Five Nights at Freddy’s series still holds one major advantage over the latest indie horror phenomenon. Both games feature similar premises, settings, and childhood-ruining horrors that turn nostalgia into nightmare fuel, creating plenty of parallels between each franchise’s popularity. However, it’s unlikely that FNAF’s longevity can ever be truly replicated thanks to the franchise’s uniquely twisted method of storytelling.
Five Nights at Freddy’s has remained one of the most popular indie horror franchises in the industry since the release of the first game in 2014, and it has since expanded into multiple book series in addition to the mainline, spin-off, and fan games released over the years. However, it’s not the volume of content that gives FNAF its signature appeal, but rather the way that its story is told - or left untold for fans to solve themselves.
Rather than leading players through a linear narrative, FNAF intentionally presents its canon events in a way that obscures a majority of the story's most crucial details. Main events and key information are frequently kept concealed, leaving players to piece its mysteries together without much hope that their theories will ever be officially confirmed or debunked by the series’ canon. While this may seem like a frustrating way to enjoy a story, FNAF’s precise obscurity provides the series with an infinitely compelling story. The answers to all the franchise’s horrific secrets are always held just out of reach, giving players no choice but to analyze the games’ finest details through each loop of its repetitive gameplay to find satisfaction in the resolution of its narrative.
Why Poppy Playtime’s Story Can’t Beat FNAF’s
While Poppy Playtime’s unique gameplay and terrifying character design make it deserving of the praise it has received, the game’s linear storytelling can’t keep up with the popularity of FNAF’s unsolved mysteries forever. Playtime Co.’s monstrous toys are certainly horrific enough to make players eager to learn more about their origins, but the game’s horror depends on the fact that the secrets set up in early chapters will inevitably be revealed within the scope of the game. Without an understanding of each toy’s origins and, by extension, the full extent of the company’s sinister past, there’s only so far Poppy Playtime can carry its mysteries before they begin to lose some of their intrigue.
The satisfaction of FNAF’s narrative, on the other hand, is often drawn from the series’ lack of possible narrative resolution itself. FNAF reveals the origins and extent of its horrors up front, then weaves an intricately obscured backstory with emotional motivations that are never revealed. As such, even though Poppy Playtime's monster designs are better, FNAF’s horror isn’t dependent on the reveal of its darkest secrets, allowing fans to approach its labyrinth of lore already equipped with a full understanding of the horrific source of its haunts. FNAF’s obscure timeline and cryptically portrayed events make almost any plot potentially possible and, therefore, fun for fans to discuss as each new game, book, or cryptic teaser image is revealed. Poppy Playtime has certainly earned its success, but its linear narrative structure makes it unlikely for this latest indie horror sensation to truly be poised to usurp Five Nights at Freddy’s.
