So where does Help Wanted 2 land in your fnaf game ranking? And for anyone curious (H is Horror, L is Lore, F is Fun) FNAF 2: 6H 9L 4F = 19 FNAF 3: 7H 9L 6F = 21 FNAF 4: 8H 8L 8F = 24 FNAF SL: 6H 8L 3F = 17 FFPS: 7H 10L 8F = 25 FNAF World: H0 L8 F10 = 18 FNAF HW: H10 L8 F7 = 25 FNAF SB: H3 L7 F6 = 16 Timestamps: 00:00 Preheating 00:28 So, how can you define "Perfect?" 01:01 What makes a perfect FNAF game? 06:22 How do other FNAF games hold up against this definition? 12:48 Is Help Wanted 2 a perfect FNAF game? 23:14 Letting it cool
It ranks pretty high up in general for me and is definitely my favorite steelwool Fnaf game (say what you want about steelwool but they know how to do vr)
Honestly a great redemption for steelwool after Security breach got them in trouble with the fanbase. Hopefully they continue with this consistency after ruin and help wanted 2.
@@BrandonJames2016Tbf, SB wasn't rushed per se. The scale was too large and priorities off. The gameplay sacrificed for a real cool looking environment, with tiny details you have to look for. Some of the gameplay set pieces were awesome. Just a lot of the connecting gameplay at best was disorienting or confusing
@@Moleoflands it was rushed tho obviously most of the game looked great but the glitches and performance issues spoke a lot💀. A game that’s worked on properly barely has any performance issues or any glitches whatsoever.
This game proves Steelwool's skills in game design lie with the VR experience. I really hope we get more FNAF VR games from them in the future, and not just in the HW lineup.
@@akroblodon9449 I don't agree, Ruin IS indeed a step up, considering how it improved in gameplay, storytelling, and many other things that were really not great in SB
@@k6kich154 how did the gameplay improve in your opinion? They added 2 puzzles that were the same each time and made the game linear. They story telling was just weak as in sb.
@@akroblodon9449What is bro on about. As someone who hated base Sb but loved Ruin I have to say Ruin is a literal example of improvement. It’s not a buggy mess, It’s actually scary at times, and it not just get to the other side of this area without getting caught. Instead it’s going around the area unlocking puzzles which I had fun with.
Adding to the jumpscare point: The ruined version of DJ Music Man has a jumpscare where it's literally like he's consuming you, opening his jagged teeth and closing in, followed by the sudden death screen. It would be so terrifying to endure irl
I've never played a fnaf game but this game is the most fun I've had watching people play. The twists were just masterful with the (spoilers) taking off the mask and the princess quest turning from the arcade cabinet to 3d. It was so fun to watch as they were kinda foreshadowed (the mask one being more overt) but in a way that you only know in hindsight and I just love it.
I have only ever played FNAF once (when the OG first came out; I very quickly got bored and wandered off). I 100% sgree with this. It's so much fun to watch.
I always found FNAF 2 the scariest, and that's purely for the minigames. (Speaking as one of the large percentage of the fandom who's only watched playthroughs.) I found that when the minigames and lore were rewards for clearing a night, something was lost. To have a death, and be prepared to recover and start over, and only then, OCCASIONALLY, getting surprised by an uncanny valley voice and creepy games with disturbing implications. To me it was the unpredictable element that was the best part and made those minigames terrifying.
Then again, the only game that's ever given me a nightmare is Sister Location, and that from Baby's monologue. Not the jumpscares or the scooper, but the extremely human terror of watching your body do something you don't want it to do.
"That's purely for the minigames." Interesting because I would say the mini game is kind of the only scary part of that game aside from like withered bonnie and chica. As someone who has played the games, Fnaf 2 is one of the least scary fnaf games to me (and a lot of people I see online). The toy animatronic are rather cute than scary and the atmosphere is also just not scary. Especially when comparing to fnaf 1 or 4, fnaf 2 honestly just feels so bright and happy that it became a chore simulator a lot sooner than the other two.
@@imagebear8916 Yeah I'm sure the experience is very different if you're playing. I also have a thing about computerized/gitched voices that freaks me out. So for me, the surprise of a deep computer voice spelling out cryptic messages is the scariest thing in the franchse.
I see where your coming from however I feel that the mini games coming only after you die make the lore of the game far less accessible especially with how easy the first half of the game is. Fnaf 2 has some extremely important lore as it introduces key characters like William Afton and shows how the animatronics were possessed but if your going into this game blind and just so happen to really good at they won’t understand the story as well as others. Fnaf has been able to make some disturbing mini games without the player having to die. Fnaf 4 has all the mini games take place after you complete a night allowing the player to experience the whole story seamlessly. The deep laughter and strange ambience make it feel unnatural and the minigame after completing night 5 (though ruined by memes) is probably the most disturbing minigame this franchise has ever had.
My favorite jump scares surprisingly come from SB. More specifically the little details some of them have. Shattered Roxy has that little scream that is just filled with insecurity and blind rage (pun intended), and really adds to how scary it is. And the way that Vanny kinda grabs you and lifts you up is really scary cuz I realize that we're like a child, and this person is attacking a child. Idk if that makes any sense but I thought I would just mention it
I thought hw2 was fantastic! My main problem is that it can never beat the initial creepiness factor of glitchtrap in hw1. Watching him slowly get closer to you level by level, and dancing with joy after stuffing you in a suit is so chilling. I just wish we’d seen more of him to be honest. Like some sort of Galway chase, where when the lights are on, he’s dancing in a circle, but when the lights are off, he’s making a horrific mad dash towards you. I just want more of him. He’s horrific.
Creepy moments ? Check Confusing and mysterious Lore ? Check Dark ambiance ? Check Good animatronics designs ? Check New types of gameplay and not just you sitting in a office ? Check Good VR experience ? Check Conclusion: it's a great, if not the best FNAF game It's not the scariest game ever, obviously, but personally, I kinda stopped really being scared at all of the FNAF games, even the earlier ones, so I don't have any real problem with the "horror" aspect changing. That's also why I didn't expect the FNAF movie to be scary, since FNAF has kinda always been more in the uncanny vibe rather than the horrific vibe. I love those games and this franchise for the weird lore, the creepy vibes from time to time and the animatronics, and that's what FNAF help wanted 2 is, A good fusion of everything that make people love FNAF, and frankly, I think the main reason why people say FNAF isn't "scary" anymore is just because we are not playing point and clicks games anymore, where you have very limited movement. I think that's really the only thing that made the first games "feels" terrifying (obviously there is the ambiance, the sound design, etc... but you get what I'm saying)
This is the Steel Wool FNAF game that has sold me on everything new about FNAF. I'm finally willing to fully embrace absurd book theories, wacky in-game VR elements and AI/Robot narratives, and more that I've been hesitant with recently. I'm stoked for whatever comes next, weather it be Fall Festival or something else, cause Steel Wool has clearly found their footing and their own voice for the series
I watched your entire live stream when you first played help wanted 2 and it made me buy the game, to me after playing it’s just the perfect amount of scary for me, before help wanted I was never able to play the earlier games. Seeing help wanted 2 it. Seemed so genuinely fun I had to give it a try and I love it so much because of how fun it is to just play.
The first playthru of fnaf hw2 I watched was Astralspiff and his big stupid grin and "take off your mask?... no way?" Was so filled with delight and glee I had a huge smile on my face too. It was definately a big highlight for me 😂 I like watching him because he doesn't fake reactions as much as someone like markiplier or game theory live. So seeing him excited about stuff really tickles me.
I wonder if Rye Toast would have more ideas for videos if he covered FNAF fan games as well. Maybe give his own hot takes. See how they shape up to the canonical FNAF games or if they even surpass them. Seeing the way fan games replicate or innovate on an already established formula. (Plus, more FNAF related content for him to use.)
I always love it when folks are reasonable and objective with their criticisms and praise and when they explain their own personal stories with FNAF. It's so refreshing. Help Wanted 2 really solidified Steel Wool's redemption arc with the overall fandom that started with Ruin. It's a perfect blend of taking in fandom feedback and incorporating it into their plans for the future. I'm neutral to okay with Security Breach (sans PeePaw Afton ruining FFPS and UCN's impact which they fixed so I'm no longer feral and wanting to rip out throats about him) but lots of people didn't like it, especially with all the game breaking glitches, so they had to go back to the drawing board fast. The fact that they were willing to do so and actually acknowledged the valid complaints restored a lot of goodwill but people were still worried about what they'd do next. Ruin and HW2 did well in the criteria you laid out for a good FNAF game and I hope they keep the momentum.
