Five Nights at Freddy’s 4
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 is the latest entry to the series. This one takes a completely different direction from the previous games, but it does finally give some insight (as well as some more questions) to the events surround the eventual shutdown of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Remember that whole “Bite of ’87” thing that ended up being one of the factors of the shutdown? It was the reason that the animatronics needed to roam around at night, leading to countless nightmares for players. And it is also the center of Five Nights at Freddy’s 4.
This entry places you in the shoes of a kid who must survive five nights in his very own bedroom. No security systems, no locks, just a frightened kid with a flashlight. Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy, and even Golden Freddy are all out to get you, and you have no idea why, until you play through the mini-games.
The kid appears to be a fan of Freddy Fazbear’s and has an upcoming birthday party which is indicated at the end of each night. While playing through the mini-games, there are two scenes that appear to be of the utmost importance. The first is of the Purple Man placing a Freddy Fazbear’s employee into a costume. You can see it happen in the door beside the balloons and cake. The second scene takes place at the end of Night 5 and is the actual “Bite of ’87” event. It turns out that you were playing as the victim the whole time.
The player’s character is surrounded by his brother and his brother’s friends who appear to be older and are definitely bullying the young boy. They tease him and offer to give him a closer look at the Freddy animatronic on stage. When they put the kid up to his face they place his head in the mouth of the mascot. Unfortunately, the mouth bites down, crushing the skull of the young boy and leaving everyone shocked. If you’ve played the first games in the series, then you will know that the boy actually survives this attack. Phone guy mentions that it’s amazing how someone could survive after losing the front part of their brain.
This leads to the speculation that the entire game takes place while the kid is in a coma after suffering severe brain damage. The very mascots he once adored have now become real living nightmares to him after being betrayed by the attack. It can also be referencing the fact that each of the bullies were wearing a mascot mask when they forced the young boy into Freddy’s mouth. After three games of watching over these demented machines, players finally get a chance to step into the mind of a victim. This may also explain why Phantom Freddy often appears on the bed behind you as you play. The Phantoms are hallucinations, and this can very much be the comatose nightmare of a young boy.
But, going back to the Purple Man placing someone in a suit, certain elements of the game may allude to him being this child’s father. For starters, there are all of the purple toys found in the child’s room. Then there is the scene of him placing an employee into a suit without killing him. This shows that Purple Man does in fact know how to use the suits. There is a chance that Purple Man found out about the bullies and actually placed them into the animatronics as revenge for his son. There isn’t too much proof for this given by the game as of yet, but it definitely does seem like a possibility.
There is also the chance that this confirms the theory that Phone Guy from Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 & 2 is in fact Purple Man. Phone Guy had a very deep knowledge of how the Springtrap costumes worked, something nobody else in the series other than Purple Man seemed to know. Phone Guy was also very fond of Foxy. In the cutscene that depicts the “Bite of ’87,” the victim’s brother is wearing the Foxy mask, furthering the speculation that Purple Man (who is probably Phone Guy) is the father of the victim. Of course, that still leaves some confusion as to what happened to Phone Guy at the end of Night 4 in the first game.
Then there’s the Night 6 ending that’s a real head scratcher. Upon completing this night, players are treated to a scene where Fredbear apologizes to the victim of the bite. He asks him if he knows that they are still friends, and expresses his sympathies. He even remarks on how the child is now broken. Could this be the child reconciling his fears? Or does it perhaps carry a deeper meaning that we’ll learn about soon?
There is still a lot of digging that needs to be done, and there is the DLC that is due out in October for Five NIghts at Freddy’s 4 that may tie up the loose ends still left. What is the relationship between Purple Man and the victim of the bite? How does the Puppet play a role? And, why were those children murdered? While we have a lot of the story figured out, it looks like we’ll just have to wait for Scott to finally finish what he started.
