror and resource management game from Scott Cawthorn that raced to popularity thanks to its creepy animatronic enemies and its array of panic-inducing jumpscares. Bringing life to a cavalcade of well-known characters like Freddy Fazbear, Chica, Foxy, Bonnie, and more, Five Nights at Freddy’s has seen immense success, spinoffs, and fan games.