The Princess Quest ending was hands-down the best gameplay experience we've ever gotten in this entire series. It feels really surreal, giving you that awesome feeling where you're sucked into the story and it almost feels like a dream. Also, I agree that the endings are pretty metaphorical, and I love that. I love that Steel Wool has stopped taking the old convoluted, technical sci-fi, LITERAL approach to lore, and has started being more implicit and metaphorical. This was the approach that OG Fnaf took, and Steel Wool, in my opinion, is taking a good route for the franchise. Super excited to see what games come out next.
I tells ya, it sure is nice having your videos to look forward to and become a regular of mine. What with the Matpat stuff (I'll still watch the channels mind you) it's nice to feel like with one going I've found a replacement. I enjoy how you go on about the theories or just appreciation about the games. Between Shipwrecked 64 and Help Wanted 2 I've watched from your vods or attended live streams, they are both on the top of my list of games I wanna play myself as well. You've really sold me on the replayablity of HW2 being a lot of fun and I just, I enjoy games that work like that. Keep up the good work! ^_^
Something I really hope the next fnaf game does is go back to having realistic-esc designs and visuals, IMO the thing that makes security breach the worst fnaf game to me is the fact of how cartoony it is, and also introducing characters that people can call "Comfort characters" but that's just a preference of mine and how I think that horror games should be scary, not comforting.
@LaggingThelagger Agreed. I can have a good time with Security Breach, but definitely not for the right reasons. I don't like the game for a plethora of reasons, but to give it credit where it's due: it NAILS the exploration and map design for the most part. I could see the Pizzaplex being a real indoor amusement park that people would actually go to visit or work that (for the most part) could actually exist if a company as large as Fazbear Entertainment threw enough money at it. There was so much love and care put into the map that seeing it utilized with almost nothing but boring fetch quests is honestly kind of sad. I had a lot more fun just wandering around and taking everything in and abusing glitches to get to places I wasn't supposed to.
Do you think that lefty could be a refurbished carnie? This is a very long shot, im talkin 100 yard football kick, but its just some fun thoughts that could conjure up something in the community. If you look at burnt carnie's model you can just barely see that his right eye is more withered. You may have to squint. But say that at that time his right eye got replaced because it was the most damaged of the two, after decades of collecting dust and rotting away, the untouched eye could have decayed to the point of becoming black. As Henry repared carnie to become lefty, the orginal eye may have stayed or been replaced with a new black eye for a unique touch. A more realistic approach could be the lefty's design is INSPIRED by his burnt orginal. The eye rotted eye i just mentioned could have inspired the black eye detail. One specific character of that I think could drive home this theory is the color. Burnt carnie is a muted brown with white char accents. But if you were to scrape all of burnt plastic off, you be left with a black tarnished metal. Notice that lefty is not solid black, but a metalic, gun metal black. I think it is possibe that lefty is either a repaired version of carnie, with it's new design based on the chared scraps of the original, or lefty was a completely different animatronic who's build was inspired by the remains of his counterpart. By the location of Fazer Blast and hint we see, I think that carnie was most likely a part of Fall Fest(most likely the 1970 event) if so, do you think it's possible that carnie was one of Henry's first animatronics. That was a whole decade before our first look at fredbears. Whether or not Fredbear's opened before 1983. I highly doubt that it was an establishment before 1970. I noticed that there is no sign of Freddy’s or Fredbear's on the poster. Which leads me to believe that this fall fest may have predated everything. The running theory is that the mediocre melodies were his first animatronics, made to rip off Freddy’s fame. But being that we see an animatronic a decade before that, that closely resembles one of his final animatronics. It really seems that carnie could be his first. Here's some food for thought. Henry has been deemed a copycat in the early timeline for the mediocre melodies. But if he made his first BEAR animatronic at a children's theme event in 1970, is he really the copycat? If William stole the idea and made Fredbear's, and Fredbear's became as big as it did. No one would bat an eye at a small carnival with a simple bear animatronic. I don't know if I like this idea, but I'm just throwing everything I got to see what sticks. Is it possible that William set the carnival on fire to one, prevent it from becoming more successful. And two, to take that idea and reuse it for himself. I don't think he was pure evil at this point, or really evil at all. But it's still just a thought. I don't really think that lefty is a remade carnie. I think it's possible that the design could have been inspired by the withered design. But I doubt that they put that much thought into a connection like that. I am pretty confident, though, that carnie was most likely the first and that Henry was never really the copycat. But more so, tried to reclaim the ideas stolen from him later on after William's fame.
All I can say is I find it suspicious that, if I'm not mistaken, they are posed the exact same way when you display the model on stage. However the star on lefty and the vest on carnie look to be actually shaped into the animatronic not just painted on. They do have the same shape bow, but yeah I think at least the torso would have to be different.
I agree. Help Wanted 2 is probably one of if not my total favourite FNaF game in the series. It was just so fun to play whilst retaining horror elements, personally I'm not a massive fan so slight bias here but I actually prefer it when FNaF games have a mix of scary and more laid back parts. Take FNaF 4 for example: I love it, it's really fun, but it's just so tense that it's hard for me to want to play for long periods of time, it makes me really want to take a break. When I wanted a break from any horror levels in Help Wanted 2 though, it was as simple as just loading a more chill minigame next. It makes it easier to continuously play the game for me, not sure if anyone else feels the same way there. It's great to see SteelWoolStudios get better as they go forward, really excited for what they cook next because I do feel like this game will be very difficult to top.
Hey I actually have a little theory about Moondrop in HW2, so to start Moondrop apears in HW2 many times, in daycare(obviously), carasell(I’ll come back to that), focus pirate ride, and then In one of the endings. But in severity breach when Moondrop takes GR Freddy and waves at Gregory (i think he waves) it’s like he’s being TOLD to do that, plus he’s the only animatronic that didn’t normally attack anyone besides Gregory, so I feel like maybe he was given orders to do that by maybe Vanny or Glitchtrap. In the foxy ride there is another version of Moondrop that is in the glitchy part of the ride when you shoot Helpy. I’m that one ending you give the Glitchtrap plushy to moon and he brings it to Vanny, also there like this weird version of Moon in the claw machine, a PURPLE version-caugh caugh-Aftons signicher color-caugh caugh-… The caracel ride with moon evenatual gets set on fire, but we’ve never actually seen a caracel in a fnaf game before, but there were talks of a new fnaf game realted to a carnival and ballons, so if MatPats theory related to Ruin is true and the mimic and the daycare attendants were one of Afton first creations maybe we will see them in this new talk of a fnaf game Also idk how to REALLy word any of this I just thought of theory that might be important Also love your vids :)
I totally agree. People say: "This is the least scary FNAF game and it's boring!" Because they played Flat Mode. It's like saying that Super Mario Odyssey is a bad game after you played Super Mario Bros.
Ok but can we talk about the horrifically amazing tension with Freddy's music box in fnaf one, like I grew up on this franchise, the jump scares barely get me, but that fucking music box gets me every time
The ending makes so much sense. I can't believe it took me this long to realize. Something Afton says in the movie actually. "you had one job, keep him in the dark and don't let him figure out what happened.", first off, that's two things, secondly: Jeremey, or the player characters, figured it all out. And then stumbled upon the ruins of the old.pizzeria in the sinkhole, which are above the Afton household. He finds the sister location elevator, and it is there that Afton sends Vanny to go deal with him and make sure nobody can learn of it. Cassie could have come not only looking to help Gregory, but to find her dad. The minic could have been down in the old Sister Location ruins. Very fuzzy on the details as I haven't played any of the newer games, so if I'm overlooking something do tell me, cuz I don't wanna look like an idiot. Well anymore like an idiot than I do for theorizing about a game I haven't played.
in the early games, i must say fnaf 2 foxy jumpscary is the best! it is great, animated, and you believe you die! but the help wanted 2 one with the claw from scrap baby is superb!
true, but i also think its because of the jumpscare sound in fnaf 2, the scream doesn't work with most of them just slightly moving to ward your face statically, foxy, the puppet and mangled are the only ones (maybe fnaf 1 bonny too) but the poppet is too flat, so mangled and foxy are the best but like if i was sitting there and a mangled swung to me is just less terrifying that the foxy mouth agape right at my face! but for sure the death animations are way better but the issue was with security breach is that they weren't scary because of the models. they were great in ruin though! @@RyeToast
I mostly disagree only because in a majority of the minigames you don't really survive the animatronics, you do tasks and get punished a jumpscare if you fail. Though it's definitely an amazing game, I think it lacks the dread that FNAF usually induced.
