Five Nights At Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic comes out later in 2025 and will continue the Steel Wool Studios era of FNAF games with its villain, the Mimic. While Security Breach and its DLC, Ruin, attempted to establish the Mimic as a threat, its lack of presence throughout the games and its lack of motivation have made it a lackluster villain. To replace William Afton as the series antagonist, Secret of the Mimic needs to let players connect with the Mimic and learn why it is so truly horrifying.

After a murky introduction in Security Breach, in which the Mimic takes the form of Burntrap, confusing players into thinking it was Afton back once again, the Mimic has floundered as a series antagonist. Creating a new villain after one as iconic as Springtrap is difficult, but if Secret of the Mimic is able to establish the Mimic’s personality and cement it as an ongoing threat, then the next era of FNAF will be better than ever.

Moving On From Afton Has Proven Difficult

He Always Comes Back, Which Might Be A Problem

William Afton has been the main series villain for Five Nights at Freddy’s ever since the very first game, even if fans at the time didn’t know it. After his full establishment as an in-game villain in FNAF 3, Afton has remained the true antagonist of the series through subsequent games, books, and the live action movie. This continued presence is a testament to Afton’s appeal as a villain, with his endless cruelty and his horrifying appearance as Springtrap.

For Five Nights at Freddy’s to move on from Afton, the next game needs to present a clear motivation and personality for its next villain. While Afton’s goals were murky from time to time, his status as a murderer gave audiences a motive and a reason to hate him. For the Mimic, his motivations and goals are unclear. If players don’t know what the Mimic wants, then they don’t know why they should be scared of it.

In Ruin, the Mimic wanted to escape the lower levels of the Pizzaplex, but players had no clear reason for wanting to prevent that beyond the Mimic tricking them and looking scary. While that made for a great villain for DLC, it’s not enough to carry the series forward as the next big bad.

The main issue with establishing the Mimic in the Steel Wool era of FNAF games is that its first appearance took the form of Springtrap, otherwise known as Burntrap, which only served to confuse players. Instead of being introduced to a brand-new villain, we were shown a character that looks and acts just like Springtrap, making it unclear whether Afton had somehow come back (which he always does). The next FNAF game needs to make it clear what the Mimic is and why we should be afraid.

Secret Of The Mimic Needs To Spend Time On The Mimic

Building A Major Antagonist Requires More Screentime

The most important thing Secret of the Mimic needs to do is make the Mimic a real threat. While the Mimic did appear in Security Breach: Ruin as the main antagonist, tricking the player deeper into the decrepit Pizzaplex in an attempt to gain freedom, it only appeared as an end-game monster. When compared to other villains of FNAF games, which hunt you throughout the entire game, the Mimic has had extremely minimal screen time.

Ideally, Secret of the Mimic would have the actual abundance of new costumes and animatronics seen in the trailer for the game, it does seem likely that the Mimic will make frequent appearances, scaring players as they explore the abandoned facility.

FNAF Needs To Establish A Clear Personality For Its Villain

Book Lore Doesn’t Always Translate To Game Canon

Five Nights at Freddy’s is trying to move on from William Afton as its go-to villain, which is a smart move given the same antagonist for years can get stale, but the series needs to better establish the next villain if it wants to continue the success of the past decade. William Afton is a magnetic monster; his motivations are cruel and almost inhuman. But the important part is that he is human, or at least was human at some point. The Mimic is an ill-defined AI that game audiences haven’t been able to understand yet.

FNAF games have always been shifty on confirming lore, but ideally, Secret of the Mimic will give players a solid backstory for the Mimic.

What the Mimic needs is a clear personality and motivation in Secret of the Mimic. The FNAF books have presented an intriguing backstory for it, but that needs to be translated to the games for the Mimic to stick as a compelling villain. In the books, the Mimic was made by Edwin Murray to be a friend to his son David. While with David, the Mimic learned his habits and playful behavior. When David suddenly died in a car accident, Murray attacked the Mimic in his grief, which explains where the Mimic picked up violent behavior. Beyond that, there's no explanation as to what the Mimic wants and what it plans to do.

The best thing for Secret of the Mimic to do is clearly establish this backstory in-game, which seems likely since it takes place in Murray’s Costume Manor. FNAF games have always been shifty on confirming lore, but ideally, Five Nights At Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic will give players a solid backstory for the Mimic and a real reason players should fear it, so that it can carry the series forward as a main antagonist.