Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 made a significant impact after its recent release, sending ripples of excitement through the fanbase. Not only did the title deliver genuine terror, following in the footsteps of RUIN’s return to survival horror, but it also revealed crucial lore details. Uncovering this lore was no small task, demanding the completion of 40 distinct survival mini-games, six secret challenges, and the collection of 80 unique collectibles. While many of these games and collectibles referenced or added to previous events from the series, two types of mini-games, and a single collectible, introduced what seems to be the series' earliest canonical event and original tragedy. Together, these elements pull back the curtain on the earliest events in FNAF’s re-established canon.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 is set between the events of Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach and FNAF: Security Breach RUIN, following the final human employee of the Mega Pizza-Plex, Cassie’s Dad. It is also hinted that he authored various collectible employee logs found throughout the main story of Security Breach. In Help Wanted 2, Cassie’s Dad can choose to collect two groups of 6 items as players complete the title’s many mini-games, unlocking a pair of endings. However, Help Wanted 2’s most significant lore revelation is seemingly concealed within two of its most unexpected mini-games.
A Set of Mini-Games in Help Wanted 2 Provide Clues to a Shared Tragedy
The majority of Help Wanted 2 mini-games involve surviving experiences within the Pizza Plex. However, a trio of carnival-themed games, Carousel, Fazerblast, and Captain Foxy's Log Ride, transport fans to brand-new environments. Captain Foxy's Log Ride is a Wild West version of the original mini-game from Help Wanted's Curse of Dreadberar DLC, during which players must defend themselves from Jack-O-Moon. In Carousel, fans are placed at the center of a large carousel, and tasked with installing fuses, rewiring and replacing circuit boards, and re-routing energy, all while defending themselves from Moon.
Fazerblast, on the other hand, has various levels. The first two are simply target practice. However, Fazerblast features additional levels, in which fans must play recreations of FNAF 1 through 3 by throwing balls or shooting targets with a Fazerblaster and Dart Gun, while Plushbabies attack from every direction. Both Fazerblast and Carousel share a unique fate, and one can assume they offer a first glimpse at a hereto-unknown tragedy.
Upon unlocking “nightmare” mode, i.e. taking off their V.A.N.N.I. masks, players are introduced to a new Carousel mini-game - The Cinder Carousel. In this version, the carousel and its surrounding environment are engulfed in flames. In place of Moon is one of Help Wanted 2’s original animatronics, Jack-O-Moon. The overarching gameplay remains the same. However, Fazerblast’s final levels put this seemingly random fire into context.
Each of Fazerblast's first 4 levels features a hidden Rocketship target, and, upon shooting it, a piece of the carnival game’s facade will fall. Among these items are a plank of wood, a hay bale, a leaky barrel, and a lantern. When done in order, with the lantern falling last, a chain reaction will occur, igniting the Fazerblast facade and its central animatronic, Carnie, who screams in pain. Following this fire, the final level of Fazerblast, called FNAF 3, is unlocked, during which fans must battle one-on-one with Springtrap, using all the weapons unlocked throughout the previous four levels. Success is rewarded with one of Help Wanted 2’s secret poppets, taking fans one step closer to the title’s secret ending.
The Carnival Games in Help Wanted 2 Seem to Uncover the Series’ Earliest Tragedy
Help Wanted 2's Carnival-themed mini-games gain significance as fans replay mini-games and earn additional prizes. At random, they receive a peculiar promotional poster for an event called FallFest 1970. While this may seem like just another collectible, its appearance has ignited the fanbase. The original FNAF Help Wanted released a DLC called The Curse of Dreadbear, which featured Halloween-themed mini-games, including the original Captain Foxy's ride. However, its setting has long puzzled fans. Its main hub, prize screen, and mini-games are adorned with long-abandoned decorations for a mysterious event - FallFest '83.
For years, FallFest '83 has been a point of debate in the FNAF community, with many dismissing its unique aesthetic and animatronics as simple Halloween themes. However, the events of Help Wanted 2, and its revelation of another FallFest in 1970, provide context to these elements. In particular, the fire depicted in Help Wanted 2 presents a plausible origin for The Curse of Dreadbear's original animatronics, Jack-O-Chica, Jack-O-Bonnie, and Grimm Foxy, all of whom are engulfed in flames. While little else is known about the two FallFest events, the connection made between Help Wanted 2's fire, the FallFest 1970 poster, and the fiery animatronics of a FallFest in 1983 hints at a new series of tragedies that date back farther than any other depicted event FNAF's canonical timeline.
The developer of Five Nights at Freddy's, Steel Wool Studios, has been expressing its desire to explore the series' earliest event for years, and with Help Wanted 2, it seems to be laying the groundwork. FallFest undoubtedly holds the key to where the series is headed, as the developer even concealed unique art for HW2's first demo at PAX 2023 within its prize machine, a real-world build of the same machine from which players receive the FallFest 1970 poster in-game.
Despite Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 being released just last month, fans could anticipate a return to FallFest soon, as Steel Wool has hinted at significant plans for FNAF in 2024.