A big problem I run into is I stim really hard when gameplay gets tense. This makes horror games in particular hard for me to play because I'm flailing everywhere. I imagine that would be wild in VR. Not that I can afford a headset anytime soon. But it's super fun to watch for sure. Much stimming is to be had. I like that it's not TOO scary. That way I don't accidentally throw anything lol.
Fnaf means five nights at freddies. I don't recall spending five nights at freddies in the game 😎 Jokes aside it has been super fun seeing people play it!
turning on the light to see bonie or chica is not a jump scare a jump scare is the sudden appearance of something and a loud noise this is a difrent method of cashing in tenshion which is a good thing horror needs to use a lot of methods to scare people because the same thing over and over gets less scary the more times it happens.
21:48 No doubt about it. I honestly wish we had a spiritual successor that didn't try to tie into the lore, and instead just went all-in on its premise (while also fixing some issues like information scarcity).
I think Cassie’s dad is named Luis. It’s the name of the coworker that Vanessa befriends (she mentions him in her therapy logs). There are logs in SB of an employee focused on the princess quests, wanting to ‘’free the princess’’ the ending of help wanted 2 might indicate that we are playing as that person. If Luis knew Jeremy, and saw vanessa, a young female coworker he befriended going down the same path, he would want to help her, especially if he has a daughter, the dad instincs could kick in. So I believe Cassie’s dad, Luis, is an employee of Fazbear. He was friends with jeremy who betatested a new vr game and died after. Then he saw his young coworker betatest for the same game, and she was never the same after. He tries to free vanessa using the princess quest arcades. If gregory was indeed posessed, it would be a motive for him to befriend Cassie, the daugther of the problem employee. Luis used the new fazbear AR tech to put an end to whatever was happening. He failed and Cassie was left alone. He still could be bonnie bro.
For me, it’s the tension that terrifies me. The jumpscares are fine, but the events beforehand are just so.. Terrifying. I feel like the jumpscares aren’t too bad in VR, but instead it’s the stress to not get jumpscared. I don’t really like horror, so I don’t wanna be jumpscared, making the game way more terrifying for me.
I would argue all the issues we’ve see with Steel Wool’s FNAF games arises from an inconsistency in their understanding of genre; specifically the distinction between action/thriller and horror/suspense. This is actually a really common problem within the horror genre, so it’s not unique to the Steel Wool, even big studios continue to make this mistake too. Horror as a genre necessitates evoking very strong, but VERY specific emotions from its audience, out of all genres it’s the least forgiving of instances of accidental genre deviation, as a lot of the emotions evoked by other genres have more overlap with each other. Unfortunately Security Breach was doomed to disappoint because Steel Wool’s approach to game design was not consistent with the horror genre’s requirements and veered off to action/suspense. The almost “open world” approach to level design completely prevented the sense of entrapment and helplessness that’s needed to evoke the correct emotions in the audience, the original FNAF succeeded so well as a horror game because of how helplessly confined you were in the game’s environment, it completely removed the ability to feel like an even match against the opponents (the animatronics), which met genre conventions perfectly! In Security Breach the player feels more like an action/thriller “hero” protagonist than a horror “victim” protagonist. You were able to feel confident in your safety as a player by a disparity in competence with the animatronics, you could always out manoeuvre them, which was in part a consequence of the fact you also never actually felt entrapped by the environment; which is also the reason why the basement hallway section with all the endoskeletons (when you temporarily don’t have Freddy to rely on) was unanimously seen as the only true horror experience within that game. Steel Wool has done a lot better at executing horror within their VR games due to the segmented gameplays sections allowing for game design that actually provides that sense of environmental entrapment and consequent restricted capacity to protect yourself from and/or escape the imminent threat of the opponents you’re up against. Even in the Ruin DLC they showed a much better understanding of how to get the genre right. While I definitely agree that Help Wanted 2 had segments that failed to be “horror” enough, the portions that did, did it right, so I do have a lot of hope that Steel Wool will be capable of nailing down genre consistency in future games, especially as they’re so receptive to audience to feedback and are genuinely determined to provide the audience the gameplay experience they desire!
I got the Quest 2 just to play this game and I absolutely don't regret it. Without a doubt the best and most fun FNAF game ever. I really hope Steel Wool keeps this trend of alternating between normal and VR games. While Security Breach really disappointed me, I think Ruin showed that they absolutely can get it right, and with VR there is no doubt that they can do amazing things. Whatever the future of Steel Wool is tho, I'm really excited for it. I can't wait for them to announce their next game.
another thing i would like to mention that in my opinion makes a good fnaf game is not just the horror but the anxiety it creates. fnaf is great at taking away any semblance of control u could feel which is verry anxiety educing. and at the end of every segment of gameplay. it almost feels like u just barley made it. honestly it could just be thrown in with horror but i wanted to mention it
Matpat is not retiring entirely, just from running and hosting the Theorist channels. He is still going to be there working on theories, but also have other side projects he never had time for due to the filming and recording schedule. So actually, he could, theoretically (pun intended), be easier to get on the podcast after he has stopped hosting the Theorist channels.
isnt Pal Percy using the same night progression system as Fnaf 6 Pizza Simulator? like "you cant end your shift until you take care of the tasks" sounds exactly what that game did.
I really think steel wool are a good pick to take over fnaf. I think they just got overambitious with security breach. If they can keep it realistic, I think their games could even overtake the OGs. I love the idea of the pizzaplex being on top of fnaf 6. I think the most important thing is the lighting. In fnaf, the scariest bits are when you can hardly see whats going on. You’re scared, helpless and alone. Its dark, and some monster, you dont know what, is crawling through the vents around you. Maybe you see it peek through a grate, maybe you hear a thudding noise to your side. Then when you see it, it’s too late. You’re already dead. Security breach almost had a good dynamic with the basement. The game starts out shiny, sparkly and fun, then you reach the basement and its dark, grim and spooky. But they fumbled. Burntrap has minutes of screentime at most and the blob doesnt do much. You can barely explore the secrets down there and cant find anything surprising. Its kinda lame.
Hey Rye c: I really couldn't help but laught at your jade bracelets triggering your video program, because they're green :D It's subtle, yet somehow hilarious to me
I know 😂 I didn't think about it in recording but the small ball parts of the bracelet are malachite, which happened to be juuuust green enough for the green screen
Oh! That explains why the jade one on your other arm doesn't do it! xD I don't think it's an issue though, you might as well keep wearing it in videos ^^ @@RyeToast
Also main part of the games horror comes from the stress and anxiety to not loose/jump scared is fun. Horror and fun working together us what makes it great.
Steel Wool earned my respect when they released the first HW. Obviously Security Breach had its faults, but I personally enjoyed it. It’s a 7.5/10 for me. Steel Wool proved they learned their lesson with the Ruin DLC, as well as HW 2.
