Summary
Five Nights at Freddy’sis one of the most confusing series when it comes to finding a cohesive narrative between all the games, and the latest release,Steam hitFNAF: Into the Pit,is no exception. A large debate has already started to take place online overwhether the game should be considered part of the main canon, or if it is its own separate story. As is typical withFive Nights at Freddy’s, the game leaves a lot of these questions up for interpretation, so players are unlikely to get one solid answer.
There is already some evidence pointing to the game taking place in the maincontinuity ofFive Nights at Freddy’s, but there is seemingly just as much to suggest that it isn’t. There is also the frustrating possibility that certain aspects of the game can be considered canon, while others are simply Easter eggs or references to previous titles, but don’t necessarily mean anything to the larger narrative. Because a large portion of theFNAFfanbase love crafting theories around the games,there will likely be multiple interpretations of howInto the Pitfits into the larger series.
How To Unlock Every Ending In Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit
There are five different endings to FNAF Into The Pit. It all depends on how much care you take to save Oswald’s father, or flee from the terror.
Many Into The Pit Details Cast Doubt On The Game’s Canonicity
Into The Pit Contradicts Some FNAF Lore
A major hint thatInto the Pitis not canon is that its source material,theFazbear Frightsnovel series, which is not considered canon by many players. The stories seem to openly contradict details that have been established in the main game series, and it is somewhat widely accepted in the fanbase that theFrightsstories are linked to the game continuity through shared concepts, but not continuity. This has led some players to assume thatInto the Pitmust similarly exist in its own separate timeline, even if it may have some narrative similarities to the main series.
Another element ofInto the Pitthat has been used as evidence against its canonicity is the layout of the restaurant. The animatronics in the game are clearly modeled after the ones from the firstFive Nights at Freddy’sgame. However, the pizzeria itself doesn’t have a consistent map with the original game.This would seem to indicate that this is a different version of theFNAF 1restaurantlike the one seen in theFive Nights at Freddy’smovie, which is also not canon.
Into the Pitalso seems to contradict a major part ofFNAF’s established lore. There are hints that there were six victims in this universe’s Missing Children Incident, but in the mainline series there are usually just five victims that are meant to have gone missing. That said, there are some hints that perhapsInto the Pitis in fact canon, and these hints may actually just be new information about the main series.
There Is Still An Argument For Into The Pit Being Canon
FNAF Has Always Played It Fast And Loose With Its Continuity
One argument forInto the Pitbeing canon is thatit is clearly a different version of the story than the one that appeared inFazbear Frights. In the book version of the story, the ballpit doesn’t actually allow Oswald to time travel, but instead shows him a memory of what happened in the past. However, the game makes it clear that time travel is real, as evidenced by the player bringing items or even rats back from the past.
While not being part of theFazbear Frightscanon doesn’t necessarily mean this game is part of the main canon, it could be a hint that it is. This would mirror other times that elements from aFNAFnovel found their way into the continuity of the main series. For instance, the contentious material Remnant was first mentioned by name in the novelThe Fourth Closest, then later appeared as a collectible inFNAF AR: Special Delivery.Into the Pitcould be another example of a novel element being canonized in a new game.
The layout question could also be called into question. Some players online have pointed out that the layout for the originalFive Nights at Freddy’sgame would not have worked forInto the Pit’s gameplay needs. They argue that the layout was changed not to signal that this is a different continuity, but was just done for logistical purposes. While this doesn’t prove that the game is canon, it also means players shouldn’t necessarily rule that possibility out.
The strongest evidence that the game is canon is thatInto the Pit’s developer, Mega Cat Studios, said thatthe game has important implications for the series’ lore. Reddit userHomestuckHoovyshared a screenshot of a Discord chat where a Mega Cat team member confirmed that some of the elements of the game do have larger implications for the series’ lore. This would seem to imply thatInto the Pitshould be considered canon, at least in part.
Into The Pit Is Likely A Mixture Of Canon And Non-Canon Elements
This Reflects Statements Made By Developers And Previous FNAF Titles
The most likely answer is thatInto the Pitis partially canon, but not fully. Though Mega Cat Studios did say that the game had important implications for the canon, that doesn’t necessarily mean the entire game is. So, while there are details that matter for the wider continuity, theory crafters should take certain elements of the game with a grain of salt.
This type of ambiguous canonicity would keepInto the Pitin line with its book counterpart. It also wouldn’t be a big surprise for aFNAFgame, since the story in general seems to be constantly changing and contradicting itself.Players likely won’t get a solid answer toInto the Pit’s canonicity, and that is by design.
Five Nights At Freddy’s Survives Due To Its Lack Of Clear Answers
A Large Portion Of The Fan Base Is Dedicated To Trying To Solve Mysteries
Five Nights at Freddy’smay have initially attracted fans due to its unique premise, and the prevalence of YouTubers overreacting to its jumpscares, but it has retained a large fan base due to the mystery surrounding its story. Each newFive Nights at Freddy’sgame seems to raise more questions about the series’ story than it has answers. Though there is a possibility that this is the result of original series creator Scott Cawthon having to quickly make up the story as it went along,it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the messy story is intentional.
Theory crafting aroundFNAFadds a lot of hype around each new release, be that a game, movie, or book. Even when fans openly criticized the first wave of novels for not being very good, they still continued to consume them for any hints that might help solve the series’ story.Five Nights at Freddy’s,therefore, has a vested interest in making sure the story never gives too many clear answers or has a definitive ending. Luckily, the series’ community enjoys coming up with theories, because it’s unlikely they will ever get a straight answer.