I still can’t get over the fact that rye toast is playing this on a og vibe with those god awful controllers. Going from my quest 1 to my reverb g2v2 is a life changing experience visually. Also the index controllers changed how much I enjoy vr drastically. Also this game would’ve been perfect if you could actually play fazerblast like a real laser tag game. Basically I want to play boneworks with a fnaf animatronic chasing me in a maze. Also ryetoast, play boneworks if you haven’t. Life changing game and without a doubt the best single player vr game I’ve ever played and it’s not even close. That game’s lore is actually very similar to fnaf vr 2 but way more horrifying. That whole game feels way creepier than fnaf vr. It’s like the back rooms vr
I get not wanting to go into details on each game and drag out the video, but I would have appreciated a quick breakdown on what each game scored in individual categories. Just a data nerd and curiosity thing
i played fnaf 1 when it came out and was released for free demos, i played said free demo and then fell in love and watched gameplay and lore for the rest, as part of majority of the fan base that has only watched most the games, fnaf 1 gave me these crazy scares and had just enough to keep me super enticed in the series as a whole, the only game since then that ever gave me this same feeling of unease but also interest at the same exact time was HW2 i wish so badly i owned a vr because i totally would want to play this one, i was tempted with security breach since im a squirmy player and that one seemed a bit less hardcore and easy to play but it wasnt for the same reason that brought me to fnaf 1 and the interest in HW2, i will have to say simply worldbuilding( and lore) wise sister location is my fave game tho (edit; i wanted to add, i didnt play HW2 and thats why i agree because even without playing it, i got the same feeling as i did when i actually did play a fnaf game)
My only issue is that I (and from what I've read other people as well) am tired of the endless J. J. Abrahams mystery box. It's not like I want answers for everything but looking back, it's been 10 years of retolds, rewrites, retcons (I know you hate it but it's the true, Scott has done a lot of retcons), etc... When FNAF came out, this was incredible and it was exciting but after 10 years, I'm just tired of the endless "here's 1 answer, here are 10 questions, here are 10 mysteries". FNAF shouldn't be this complicated to follow and what I fear is that if the same formula keeps going, do I really want to be on a franchise where I HAVE to go outside of my way and read books because if not, this comes out of nowhere? I think that FNAF6 was the perfect end of the series. I would've love that after that, he made a reboot/soft reboot (like many other franchises have done, Resident Evil it's a great example). I just want this endless mystery to end and just make a good game (which we know they can do) with a really solid story without having to mental juggling/gymnastics to know what it's going on. I know that won't happen but I really love FNAF and I fear that if they keep going, at some point, the series is gonna go to the drain because loing-term it's unsustainable.
"And I agree with that calculation" All I can imagine is my analytical chemistry professor looming over my math and murmuring "What the fuck is this..." 😅
New FNAF 1 lore, Foxy doesn't kill you but helps you escape, since his jump scare isn't really a jump scare but him coming into the room and just says hi
@4:00 uh no that's like the one thing that's always killing fnaf and to be frank it certainly has become so annoying that I had given up on theorizing the multitude of "could be" theories since at least fnaf 6
An important part of fnaf's horror that is hard to see by looking at it alone is how defenseless the player is. Fnaf 1 was unique at the time because of how, compared to other games at the time, you are completely helpless. Slenderman was the biggest horror game at the time and it gave you big environments to run away in. Most horror games either let you run away or gave you a weapon to fight with, but fnaf 1 makes you sit there and watch as the animatronics get closer with out giving you a weapon or the option to run. Fnaf 2 expanded on this idea by taking away the one defense you had in fnaf 1, the doors. It also doubles down on making you watch the threats approach with the massive empty hallway in front of you that you can use the flashlight to see animatronics approaching in. Fnaf 3 took away the mask leaving you with nothing but the cameras, and put the massive window for you to see springtrap approaching through. You can even see springtrap looking in through your door or running behind the camera. The fnaf 4 took away the cameras and made you a literal helpless child holding the door closed to keep out the nightmares. Freddy and foxy are even in the room with you while you deal with them, making them uncomfortably close and the doors ineffective. Sister location gives you a broken hand unit that gives you wrong instructions on how to protect yourself, while forcing you to get closer to the animatronics. Pizza sim gives you nothing but a flashlight and two massive vents right next to you, while telling you that there shouldn't even be anything in the vents to worry about but if there is to try not to be too loud. Help wanted 1 forces you to get right up in the animatronics' faces while you try not to anger them because you often have either no defence, or nothing but a flashlight. Security breach loses this concept, by letting you run, hide, and directly confront the threats. Ruin does a better job with its tight environments and making running away your only option. Finally, help wanted 2 perfectly follows this concept by putting you in a variety of situations where you can do nothing but try to appease the animatronics as they are right in your face. Even the non-scary parts follow this idea, instead of directly fighting the animatronics you delay their approach or appease them. Help wanted 2 also captures the main game play feature of fnaf, forcing you to balance doing multiple things at once. Also the lore is good, and follows a lot of the ideas from throughout the series. This is why, in my eyes, help wanted 2 is absolutely a perfect fnaf game.
To me, Help Wanted 2 has been one of the best FNAF games since PizzaSim. But the actual best is still Help Wanted. That game just has the right balance to me of Gameplay-Scary/Unnerving-Storytelling.
11:03 as it’s the only one I haven’t really beaten…ios mobile version…half the time I can’t even see Springtrap or know where he is. My least favorite game because of this. I just realized that after years of trying to play Pizza Sim, an thinking the audio was broken, as the sound wasn’t in surround, it was a setting that was set to MONO! haha I found it on accident while messing with my airpods. can’t believe it, so now I can get left/right audio.
Dumb question but do you think you'll make a video discussing the story of Shipwrecked 64? I know you primarily make FNaF content but I think the game more than deserves its own video covering it.
The only downside is that I'd have to Wait 3 or more years for Lore progression just for it to end on *Another* Cliff hanger. I just wanna know what happened to Cassie Already.🌚
I still feel like a FNaF game cant be Perfect unless it has the structure of FNaF 1 and 2. Five main nights, a 6th challenge night, and a custom night with difficulties that ranges from "Experience the atmosphere" to "Borderline impossible". As the VR games lack this, I can't call it perfect. If they DID have this structure, maybe thered be a solid case for it.
So where does Help Wanted 2 land in your fnaf game ranking?
And for anyone curious (H is Horror, L is Lore, F is Fun)
FNAF 2: 6H 9L 4F = 19
FNAF 3: 7H 9L 6F = 21
FNAF 4: 8H 8L 8F = 24
FNAF SL: 6H 8L 3F = 17
FFPS: 7H 10L 8F = 25
FNAF World: H0 L8 F10 = 18
FNAF HW: H10 L8 F7 = 25
FNAF SB: H3 L7 F6 = 16
Timestamps:
00:00 Preheating
00:28 So, how can you define "Perfect?"
01:01 What makes a perfect FNAF game?
06:22 How do other FNAF games hold up against this definition?
12:48 Is Help Wanted 2 a perfect FNAF game?
23:14 Letting it cool
W
bet this is gonna be another fire video 🔥
It ranks pretty high up in general for me and is definitely my favorite steelwool Fnaf game (say what you want about steelwool but they know how to do vr)
Right below FNAF World and FNAF 6, so 3rd. Still no buff helpy :(
I like that you call them preheating and letting it cool. Adds that bit of personality
Honestly a great redemption for steelwool after Security breach got them in trouble with the fanbase. Hopefully they continue with this consistency after ruin and help wanted 2.
makes sense, VR is their element and they actually got time to cook. hope they keep this up for the next game
Yeah this and ruin really shows steel wool can make a banger
@@doctornobody105 yup they just need to learn not to listen to the fanbase when it comes to rushing projects.
@@BrandonJames2016Tbf, SB wasn't rushed per se. The scale was too large and priorities off. The gameplay sacrificed for a real cool looking environment, with tiny details you have to look for.
Some of the gameplay set pieces were awesome. Just a lot of the connecting gameplay at best was disorienting or confusing
@@Moleoflands it was rushed tho obviously most of the game looked great but the glitches and performance issues spoke a lot💀. A game that’s worked on properly barely has any performance issues or any glitches whatsoever.
This game proves Steelwool's skills in game design lie with the VR experience. I really hope we get more FNAF VR games from them in the future, and not just in the HW lineup.
@@crosslaw9774ruin wasnt a step up. it was a bare bones straight forward version of normal sb.
@@akroblodon9449 I don't agree, Ruin IS indeed a step up, considering how it improved in gameplay, storytelling, and many other things that were really not great in SB
@@k6kich154 how did the gameplay improve in your opinion? They added 2 puzzles that were the same each time and made the game linear. They story telling was just weak as in sb.
@@akroblodon9449ruin improved literally every single aspect of SB besides how open the map is
@@akroblodon9449What is bro on about. As someone who hated base Sb but loved Ruin I have to say Ruin is a literal example of improvement. It’s not a buggy mess, It’s actually scary at times, and it not just get to the other side of this area without getting caught. Instead it’s going around the area unlocking puzzles which I had fun with.
Adding to the jumpscare point: The ruined version of DJ Music Man has a jumpscare where it's literally like he's consuming you, opening his jagged teeth and closing in, followed by the sudden death screen. It would be so terrifying to endure irl
I've never played a fnaf game but this game is the most fun I've had watching people play. The twists were just masterful with the (spoilers) taking off the mask and the princess quest turning from the arcade cabinet to 3d. It was so fun to watch as they were kinda foreshadowed (the mask one being more overt) but in a way that you only know in hindsight and I just love it.
I have only ever played FNAF once (when the OG first came out; I very quickly got bored and wandered off). I 100% sgree with this. It's so much fun to watch.
I always found FNAF 2 the scariest, and that's purely for the minigames. (Speaking as one of the large percentage of the fandom who's only watched playthroughs.) I found that when the minigames and lore were rewards for clearing a night, something was lost. To have a death, and be prepared to recover and start over, and only then, OCCASIONALLY, getting surprised by an uncanny valley voice and creepy games with disturbing implications. To me it was the unpredictable element that was the best part and made those minigames terrifying.
Then again, the only game that's ever given me a nightmare is Sister Location, and that from Baby's monologue. Not the jumpscares or the scooper, but the extremely human terror of watching your body do something you don't want it to do.
"That's purely for the minigames." Interesting because I would say the mini game is kind of the only scary part of that game aside from like withered bonnie and chica. As someone who has played the games, Fnaf 2 is one of the least scary fnaf games to me (and a lot of people I see online). The toy animatronic are rather cute than scary and the atmosphere is also just not scary. Especially when comparing to fnaf 1 or 4, fnaf 2 honestly just feels so bright and happy that it became a chore simulator a lot sooner than the other two.
@@imagebear8916 Yeah I'm sure the experience is very different if you're playing. I also have a thing about computerized/gitched voices that freaks me out. So for me, the surprise of a deep computer voice spelling out cryptic messages is the scariest thing in the franchse.
I agree FNAF 2 was the only one that ever gave ne a deeply uncomfortable feeling. Mainly mitigates but also that long dark hall
I see where your coming from however I feel that the mini games coming only after you die make the lore of the game far less accessible especially with how easy the first half of the game is. Fnaf 2 has some extremely important lore as it introduces key characters like William Afton and shows how the animatronics were possessed but if your going into this game blind and just so happen to really good at they won’t understand the story as well as others. Fnaf has been able to make some disturbing mini games without the player having to die. Fnaf 4 has all the mini games take place after you complete a night allowing the player to experience the whole story seamlessly. The deep laughter and strange ambience make it feel unnatural and the minigame after completing night 5 (though ruined by memes) is probably the most disturbing minigame this franchise has ever had.
My favorite jump scares surprisingly come from SB. More specifically the little details some of them have. Shattered Roxy has that little scream that is just filled with insecurity and blind rage (pun intended), and really adds to how scary it is. And the way that Vanny kinda grabs you and lifts you up is really scary cuz I realize that we're like a child, and this person is attacking a child. Idk if that makes any sense but I thought I would just mention it
oh i agree, also the way shattered monty flips you around like a real gator is awesome
@@aydanneilson-bourke7378poor Gregory just got obliterated from Monty’s jumpscare.
I thought hw2 was fantastic! My main problem is that it can never beat the initial creepiness factor of glitchtrap in hw1. Watching him slowly get closer to you level by level, and dancing with joy after stuffing you in a suit is so chilling. I just wish we’d seen more of him to be honest. Like some sort of Galway chase, where when the lights are on, he’s dancing in a circle, but when the lights are off, he’s making a horrific mad dash towards you.
I just want more of him. He’s horrific.
That thumbnail made me cackle like Gruntilda from Banjo & Kazooie, good on you and the artist for making my day better with a Angel Helpy hehehe
BarBADroid ALWAYS knocks it out of the park
Yeah! Ended up finding their Uno Fnaf posts by complete coincidence the other day and followed them in an instant
Creepy moments ? Check
Confusing and mysterious Lore ? Check
Dark ambiance ? Check
Good animatronics designs ? Check
New types of gameplay and not just you sitting in a office ? Check
Good VR experience ? Check
Conclusion: it's a great, if not the best FNAF game
It's not the scariest game ever, obviously, but personally, I kinda stopped really being scared at all of the FNAF games, even the earlier ones, so I don't have any real problem with the "horror" aspect changing. That's also why I didn't expect the FNAF movie to be scary, since FNAF has kinda always been more in the uncanny vibe rather than the horrific vibe.
I love those games and this franchise for the weird lore, the creepy vibes from time to time and the animatronics, and that's what FNAF help wanted 2 is, A good fusion of everything that make people love FNAF, and frankly, I think the main reason why people say FNAF isn't "scary" anymore is just because we are not playing point and clicks games anymore, where you have very limited movement. I think that's really the only thing that made the first games "feels" terrifying (obviously there is the ambiance, the sound design, etc... but you get what I'm saying)
The mask reveal was pretty cool to me as well... i stayed there with my jaw hitting the floor a solid 2 mins
This is the Steel Wool FNAF game that has sold me on everything new about FNAF. I'm finally willing to fully embrace absurd book theories, wacky in-game VR elements and AI/Robot narratives, and more that I've been hesitant with recently. I'm stoked for whatever comes next, weather it be Fall Festival or something else, cause Steel Wool has clearly found their footing and their own voice for the series
I watched your entire live stream when you first played help wanted 2 and it made me buy the game, to me after playing it’s just the perfect amount of scary for me, before help wanted I was never able to play the earlier games. Seeing help wanted 2 it. Seemed so genuinely fun I had to give it a try and I love it so much because of how fun it is to just play.
I will never be tired of Help Wanted 2 content, pls give us more Mr Toast
Hello toast should I make toasted eggs sandwich or just toast
Toasted egg sandwich
Make a toasted sandwich
Toasted egg sandwich is based
Make testicular cancer worse
Just make sure you get the bread on Tuesday. Rye bread is fresh on Tuesday.
The first playthru of fnaf hw2 I watched was Astralspiff and his big stupid grin and "take off your mask?... no way?" Was so filled with delight and glee I had a huge smile on my face too. It was definately a big highlight for me 😂 I like watching him because he doesn't fake reactions as much as someone like markiplier or game theory live. So seeing him excited about stuff really tickles me.
i love your vods and podcasts. i have them all downloaded because i have youtube premium. i listen to all of them at work
I wonder if Rye Toast would have more ideas for videos if he covered FNAF fan games as well. Maybe give his own hot takes. See how they shape up to the canonical FNAF games or if they even surpass them. Seeing the way fan games replicate or innovate on an already established formula. (Plus, more FNAF related content for him to use.)
Omg just in time! I've been binging your fnaf theories all day
Glad you like them!
I always love it when folks are reasonable and objective with their criticisms and praise and when they explain their own personal stories with FNAF. It's so refreshing. Help Wanted 2 really solidified Steel Wool's redemption arc with the overall fandom that started with Ruin. It's a perfect blend of taking in fandom feedback and incorporating it into their plans for the future. I'm neutral to okay with Security Breach (sans PeePaw Afton ruining FFPS and UCN's impact which they fixed so I'm no longer feral and wanting to rip out throats about him) but lots of people didn't like it, especially with all the game breaking glitches, so they had to go back to the drawing board fast. The fact that they were willing to do so and actually acknowledged the valid complaints restored a lot of goodwill but people were still worried about what they'd do next. Ruin and HW2 did well in the criteria you laid out for a good FNAF game and I hope they keep the momentum.
The Princess Quest ending was hands-down the best gameplay experience we've ever gotten in this entire series. It feels really surreal, giving you that awesome feeling where you're sucked into the story and it almost feels like a dream. Also, I agree that the endings are pretty metaphorical, and I love that. I love that Steel Wool has stopped taking the old convoluted, technical sci-fi, LITERAL approach to lore, and has started being more implicit and metaphorical. This was the approach that OG Fnaf took, and Steel Wool, in my opinion, is taking a good route for the franchise. Super excited to see what games come out next.
I tells ya, it sure is nice having your videos to look forward to and become a regular of mine. What with the Matpat stuff (I'll still watch the channels mind you) it's nice to feel like with one going I've found a replacement. I enjoy how you go on about the theories or just appreciation about the games. Between Shipwrecked 64 and Help Wanted 2 I've watched from your vods or attended live streams, they are both on the top of my list of games I wanna play myself as well. You've really sold me on the replayablity of HW2 being a lot of fun and I just, I enjoy games that work like that. Keep up the good work! ^_^
i love your channel, youre my fav fnaf theorist
Something I really hope the next fnaf game does is go back to having realistic-esc designs and visuals, IMO the thing that makes security breach the worst fnaf game to me is the fact of how cartoony it is, and also introducing characters that people can call "Comfort characters" but that's just a preference of mine and how I think that horror games should be scary, not comforting.
@LaggingThelagger Agreed. I can have a good time with Security Breach, but definitely not for the right reasons. I don't like the game for a plethora of reasons, but to give it credit where it's due: it NAILS the exploration and map design for the most part. I could see the Pizzaplex being a real indoor amusement park that people would actually go to visit or work that (for the most part) could actually exist if a company as large as Fazbear Entertainment threw enough money at it. There was so much love and care put into the map that seeing it utilized with almost nothing but boring fetch quests is honestly kind of sad. I had a lot more fun just wandering around and taking everything in and abusing glitches to get to places I wasn't supposed to.
Do you think that lefty could be a refurbished carnie? This is a very long shot, im talkin 100 yard football kick, but its just some fun thoughts that could conjure up something in the community.
If you look at burnt carnie's model you can just barely see that his right eye is more withered. You may have to squint. But say that at that time his right eye got replaced because it was the most damaged of the two, after decades of collecting dust and rotting away, the untouched eye could have decayed to the point of becoming black. As Henry repared carnie to become lefty, the orginal eye may have stayed or been replaced with a new black eye for a unique touch.
A more realistic approach could be the lefty's design is INSPIRED by his burnt orginal. The eye rotted eye i just mentioned could have inspired the black eye detail.
One specific character of that I think could drive home this theory is the color. Burnt carnie is a muted brown with white char accents. But if you were to scrape all of burnt plastic off, you be left with a black tarnished metal. Notice that lefty is not solid black, but a metalic, gun metal black.
I think it is possibe that lefty is either a repaired version of carnie, with it's new design based on the chared scraps of the original, or lefty was a completely different animatronic who's build was inspired by the remains of his counterpart.
By the location of Fazer Blast and hint we see, I think that carnie was most likely a part of Fall Fest(most likely the 1970 event) if so, do you think it's possible that carnie was one of Henry's first animatronics. That was a whole decade before our first look at fredbears.
Whether or not Fredbear's opened before 1983. I highly doubt that it was an establishment before 1970. I noticed that there is no sign of Freddy’s or Fredbear's on the poster. Which leads me to believe that this fall fest may have predated everything.
The running theory is that the mediocre melodies were his first animatronics, made to rip off Freddy’s fame. But being that we see an animatronic a decade before that, that closely resembles one of his final animatronics. It really seems that carnie could be his first.
Here's some food for thought. Henry has been deemed a copycat in the early timeline for the mediocre melodies. But if he made his first BEAR animatronic at a children's theme event in 1970, is he really the copycat? If William stole the idea and made Fredbear's, and Fredbear's became as big as it did. No one would bat an eye at a small carnival with a simple bear animatronic.
I don't know if I like this idea, but I'm just throwing everything I got to see what sticks. Is it possible that William set the carnival on fire to one, prevent it from becoming more successful. And two, to take that idea and reuse it for himself. I don't think he was pure evil at this point, or really evil at all. But it's still just a thought.
I don't really think that lefty is a remade carnie. I think it's possible that the design could have been inspired by the withered design. But I doubt that they put that much thought into a connection like that.
I am pretty confident, though, that carnie was most likely the first and that Henry was never really the copycat. But more so, tried to reclaim the ideas stolen from him later on after William's fame.
Hey just what I was thinking
All I can say is I find it suspicious that, if I'm not mistaken, they are posed the exact same way when you display the model on stage. However the star on lefty and the vest on carnie look to be actually shaped into the animatronic not just painted on. They do have the same shape bow, but yeah I think at least the torso would have to be different.
@@annabelle2523 I agree
Really enjoying the SA2 music in the background recently!
I agree.
Help Wanted 2 is probably one of if not my total favourite FNaF game in the series.
It was just so fun to play whilst retaining horror elements, personally I'm not a massive fan so slight bias here but I actually prefer it when FNaF games have a mix of scary and more laid back parts. Take FNaF 4 for example: I love it, it's really fun, but it's just so tense that it's hard for me to want to play for long periods of time, it makes me really want to take a break.
When I wanted a break from any horror levels in Help Wanted 2 though, it was as simple as just loading a more chill minigame next. It makes it easier to continuously play the game for me, not sure if anyone else feels the same way there.
It's great to see SteelWoolStudios get better as they go forward, really excited for what they cook next because I do feel like this game will be very difficult to top.
I love the minigame collection nature of this game. It makes it a worthy package to play and it's super entertaining to see people play :D
Hey I actually have a little theory about Moondrop in HW2, so to start Moondrop apears in HW2 many times, in daycare(obviously), carasell(I’ll come back to that), focus pirate ride, and then In one of the endings. But in severity breach when Moondrop takes GR Freddy and waves at Gregory (i think he waves) it’s like he’s being TOLD to do that, plus he’s the only animatronic that didn’t normally attack anyone besides Gregory, so I feel like maybe he was given orders to do that by maybe Vanny or Glitchtrap.
In the foxy ride there is another version of Moondrop that is in the glitchy part of the ride when you shoot Helpy.
I’m that one ending you give the Glitchtrap plushy to moon and he brings it to Vanny, also there like this weird version of Moon in the claw machine, a PURPLE version-caugh caugh-Aftons signicher color-caugh caugh-…
The caracel ride with moon evenatual gets set on fire, but we’ve never actually seen a caracel in a fnaf game before, but there were talks of a new fnaf game realted to a carnival and ballons, so if MatPats theory related to Ruin is true and the mimic and the daycare attendants were one of Afton first creations maybe we will see them in this new talk of a fnaf game
Also idk how to REALLy word any of this I just thought of theory that might be important
Also love your vids :)
I totally agree. People say: "This is the least scary FNAF game and it's boring!" Because they played Flat Mode. It's like saying that Super Mario Odyssey is a bad game after you played Super Mario Bros.
It is! Stop the negativity! Thank you Toast!
🙏
Ok but can we talk about the horrifically amazing tension with Freddy's music box in fnaf one, like I grew up on this franchise, the jump scares barely get me, but that fucking music box gets me every time
I loved it when TH-camrs took off the Vanni Mask in fnaf help wanted 2!!! And meeting the princess!
The ending makes so much sense. I can't believe it took me this long to realize.
Something Afton says in the movie actually. "you had one job, keep him in the dark and don't let him figure out what happened.", first off, that's two things, secondly:
Jeremey, or the player characters, figured it all out. And then stumbled upon the ruins of the old.pizzeria in the sinkhole, which are above the Afton household. He finds the sister location elevator, and it is there that Afton sends Vanny to go deal with him and make sure nobody can learn of it. Cassie could have come not only looking to help Gregory, but to find her dad. The minic could have been down in the old Sister Location ruins.
Very fuzzy on the details as I haven't played any of the newer games, so if I'm overlooking something do tell me, cuz I don't wanna look like an idiot. Well anymore like an idiot than I do for theorizing about a game I haven't played.
in the early games, i must say fnaf 2 foxy jumpscary is the best! it is great, animated, and you believe you die!
but the help wanted 2 one with the claw from scrap baby is superb!
FNAF 2 Foxy Jumpscare was pretty good at the time but in retrospect is very funny
true, but i also think its because of the jumpscare sound in fnaf 2, the scream doesn't work with most of them just slightly moving to ward your face statically, foxy, the puppet and mangled are the only ones (maybe fnaf 1 bonny too) but the poppet is too flat, so mangled and foxy are the best but like if i was sitting there and a mangled swung to me is just less terrifying that the foxy mouth agape right at my face!
but for sure the death animations are way better but the issue was with security breach is that they weren't scary because of the models.
they were great in ruin though!
@@RyeToast
I mostly disagree only because in a majority of the minigames you don't really survive the animatronics, you do tasks and get punished a jumpscare if you fail. Though it's definitely an amazing game, I think it lacks the dread that FNAF usually induced.
12:00 ah, I sure do love my technicalities
A big problem I run into is I stim really hard when gameplay gets tense. This makes horror games in particular hard for me to play because I'm flailing everywhere. I imagine that would be wild in VR. Not that I can afford a headset anytime soon. But it's super fun to watch for sure. Much stimming is to be had. I like that it's not TOO scary. That way I don't accidentally throw anything lol.
Me too. It’s annoying lol.
6:56 "Stop chewing so loud" 😂
Fnaf means five nights at freddies. I don't recall spending five nights at freddies in the game 😎
Jokes aside it has been super fun seeing people play it!
Valid lmao
turning on the light to see bonie or chica is not a jump scare a jump scare is the sudden appearance of something and a loud noise this is a difrent method of cashing in tenshion which is a good thing horror needs to use a lot of methods to scare people because the same thing over and over gets less scary the more times it happens.
Absolutely Beautiful Thumbnail 🫡
21:48 No doubt about it. I honestly wish we had a spiritual successor that didn't try to tie into the lore, and instead just went all-in on its premise (while also fixing some issues like information scarcity).
I think Cassie’s dad is named Luis. It’s the name of the coworker that Vanessa befriends (she mentions him in her therapy logs). There are logs in SB of an employee focused on the princess quests, wanting to ‘’free the princess’’ the ending of help wanted 2 might indicate that we are playing as that person. If Luis knew Jeremy, and saw vanessa, a young female coworker he befriended going down the same path, he would want to help her, especially if he has a daughter, the dad instincs could kick in.
So I believe Cassie’s dad, Luis, is an employee of Fazbear. He was friends with jeremy who betatested a new vr game and died after. Then he saw his young coworker betatest for the same game, and she was never the same after. He tries to free vanessa using the princess quest arcades. If gregory was indeed posessed, it would be a motive for him to befriend Cassie, the daugther of the problem employee. Luis used the new fazbear AR tech to put an end to whatever was happening. He failed and Cassie was left alone. He still could be bonnie bro.
For me, it’s the tension that terrifies me. The jumpscares are fine, but the events beforehand are just so.. Terrifying.
I feel like the jumpscares aren’t too bad in VR, but instead it’s the stress to not get jumpscared. I don’t really like horror, so I don’t wanna be jumpscared, making the game way more terrifying for me.
I would argue all the issues we’ve see with Steel Wool’s FNAF games arises from an inconsistency in their understanding of genre; specifically the distinction between action/thriller and horror/suspense. This is actually a really common problem within the horror genre, so it’s not unique to the Steel Wool, even big studios continue to make this mistake too.
Horror as a genre necessitates evoking very strong, but VERY specific emotions from its audience, out of all genres it’s the least forgiving of instances of accidental genre deviation, as a lot of the emotions evoked by other genres have more overlap with each other.
Unfortunately Security Breach was doomed to disappoint because Steel Wool’s approach to game design was not consistent with the horror genre’s requirements and veered off to action/suspense. The almost “open world” approach to level design completely prevented the sense of entrapment and helplessness that’s needed to evoke the correct emotions in the audience, the original FNAF succeeded so well as a horror game because of how helplessly confined you were in the game’s environment, it completely removed the ability to feel like an even match against the opponents (the animatronics), which met genre conventions perfectly!
In Security Breach the player feels more like an action/thriller “hero” protagonist than a horror “victim” protagonist. You were able to feel confident in your safety as a player by a disparity in competence with the animatronics, you could always out manoeuvre them, which was in part a consequence of the fact you also never actually felt entrapped by the environment; which is also the reason why the basement hallway section with all the endoskeletons (when you temporarily don’t have Freddy to rely on) was unanimously seen as the only true horror experience within that game.
Steel Wool has done a lot better at executing horror within their VR games due to the segmented gameplays sections allowing for game design that actually provides that sense of environmental entrapment and consequent restricted capacity to protect yourself from and/or escape the imminent threat of the opponents you’re up against. Even in the Ruin DLC they showed a much better understanding of how to get the genre right.
While I definitely agree that Help Wanted 2 had segments that failed to be “horror” enough, the portions that did, did it right, so I do have a lot of hope that Steel Wool will be capable of nailing down genre consistency in future games, especially as they’re so receptive to audience to feedback and are genuinely determined to provide the audience the gameplay experience they desire!
I got the Quest 2 just to play this game and I absolutely don't regret it. Without a doubt the best and most fun FNAF game ever.
I really hope Steel Wool keeps this trend of alternating between normal and VR games. While Security Breach really disappointed me, I think Ruin showed that they absolutely can get it right, and with VR there is no doubt that they can do amazing things.
Whatever the future of Steel Wool is tho, I'm really excited for it. I can't wait for them to announce their next game.
another thing i would like to mention that in my opinion makes a good fnaf game is not just the horror but the anxiety it creates. fnaf is great at taking away any semblance of control u could feel which is verry anxiety educing. and at the end of every segment of gameplay. it almost feels like u just barley made it. honestly it could just be thrown in with horror but i wanted to mention it
this might be the best thumbnail i've ever seen
I swear this game is so good it makes sb and ruin just feel like they were there to build up this game.
It’s sad about Matpats retiring I really wanted to see him on the podcast now it seems like it’s never gonna happen ):
Matpat is not retiring entirely, just from running and hosting the Theorist channels. He is still going to be there working on theories, but also have other side projects he never had time for due to the filming and recording schedule. So actually, he could, theoretically (pun intended), be easier to get on the podcast after he has stopped hosting the Theorist channels.
@@sonjaimmonen6610 I’m aware it just seems like a lesser chance since he’s stepping back
i’m so glad you acknowledge me in the live
Are we not gonna talk about how Jeremy in help wanted apparently cut his face off so there could be evidence of being a prequel
isnt Pal Percy using the same night progression system as Fnaf 6 Pizza Simulator? like "you cant end your shift until you take care of the tasks" sounds exactly what that game did.
In a way, but where as in FNAF 6 you just have to click a button and wait, PwP you actively have to do a task on the pal, like a minigame
I really think steel wool are a good pick to take over fnaf. I think they just got overambitious with security breach. If they can keep it realistic, I think their games could even overtake the OGs. I love the idea of the pizzaplex being on top of fnaf 6. I think the most important thing is the lighting. In fnaf, the scariest bits are when you can hardly see whats going on. You’re scared, helpless and alone. Its dark, and some monster, you dont know what, is crawling through the vents around you. Maybe you see it peek through a grate, maybe you hear a thudding noise to your side. Then when you see it, it’s too late. You’re already dead. Security breach almost had a good dynamic with the basement. The game starts out shiny, sparkly and fun, then you reach the basement and its dark, grim and spooky. But they fumbled. Burntrap has minutes of screentime at most and the blob doesnt do much. You can barely explore the secrets down there and cant find anything surprising. Its kinda lame.
Hey Rye c: I really couldn't help but laught at your jade bracelets triggering your video program, because they're green :D It's subtle, yet somehow hilarious to me
I know 😂 I didn't think about it in recording but the small ball parts of the bracelet are malachite, which happened to be juuuust green enough for the green screen
Oh! That explains why the jade one on your other arm doesn't do it! xD I don't think it's an issue though, you might as well keep wearing it in videos ^^ @@RyeToast
love how u used SA2 music for ur video!
Also main part of the games horror comes from the stress and anxiety to not loose/jump scared is fun. Horror and fun working together us what makes it great.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks Yenndo's design is goofy. He is literally my least favourite animatronic and now I feel validated
Lore so good he gave it a 10 twice, damn.
Steel Wool earned my respect when they released the first HW. Obviously Security Breach had its faults, but I personally enjoyed it. It’s a 7.5/10 for me. Steel Wool proved they learned their lesson with the Ruin DLC, as well as HW 2.
Rye: The fanbase all agrees that we play as Cassie's dad.
Rye's Chat (immediately afterwards): We are definitely NOT playing as Cassie's dad.
21:45 forgot to change the text from “Lore” to “Fun”
🤦 God dammit. I knew I was forgetting something. Thank you!
@@RyeToast yeah np. Fire video btw
So toast are you gonna talk about matpats retirement on the podcast and what it means for the future of theory’s on fnaf as a whole on the podcast
People would yell at me if i said i thought security breach and ruin were peak
I still can’t get over the fact that rye toast is playing this on a og vibe with those god awful controllers. Going from my quest 1 to my reverb g2v2 is a life changing experience visually. Also the index controllers changed how much I enjoy vr drastically.
Also this game would’ve been perfect if you could actually play fazerblast like a real laser tag game. Basically I want to play boneworks with a fnaf animatronic chasing me in a maze.
Also ryetoast, play boneworks if you haven’t. Life changing game and without a doubt the best single player vr game I’ve ever played and it’s not even close. That game’s lore is actually very similar to fnaf vr 2 but way more horrifying. That whole game feels way creepier than fnaf vr. It’s like the back rooms vr
Dying to know why sister location only got a 17😭
Good point. i just updated the pinned comment with full score breakdowns
I get not wanting to go into details on each game and drag out the video, but I would have appreciated a quick breakdown on what each game scored in individual categories. Just a data nerd and curiosity thing
There we go, THAT was a good video. Don't need politics brought up in my silly pizza jumpscare bear game 😂
i played fnaf 1 when it came out and was released for free demos, i played said free demo and then fell in love and watched gameplay and lore for the rest, as part of majority of the fan base that has only watched most the games, fnaf 1 gave me these crazy scares and had just enough to keep me super enticed in the series as a whole, the only game since then that ever gave me this same feeling of unease but also interest at the same exact time was HW2 i wish so badly i owned a vr because i totally would want to play this one, i was tempted with security breach since im a squirmy player and that one seemed a bit less hardcore and easy to play but it wasnt for the same reason that brought me to fnaf 1 and the interest in HW2, i will have to say simply worldbuilding( and lore) wise sister location is my fave game tho (edit; i wanted to add, i didnt play HW2 and thats why i agree because even without playing it, i got the same feeling as i did when i actually did play a fnaf game)
My only issue is that I (and from what I've read other people as well) am tired of the endless J. J. Abrahams mystery box. It's not like I want answers for everything but looking back, it's been 10 years of retolds, rewrites, retcons (I know you hate it but it's the true, Scott has done a lot of retcons), etc...
When FNAF came out, this was incredible and it was exciting but after 10 years, I'm just tired of the endless "here's 1 answer, here are 10 questions, here are 10 mysteries". FNAF shouldn't be this complicated to follow and what I fear is that if the same formula keeps going, do I really want to be on a franchise where I HAVE to go outside of my way and read books because if not, this comes out of nowhere?
I think that FNAF6 was the perfect end of the series. I would've love that after that, he made a reboot/soft reboot (like many other franchises have done, Resident Evil it's a great example). I just want this endless mystery to end and just make a good game (which we know they can do) with a really solid story without having to mental juggling/gymnastics to know what it's going on.
I know that won't happen but I really love FNAF and I fear that if they keep going, at some point, the series is gonna go to the drain because loing-term it's unsustainable.
Rye I have an issue, you forgot to mention Fnaf world in the ranking
the lore was so good he gave it a 10/10 twice
Thanks a lot for the great video!
"And I agree with that calculation" All I can imagine is my analytical chemistry professor looming over my math and murmuring "What the fuck is this..." 😅
Literally not saying anything about this video other than to mention that Playtime with Percy is peak
New FNAF 1 lore, Foxy doesn't kill you but helps you escape, since his jump scare isn't really a jump scare but him coming into the room and just says hi
No Matter how much I agree, you kinda made your own measurement system and your own measurements...
@4:00 uh no that's like the one thing that's always killing fnaf and to be frank it certainly has become so annoying that I had given up on theorizing the multitude of "could be" theories since at least fnaf 6
I could not agree more. Fun is subjective and people need to stop acting like their opinions are facts.
An important part of fnaf's horror that is hard to see by looking at it alone is how defenseless the player is. Fnaf 1 was unique at the time because of how, compared to other games at the time, you are completely helpless. Slenderman was the biggest horror game at the time and it gave you big environments to run away in. Most horror games either let you run away or gave you a weapon to fight with, but fnaf 1 makes you sit there and watch as the animatronics get closer with out giving you a weapon or the option to run. Fnaf 2 expanded on this idea by taking away the one defense you had in fnaf 1, the doors. It also doubles down on making you watch the threats approach with the massive empty hallway in front of you that you can use the flashlight to see animatronics approaching in. Fnaf 3 took away the mask leaving you with nothing but the cameras, and put the massive window for you to see springtrap approaching through. You can even see springtrap looking in through your door or running behind the camera. The fnaf 4 took away the cameras and made you a literal helpless child holding the door closed to keep out the nightmares. Freddy and foxy are even in the room with you while you deal with them, making them uncomfortably close and the doors ineffective. Sister location gives you a broken hand unit that gives you wrong instructions on how to protect yourself, while forcing you to get closer to the animatronics. Pizza sim gives you nothing but a flashlight and two massive vents right next to you, while telling you that there shouldn't even be anything in the vents to worry about but if there is to try not to be too loud. Help wanted 1 forces you to get right up in the animatronics' faces while you try not to anger them because you often have either no defence, or nothing but a flashlight. Security breach loses this concept, by letting you run, hide, and directly confront the threats. Ruin does a better job with its tight environments and making running away your only option. Finally, help wanted 2 perfectly follows this concept by putting you in a variety of situations where you can do nothing but try to appease the animatronics as they are right in your face. Even the non-scary parts follow this idea, instead of directly fighting the animatronics you delay their approach or appease them. Help wanted 2 also captures the main game play feature of fnaf, forcing you to balance doing multiple things at once. Also the lore is good, and follows a lot of the ideas from throughout the series. This is why, in my eyes, help wanted 2 is absolutely a perfect fnaf game.
Rye, i am demanding an apology for calling Foxy’s jumpscare the worst.
To me, Help Wanted 2 has been one of the best FNAF games since PizzaSim. But the actual best is still Help Wanted. That game just has the right balance to me of Gameplay-Scary/Unnerving-Storytelling.
While I agree it's the best in terms of gameplay, my personal favorite will always be FNAF 1
Hm, I see, fair and valid points and opinions, i wonder how you will rate the next Game.
Im gonna be honest ive been staring at the cat for 5 minutes keep talking funny guy
11:03 as it’s the only one I haven’t really beaten…ios mobile version…half the time I can’t even see Springtrap or know where he is. My least favorite game because of this. I just realized that after years of trying to play Pizza Sim, an thinking the audio was broken, as the sound wasn’t in surround, it was a setting that was set to MONO! haha I found it on accident while messing with my airpods. can’t believe it, so now I can get left/right audio.
Not helpi looking Like Belldandy from Ah My Goddess in the thumbnail
Dumb question but do you think you'll make a video discussing the story of Shipwrecked 64? I know you primarily make FNaF content but I think the game more than deserves its own video covering it.
The only downside is that I'd have to Wait 3 or more years for Lore progression just for it to end on *Another* Cliff hanger. I just wanna know what happened to Cassie Already.🌚
I really like security breach because of how much stupid fun you can have with the glitches.
Poggers video, my toasty dude.
Poggers comment,"monster hunter"
Because of this game I'm saving up for a VR headset
Super awesome video. I really enjoyed it!
Peak thumbnail
Fnaf help wanted 2 while I don’t think is the perfect fnaf game I will say it’s the best game steel wool has offered so far
GODDD NOW I NEED A VR HEADSET SO I CAN PLAY IT MYSELFFFF
Not gonna lie, one of my favorite part of the newer games are the jokes and wacky fazbear entertainment things.
I still feel like a FNaF game cant be Perfect unless it has the structure of FNaF 1 and 2. Five main nights, a 6th challenge night, and a custom night with difficulties that ranges from "Experience the atmosphere" to "Borderline impossible". As the VR games lack this, I can't call it perfect. If they DID have this structure, maybe thered be a solid case for it.
I think the least amount of lore in fnaf 1 is what make the game scarier, imagine if phone guy was right about the animatronics